Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

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Maximus
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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#16 Post by Maximus » Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:42 pm

Here's another one: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/signs-that-yo ... 19mrn.html

Apparently tailgating and not letting other drivers into your lane are a "Sydney thing". Silly me... reading Adelaide Now comments had always led me to believe that those things happened "only in Adelaide". :? :P
Tailgating

Rule two: tailgating is a legitimate means of communication.

If you're not driving bang on the speed limit, other drivers will rev up to the rear of your car and stay there, bonnet to the bumper. A rear-view mirror filled with the whites of another driver's eyes means you're probably driving at 109km/h on a freeway or 39km/h in a school zone.

Merging

The next driving rule is an explanation of why it's often difficult to get out of the way of a tailgater. Sydneysiders are rarely keen to let other cars into their lane.

Be fair. They've battled to reach the position they're in. They're not going to lose it to some interloper who's driving 1km/h too slowly.

If they do let you into their lane, the opportunity will be so brief you'll need to harness formula one-style driving skills to take advantage of it. Watch for a slight pause in acceleration, turn on the indicator and move into the metre of space before them. Miss this moment and you won't get the chance again.

If you've managed to change lanes, all future relations on that stretch of road rest on a wave of acknowledgment afterwards. Wave thanks or face glaring eyes from your fellow driver for the rest of the journey.
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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#17 Post by rhino » Thu Jan 13, 2011 4:42 pm

Maximus wrote:Here's another one: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/signs-that-yo ... 19mrn.html

Apparently tailgating and not letting other drivers into your lane are a "Sydney thing". Silly me... reading Adelaide Now comments had always led me to believe that those things happened "only in Adelaide". :? :P
Tailgating

Rule two: tailgating is a legitimate means of communication.

If you're not driving bang on the speed limit, other drivers will rev up to the rear of your car and stay there, bonnet to the bumper. A rear-view mirror filled with the whites of another driver's eyes means you're probably driving at 109km/h on a freeway or 39km/h in a school zone.

Merging

The next driving rule is an explanation of why it's often difficult to get out of the way of a tailgater. Sydneysiders are rarely keen to let other cars into their lane.

Be fair. They've battled to reach the position they're in. They're not going to lose it to some interloper who's driving 1km/h too slowly.

If they do let you into their lane, the opportunity will be so brief you'll need to harness formula one-style driving skills to take advantage of it. Watch for a slight pause in acceleration, turn on the indicator and move into the metre of space before them. Miss this moment and you won't get the chance again.

If you've managed to change lanes, all future relations on that stretch of road rest on a wave of acknowledgment afterwards. Wave thanks or face glaring eyes from your fellow driver for the rest of the journey.
That's interesting, because I've always found Sydney drivers to be very considerate! Apart from the fact that there is so much traffic, I've always enjoyed driving in Sydney.
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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#18 Post by Will » Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:14 pm

Remove Winnipeg and insert "Adelaide'', and you could be forgiven for thinking the article was about us.
The truth about Winterpeg
It's not Paris, no other city could be, but it is Winnipeg


By: Philippe Erhard

Posted: 01/22/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 7
Print E–mail 23Share642Share671Report Error My last trip to Paris was rather strange. At the airport, as I got into a taxi, the driver asked me where I was from.

"Canada," I said. I usually don't mention Winnipeg as I have learned that the French geography usually stops at the Quebec border.

"Ah, Canada, a beautiful county. I have a cousin who lives there. Let's see, I think it's in a place called Winterpeg or something like that," he said.

"Winnipeg," I corrected him. "That is where I come from."

"Yes, Winnipeg, I remember now. A beautiful place! I was there once and really enjoyed it. I remember the trees and the peace in the city. But what are you doing here? How can you leave such a peaceful and beautiful place and come to this. Look around! It's crazy here! It's so busy and crowded. Everybody is rushing, mad, running wild. There is no peace here.

"Being a taxi driver in Paris is bad for my health. And if I survive this, I will retire in Winnipeg. No more of this crazy life."

At the hotel, I was questioned like a criminal.

"Winnipeg? Why are you here? How can you leave Winnipeg and come here? Look around. Look at those old buildings. They are dirty, dark, musty, overflowing with rats. Smell the pollution.

"Listen. The noise never stops. Go back to Winnipeg!"

At the restaurant, people were surprised when they learned I was from Winnipeg.

