Transcript - Press Conference - Perth - Monday, 20 December
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
PERTH
MONDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2021
SUBJECTS: Light Up Perth Announcement; WA border reopening; Federal Election date .
PATRICK GORMAN, SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA: It is the most wonderful time of the year, in the most wonderful city on Earth, and it is the season for giving. So of course, I'm pleased to be here with the first Federal Labor commitment of this election campaign for Western Australia. To commit to the vision of the Lord Mayor and the City of Perth to once again make Perth the City of Light. To light up the city, to make sure that we are making this the safe, welcoming place for families. And I'm making this announcement with two great friends, Zaneta Mascarenhas, the Labor candidate for Swan, and Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas. Two people who have worked in the city, know the city, and care about the future of Perth. Knowing that when Perth does well, and Western Australia does well, the entire country does well. And so, the announcement we're making today, to kick off the federal election, an election could be as soon as 10 weeks away on the 5th of March, to kick off the campaign, we are announcing that Federal Labor, under Anthony Albanese, will invest $150,000 on the Roe Street bridge, to light it up. To connect the train station, and here in the Cultural Centre, the place that everyone comes when they get off the train, through to the Museum, one of the biggest family friendly attractions here in the Perth City and here in Northbridge. And of course, because it's Christmas and everyone, including my family, Zaneta's family, Basil's family, have been loving the Christmas lights, we will also be chipping in $50,000 for the 2022 lights for Christmas. That's Labor's commitment to backing the vision of the City of Perth to be the City of Light. There's going to be a lot more announcements, a lot of people fighting for the votes of Western Australians at this election. That's a good thing. One of the people whose fighting it out for the seat of Swan is Zaneta Mascarenhas. She's worked in the city, she's worked as an engineer, I’ve known her a long time, she is passionate about standing up for Western Australia in the Federal Parliament. I'll hand over to Zaneta.
ZANETA MASCARENHAS, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR SWAN: Good morning, my name is Zaneta Mascarenhas, I'm Labor's candidate for Swan. I love the City of Perth. I've worked in the city, on the terrace, for 12 years. But what I also love is the opportunity to bring my family here and enjoy in our cultural precinct. It's such an exciting place to be, but you know what? This place needs to be a star, and to be a star, we need lights. So, it's really exciting to have this lighting project here, and everyone should come on down to the City of Perth. I often catch the train from Oat Street Station to Perth Station because my children love catching the train. But how amazing is this place? I'll now introduce our Lord Mayor, Basil Zempilas.
BASIL ZEMPILAS, LORD MAYOR OF THE CITY OF PERTH: Thank you to Zaneta and thank you to Patrick. And can I thank them, on behalf of the City of Perth, for this pre-election commitment. Clearly, one of our commitments is for a brighter, safer, and friendlier city, and lighting is a big part of that. Not only physical lights, which light the way and provide safety, and take away dark nooks and crannies where anti-social behaviour can at times flourish, but also the greater theme of the City of Light. It's what we were famous for 60 years ago, and it is what I and the City of Perth council want us to be famous for again. Our Christmas Lights Trail, which has been operating for most of the month of December, and indeed began in late November, has been another huge success. And I note that part of this commitment is $50,000 towards a lighting installation, or two, for our 2022 Christmas Lights Trail. It's a family event, it's an event that brings people to the city, and that is what we are all about. So again, on behalf of the City of Perth, I thank Federal Labor for their commitment, and we would all love to see the City of Perth as bright and as light as it can be. A bright and light city is a safe city, and the City of Light is what we stand for. All of the great things that that represents. So, thank you again.
JOURNALIST: Yes, couple of questions, if that's alright? This announcement, is this different from the funding and the lights that was announced last week? Is it a different project?
GORMAN: This is a new announcement, fresh today, investing in the Roe Street bridge, which is right behind us, it is to light up that bridge. One of the things the Lord Mayor has mentioned to me in our discussions is that this is a place where people feel that it could be a lot brighter, and the feedback from the city, I know that one of the things to make a great city is to connect the hub of train stations, public transport infrastructure with the places that people love to go. So, it's a new announcement, and it's part of Federal Labor's broader commitment to taking our city deals that have been worked on over the last few years into genuine city partnerships, where we are constantly working with local government, State Government and the business community to improve our cities.
JOURNALIST: With borders opening in February, how important is it to clean up the city and, you know, announce these sort of initiatives just before we welcome many more people to Perth?
GORMAN: I'm very excited about borders opening on the 5th of February. It will be a good thing for many struggling tourism and hospitality businesses. It's going to be great to be able to show off our city again, and what I know is that people are going to come here and be surprised at what they see. They're going to see things like Boola Bardip, the WA Museum. It might not have been open when they were last here, so that's exciting. They're going to see fabulous new hotels in the city. They're going to see the amazing work that Basil and the team at City of Perth have done since they were elected just over a year ago. People are going to come, and they are going to be impressed. But the work of building a city is never done. We will continue, as Federal Labor, and look for opportunities to partner with local governments across Western Australia. You'll see myself, Zaneta, and many others standing next to Mayors all across Western Australia, talking about how we make sure that the best state in Australia continues to grow to support the entire national economy.
JOURNALIST: Are there any other trouble areas in the city that might be getting some funding to improve those in the near future?
GORMAN: As I say, the work of building a city is never done. The challenges that every major city has as it grows, and Perth is growing, we'll continue to work on. When it comes to future election commitments, we will have a lot more to say, but we thought it was good to get out with one nice Christmas gift, Christmas commitment, to the City of Perth to recognise the vision that the Lord Mayor has of making Perth the City of Light once again, and also the fact that just one of the best attractions in the city in December is the Christmas lights, so we're backing that in today. We'll have a lot more to say about everything on infrastructure, transport, community services and much more, not just here in the city, but in places like Swan, across the river, in the seat of Swan , where Zaneta is standing as the Labor candidate.
JOURNALIST: You mentioned that the federal election could be 10 weeks away. Is that when Australians would be expected to go to the polls?
GORMAN: The election could be on the 5th of March of next year. I think you see that everyone is starting to get into election mode, I don't seek to hide that fact. It's about time that people have a choice about whether they want Scott Morrison to have another three years in office. Do they want him to oversee the booster program? Do they want him to continue with the sorts of rorts and scandals that we've seen over the last eight years? People have a choice at this election, a choice between more excuses or more plans. And we have continued, as Federal Labor, to outline our plans when it comes to infrastructure, outline our plans when it comes to electricity and climate change, outlining our plans when it comes to cheaper childcare, outlining our plans on making sure we do more to support affordable housing for low income and homeless Australians. You're going to see a lot more into the New Year, but today it's just a small announcement about making sure we light up the city, making sure that we do fulfill that vision of making Perth the City of Light. Thank you.