Perth lord mayor pushes for ‘when, not if’ convention centre upgrade
New Perth Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds says the long-awaited overhaul of the Perth convention centre remains “incredibly important” to the city’s economic future, despite the WA government formally axing the $1.6 billion redevelopment last week.
In 2024, the state government announced it would revamp the ageing centre built 20 years ago to create a “world-class, iconic waterfront precinct”.
However, the government confirmed in a media release on November 6 that the redevelopment would be ditched, citing increasing costs including more than $500 million in transport upgrades to accommodate the build.
The money has been reallocated to building hospital infrastructure across the state, including three new hospital projects at Mount Lawley, Royal Perth Hospital and in Peel.
Reynolds told this masthead the City of Perth could not fault the government for prioritising hospitals, but stressed shelving the project would not be sustainable long term.
“A world-class convention centre remains incredibly important for Perth,” Reynolds said.
“It’s one of the key pieces of infrastructure that helps us attract major conferences, investment, trade delegations and global attention.
“In our earlier conversation I mentioned it would be a trampoline for opportunity, and I still believe that.”
Reynolds said the city would keep the “case for a world-class facility” on the state government’s radar, so it was “ready to be progressed when the timing is right”.
“For me, this isn’t a matter of if – it’s a matter of when,” he said.
“The upgrade will need to happen, because Perth is growing, our visitor economy is expanding, and we’re hosting more global events than ever before.”
“What gives me confidence is that the government absolutely understands how critical a modernised convention centre is to our economic future.”
The Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre is the oldest convention centre in Australia not to have had a major redevelopment.
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Carla Hildebrandt is a journalist with WAtoday. She previously worked on ABC’s Four Corners and as a court reporter at The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. For secure contact: carlahildebrandt@proton.me.Connect via email.