"Why would you leave such a sunny place and come here? It's grey and raining here, all the time. And when it's not raining it is too hot and humid. We don't even have air conditioning. This place is not made for people.

"We are so sorry that the weather is bad. Please excuse us for this cloudy and rainy day."

What is going on? Has Paris changed so much? Is Winnipeg suddenly becoming a famous city?

Reality is not exactly like that.

If you go to Paris, people are proud of their city. They don't focus on the negatives. But imagine if the Parisians had a negative attitude toward their city. Do you think that Paris would be one of the most visited cities in the world? Do you think that Paris would have such a glorious history?

It is such a contrast to what we see in Winnipeg. What do you think happens when someone comes to visit Winnipeg for the first time?

People are proud to say that there is nothing to do in Winnipeg. People are eager to brag about Winnipeg's two seasons: the mosquito season and the season when it is -40, a season where you could die in less than a minute, depending on the windchill factor.

And if you move here from another country, you are looked at with suspicion: What kind of crime have you committed in your own country to come here?

It is very common to hear people apologizing for the weather or the mosquitoes as if they are the cause of it.

Any new idea for the city's development is met with criticism.

"It will never work here. It's too expensive. It's a stupid project. Who do those planners think they are? We're not in New York or Paris! I am sure the Eiffel Tower would have never been built in Winnipeg."

And when you hear all that you really wonder. "Why am I here? How stupid of me to come to a mosquito-infested place that is in the middle of nowhere." And when you think that way, you know you have been assimilated. You are a true Winnipegger!

But this is not reality either.

One multinational company, with jobs all over Canada, said getting people to transfer to Winnipeg was like pulling teeth. Nobody wanted to come. But once they moved to Winnipeg, nobody wanted to leave. In fact, Winnipeg was the only city in the country, for several years in a row, where people refused transfers.

You see people coming from all over the world and are very happy and satisfied to be in Winnipeg. If you talk to an ex-Winnipegger living somewhere else, most of them express the desire to return to Winnipeg and are nostalgic about prairie life.

What is going on then? Where is the truth?

The first truth is that there is no perfect place in the world. Every place has good and bad points. Whatever you focus on will amplify in your mind.

And that brings me to my second and most important truth. Happiness and life satisfaction are really a reflection of oneself. They are a reflection of how our mind functions, a reflection of who we are, a reflection of our own attitude in life and have nothing to do with where we live.

Another important truth is that Winnipeg and Manitoba are great places to live. Too often, we realize the treasures and beauty of a place when we move away.

And what do we have here?

Look around and see. I will not be able to mention it all, but this is what I love the most about Winnipeg and Manitoba: the peace of the city life, the endless sun in all seasons, the bright and infinite sky, the city trees. Winter.

Yes! One of the best seasons of the year. Go for a walk on a sunny, crisp winter day. Go cross- county skiing. Go skating on the longest rink in the world. Feel the heat of the sun on your face mixed with cold, fresh air. You will never forget this feeling.

And really, it is cold for just a few minutes. If you are well-dressed, if you move, you will realize that the cold is very pleasant and invigorating. Winters are luminous, night and day, under a background of dark-blue sky or sparkling stars. And for a few months, we have the chance to live in the Arctic

And then Winnipeg decides to have the life of the rich and famous and move to tropical country.

Ah, those long and lazy summer days. Those endless swims in lakes. Those canoe trips in the infinite wilderness. You may visit the Atlantic Coast in Grand Beach, Morocco in Spruce Wood Provincial Park, Iceland on Hecla Island.

And you go back to the city with its restaurants, its vibrant cultural life and multiple festivals: the Fringe Festival, the Jazz Festival, and the Folk Festival. You can travel all over the world, experience multiple cultures, by going to Folklorama. You can travel in time and experience French culture by going to the Festival du Voyageur.

And when you go back to the city, you even wonder if you are in a city -- it feels more like a forest. Winnipeg is like living in the country with all the advantages of a big city. It is easy to connect with people. People are friendly, open and easygoing. Life is still slower and more peaceful than in any other big city.

And Winnipeg quickly becomes more than just a place to be; it becomes home. Come to think of it, coming to Winnipeg was a great move.


Philippe Erhard is a sports medicine physician in Winnipeg, originally from France and author of the book Being: A Hiking Guide through Life.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 22, 2011 H11

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#19 Post by Maximus » Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:55 pm

I reckon that article actually was written about Adelaide, and the author has removed Adelaide and inserted "Winnipeg"...! :wink:

Even the bit about the cold is spot on. It never ceases to amaze me how much people complain about the cold during winter in Adelaide.
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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#20 Post by AtD » Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:52 pm

I think comments in this article have been copied directly from AdelaideNow
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... 5996742908

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#21 Post by Wayno » Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:51 pm

Another example. Alexander Downer's recent comments about the AO development hit a nerve in Victoria.

From the Geelong Advertiser
Downer puts high-heeled foot in mouth again

ALEXANDER Downer has put his foot in his mouth in a pompous tirade in which he labelled Geelong as "mediocre and provincial". The Adelaide-raised pollie also lambasted Geelong as an example of what Australian cities should not be.

The fiery tract from the former Howard government minister opened up a war of words with everyone, from the man on the street to Victoria's leader Ted Baillieu, Geelong Mayor John Mitchell and former Cats president Frank Costa.

The former foreign minister's language was anything but diplomatic as he sunk the stiletto into Geelong, despite having spent time here as a boarder at Geelong Grammar.

In an opinion piece for the Adelaide Advertiser, Mr Downer said the SA capital needed to get its act together and redevelop Adelaide Oval.

"If South Australian Cricket Association members vote down the Adelaide Oval redevelopment project then it will consign our city to mediocrity and provincialism worthy of Geelong or Newcastle," he said.

Premier Ted Baillieu sprang to Geelong's defence yesterday, saying the sledge could add some spice to Sunday's clash with Port Adelaide.

"We look forward to Geelong demonstrating its 'great city' credentials on Sunday afternoon against Port Adelaide," Mr Baillieu said.

The Premier said Geelong had been a critical part of the Victorian success story for more than a century.

"It's place in the Victorian and Australian economy is renowned," he said.

Mr Downer did not return the Geelong Advertiser's calls yesterday.

Former Cats' president Frank Costa said he would personally drive Mr Downer around the Geelong to show him why he was so wrong.

"It sounds like he is talking without any idea of how far Geelong has come since the late 1990s. The last 15 years has seen Geelong turn around," Mr Costa said.

"We are right on the cusp of something special. Our population growth is as great as anywhere in the land and probably stronger than Adelaide's."

He said the former foreign minister needed to see the developments at Skilled Stadium as it would show him what is possible in redeveloping the Adelaide Oval.

"But I would not just show him the stadium. I'd show him the bay front, the ring road, the Deakin University upgrade at the Woolstores, the TAC building, we'd take him out to Avalon Airport."

City of Greater Geelong Mayor John Mitchell said the criticism was a bit rich given the Cats' success rate at Skilled.

"To say Skilled Stadium isn't up to scratch, I'm sure the Adelaide Crows would like to get results at their home ground similar to what the Cats have had over the past decade," he said.

He also said Geelong was now far from a provincial city.

"We are now a major city in Australia and that is well documented," he said.

Cr Mitchell said he would help Mr Costa show the former foreign minister what the city has to offer.

"Usually when people make comments that haven't been researched they make mistakes. Obviously he made a mistake this time."
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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#22 Post by King » Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:02 pm

Surely one has noticed that Victorians of late have developed a mindset that they are 'superior' to everyone else in Australia, and I think that article reflects that tone similarly.

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#23 Post by crawf » Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:26 pm

Sounds very much like when former Victorian Premier John Brumby basically said Melbourne would turn into a Adelaide/Backwater, if it didn't go ahead with the Port Phillip bay drilling project.

Would be interesting to see if there were any anti Melbourne/pro Adelaide news articles 20-30+ years ago...

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#24 Post by spiller » Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:19 pm

sounds like the victorians can dish it out, but can't take it back. for the past 20 years their politicians have bullied the reputations of cities all over Australia (largely sydney and recently adelaide) in oder to big note themselves. that article was indeed hilarious. Also funny that they mistook downer's words for having a dig at Skilled Stadium and the Geelong FC in general. His remarks had nothing to do with SS or GFC or the Crows' home record at home. Obviously just a knee-jerk reaction. Haha!

I know where Adelaide currently stands amongst the other big cities in Australia, but Geelong is nothing more than a regional town. It's not in the same ball-park as Adelaide in any category (sporting infrastructure, transport, population, business, health care, education). Maybe Frank Costa should come and visit Adelaide...

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#25 Post by iTouch » Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:11 pm

spiller wrote:sounds like the victorians can dish it out, but can't take it back. for the past 20 years their politicians have bullied the reputations of cities all over Australia (largely sydney and recently adelaide) in oder to big note themselves. that article was indeed hilarious. Also funny that they mistook downer's words for having a dig at Skilled Stadium and the Geelong FC in general. His remarks had nothing to do with SS or GFC or the Crows' home record at home. Obviously just a knee-jerk reaction. Haha!

I know where Adelaide currently stands amongst the other big cities in Australia, but Geelong is nothing more than a regional town. It's not in the same ball-park as Adelaide in any category (sporting infrastructure, transport, population, business, health care, education). Maybe Frank Costa should come and visit Adelaide...
^^ what he said. Adelaide is 10X the size of Geelong which means it probably has around 10X the amount of testicles compared to Geelong. It needs to compete with a town around its own size like Darwin.
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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#26 Post by Norman » Sat Apr 09, 2011 7:22 am

It's all done just to sell newspapers, not to prove a point.

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#27 Post by Will » Thu Jun 02, 2011 12:02 pm

I was reading this article in the Australian.

It seems we are not the only place in the world trying to make our CBD more exciting:
Southern capital shows the way

Guy Allenby From: The Australian April 22, 2011 3:47PM


BACK in the 1990s when Lonely Planet dubbed Perth Dullsville, it stung the city, badly. Really badly.

In fact, says Dave Hedgcock, a professor of urban and regional planning at Perth's Curtin University, it remains a huge raw nerve.

"We have had that burning away in the back of our mind for some time . . . and how to combat it and we're trying," Hedgcock says. "We're trying pretty hard but it's a slow process."

But Perth, which is, along with Honolulu, one of the most remote cities on the planet, apparently remains a less than pulsating place to live, at least for the creative young wanting to hang their hats in a metropolis that hums. As the research project Comparative Capitals (compiled by independent organisation Form) found, Perth's educated young adults have been leaving the city in significant numbers and relocating to Australia's eastern states.


In fact, between 2001 and 2006, while Western Australia's population grew by 157,000 people, the net loss of 25 to 34-year-olds with a university degree was 3 per cent from Perth.

During that period the most popular destination among people who left Western Australia's capital was Melbourne, at 39 per cent.

Sydney followed with 32 per cent, Canberra 10 per cent, Brisbane 9 per cent and Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart shared the remaining 10 per cent.

Anecdotally, Hedgcock says, the sense is that just as workers have poured into the state, drawn by the mining industry in recent years, Perth's young creatives have been flowing out. And re-energised Melbourne is the main destination of choice.

"There's that sense that things are really happening in Melbourne," Hedgcock says of the reasons for the flight of Perth's educated young.

"There are housing opportunities closer to the city centre and I think it is related to the 24-hour economy, which they take much more seriously in Melbourne, and it is related to diversity and excitement and quality facilities and these sorts of issues.

"They seem to have really hit it with gen Y. Those guys like it over there [Melbourne] and they are sucking the life out of our city now."

Perth is very aware of these issues, says Hedgcock, adding that a key antidote to the Dullsville label is to enliven Perth's centre.

Certainly, there's more housing in the centre and the redevelopment of East Perth has been successful and generally well received. But, he says, it has been mainly in the high income brackets.

"Luxury apartments in the city don't inject life because people just live there and they might wander out on to the balcony and down to the city, but they don't inhabit the streets in the way that young people do," Hedgcock says.

Let's face it, the world's most vital cities have streets full of people of all ages and situations, effective public transport, parks, museums, grand civic spaces, cafes spilling out on to footpaths and intriguing laneways full of shops, cafes and boutiques, leading off the main thoroughfares. Like Melbourne.

"And we're certainly looking to Melbourne," Hedgcock says.

"We're trying all the same things over here: attracting a residential population back to the city . . . and we're trying to enliven our laneways."

One large project aimed at injecting life back into central Perth is its $404 million waterfront redevelopment plan. The 10ha site will include 1700 apartments, 150,000sqm of office space and 39,000sqm of retail space. Work is expected to begin in October and take 2 1/2 years.

The other big project is the $2 billion Northbridge Link project, which will sink the suburban rail underground, freeing up space in the city centre to create a city square, develop offices and housing, and link the commercial district and Northbridge arts and entertainment precinct.

Once the two mammoth projects are finished perhaps Melbourne and Sydney won't be quite the magnets they represent for Perth's educated and creative young.

Not that it's only Melbourne that's showing the way when it comes to injecting life back into their central areas.

Sydney-based architect and urban planner Philip Thalis maintains Melbourne and Brisbane have shamed the harbour city in the past couple of decades when it comes to investment in cultural and social infrastructure, the bones of a successful city centre. "In Brisbane you see the enormous Southbank development, GoMA [Gallery of Modern Art] and the extension to the State Library," he says.

"And in Melbourne there's the Museum of Melbourne, you see the exhibition buildings, Federation Square and Southern Cross Station.

"Where do you see that level of public investment in Sydney?"

Sydney betrays a complete lack of public imagination, Thalis says, adding that, apart from the Bicentenary projects, Sydney has been largely moribund in the post World War II period when it comes to great public works.

"The problem was they got Darling Harbour so wrong. Over the past 25 years we've had an inordinate bias towards motorways and we've had extraordinarily weak political leadership at state level."

That said, Sydney has one of its biggest urban redevelopment schemes in its history about to begin at the northwestern corner of the city, Barangaroo.

Aspects of the design of the 22ha site, on a huge shipping container terminal site by the harbour, have proven enormously contentious, particularly the $6bn first stage, which will include a host of soaring skyscrapers, a mix of commercial, retail and residential space, and a hotel built into the water on a public pier.

Thalis is an architect and urban designer, respected for his knowledge of Sydney's urban history in particular, and a fierce critic of the Barangaroo plans. A proposal led by him was chosen as the winner, ahead of 136 entries in the NSW government-driven international competition.

However, a rival entry was ultimately chosen as the one to be developed.

Thalis has called the plan the "worst model of 20th-century urbanism" and has blamed the incompetence of NSW government agencies.

"They don't seem to know how to combine social, economic, environmental initiatives for the benefit of all citizens," Thalis says.

Nevertheless, he remains generally optimistic about the future for our cities. "I think if you look at the best aspects of Australian cities, the most progressive aspects, if combined, you have a great recipe for success," he says.

"We need to appreciate is, despite the lack of political courage and leadership, Australian cities are reasonably good. They are still distinctive, each of them. They have fantastic siting, all of them."

Brisbane has the Brisbane River, which, despite the risks it presents, serpentines beautifully through the city, he say, while "Perth has a beautiful body of water - the Swan River - running through it and this fantastic coastline, and Sydney's harbour is as amazing as any city in the world.

"And think of Hobart: an absolutely breathtaking site with the pale blue water of the Derwent and Mt Wellington at the back of the city."

A great city employs its existing natural and built assets to best effect, and Melbourne and Adelaide - both beautifully sited - also boast "the foundation of some of the greatest 19th-century city plans anywhere in the world". Which is perhaps why Adelaide, albeit on a much smaller scale, has a great opportunity to echo some of Melbourne's successes in injecting life into its centre.

It'll also be an inevitable corollary of an expanding Adelaide.

Andrew Allan, senior lecturer in the school of natural and built environments at the University of South Australia, says the SA government's 30-year plan for greater Adelaide, released last year, is calling for something like another 500,000 to 600,000 people to be accommodated.

Already there are about 20,000 more people living in Adelaide city than there were 10 years ago, thanks to residential development. "And there's a lot more planned to come on stream," Allan says.

In urban design terms, "Adelaide is actually doing some good things," Thalis says, mentioning the city's new tram line extensions and "the rejuvenating of the central city square and the work they've done on North Terrace is terrific".

Across the Nullarbor, Perth is determined to shake off the Dullsville label.

"That Dullsville comment has probably made people realise that if we are going to attract people into the city we've got to produce a better product," Hedgcock says.

Brisbane is fundamentally on track and Sydney's got a long way to catch up and a lot to live up to.

"Remember, in the 20th century we pulled off the greatest work of urban infrastructure in the world in the Harbour Bridge and the greatest piece of architecture in the Opera House," Thalis says.

"There they are on opposite headlands speaking to each other across the quay. Dare to be optimistic.

"I think that there are lots of things that we should be positive about and if we just bring people's imagination to the good things we can make great cities in the 21st century because we have to." And at the moment Melbourne is showing the way.

IMPROVE IT AND THEY WILL COME
How our city centres can be better residential, social, cultural, retail and commercial hubs:

Brisbane
Imrpove traffic flow. "What they are doing is fantastic and probably better than any Australian city in building infrastructure, but Brisbane is decimated by traffic in its city centre," says Philip Thalis, Sydney architect and urban designer. "It really suffers. The traffic engineers seem to have a very heavy hand."

Perth
Re-imagine the waterfront, as the city is about to do in an extensive new development. "I think this project has a great potential to draw people in because the river is such an icon in Perth," says David Hedgcock, professor of urban and regional planning at Perth's Curtin University. Attract a mix of people back to the city: "The problem from our point of view is that we're doing that but it's mainly in the high-income brackets."

Adelaide
"A lot of people involved in housing [in Adelaide] tend to be specialising in traditional suburban houses, and they've pressured the government to open up more opportunities on the fringe," the University of South Australia's Andrew Allan says. "So while the 30-year plan is trying to get densities a bit higher and a bit more workable for an urbane urban environment, the developers are at loggerheads with the government."

Sydney
Encourage the development of the city centre's laneways. Discourage cars, encourage pedestrians. Ensure the city's northwestern edge is opened to the harbour with a sensitive mix of residential, commercial, retail and cultural development and parkland at Barangaroo. "Sydney and Melbourne [city centres] are used seven days [a] week intensively and are full of life, and Sydney's got plenty of scope to get better still," Thalis says.

- Guy Allenby

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#28 Post by SRW » Thu Jun 02, 2011 1:11 pm

Interesting article. Thanks for posting, Will!
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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#29 Post by arki » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:05 pm

http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/bus ... 6073507276
'Cockroach' convention centre needs upgrade
OTHER states are spending billions of dollars to complete world-class convention centre upgrades but not one cent is earmarked for Perth.

Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra even Darwin are spending big to build or upgrade their flagship convention centres.

WA tourism leaders have warned the $220 million Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, operating at maximum capacity after opening nearly seven years ago, will be left in their wake.

Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said Perth would struggle to secure valuable conferences if its facilities weren't up to scratch.

He even suggested demolishing the centre nicknamed the "cockroach" and criticised because it does not take full advantage of its stunning riverfront location and building a new, world-class facility.

"It's reaching the end of its life in its current form," Mr Hall said.



The centre was a strong economic driver for the state, attracting more than 600 events each year with delegates spending "about three times as much per day as anyone else".

"They bring home the bacon," he said.

But it needed to grow, become more flexible and be integrated with the Perth Waterfront development to thrive.

The only sign of redevelopment from the State Government is a "possible PCEC extension" briefly mentioned in the concept plans for the Perth Waterfront.

Lee Verios, chairman of the Wyllie Group, which owns the centre, said he hoped it would be integrated with the Waterfront, though he admitted there was a possibility that no upgrade would occur.

Mr Hall said Darwin's $115 million convention centre was more competitive than Perth in attracting national events.

PCEC chief executive Dean Lee said plans for a new $328 million convention centre in Canberra were also recently unveiled.

Mr Lee shares Mr Hall's concerns about the PCEC's limited size, but not its quality. He agreed there was a risk of losing future events without reinvestment or redevelopment.



It is a sentiment shared by former WA tourism minister and chairman of the Perth Convention Bureau, Ian Laurance.

"The convention centre isn't big enough," he said. "It's happening all round the world ... if you don't keep up you fall behind."



Five things Evan Hall wants changed at the PCEC:

1. It must turn around and face the water

2. Redesign the building so it's the link between the city and the Waterfront

3. Expand its space for meetings and banquets

4. Join it to a brand new 5-star internationally branded hotel as part of the Waterfront

5. Make it into a great visual icon: not the Harbour Bridge but better than the Bell Tower
Reminds me of all the melodramatic journalism we see about our own facilities here in Adelaide. Then again, if there is any city more insecure about itself than Adelaide it most certainly would be 'dullsville' Perth.

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Re: Only in Adelaide? Hardly!

#30 Post by Omicron » Mon Jun 13, 2011 4:04 pm

It really is an odd building - completely uninterested in its surroundings.

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