It’s been a while since my last post. We’re approaching the end of week three here at Curtin University, and it’s been a hectic three weeks at that. I’ve been buried for hours daily in books, papers, code and calculations, but it’s now 9:53pm and my mind finds itself resting momentarily on thoughts of culture.
I came across an ABC Perth article recently that stated WA was the only Australian state to post a decline in tourism revenue in 2017.
Despite the government’s comprehensive spending and investment on infrastructure including the extravagant Elizabeth Quay that guards the entrance to the CBD from the Swan River, and despite the opening of the dazzling new 60,000-seat Optus Stadium, among other things, WA’s tourism industry has suffered rather than thrived.
It is against this backdrop that I recently came to wonder about something else – do I actually feel any connection to what little culture Perth has as a city and community? For that matter, does anyone in this town?
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I personally wonder whether it is not in spite of government expenditure that WA has suffered, but rather somewhat because of it.
Hear me out for a second. I’m not suggesting that WA’s government spending has actively contributed to a decline in tourism revenue, but I am suggesting that the mentality and strategy behind promoting Perth as a desirable destination is fundamentally flawed and counter-productive.
When you look at some of the most culture-rich cities in the world today – San Francisco, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Melbourne, Rio, Berlin to name some – it’s not because of a brilliant top-down government-driven burst of initiatives that has led to a huge boom in tourism and culture. Conversely, it is the people themselves, the grassroots individuals, that have given these cities their flavour.
This is, I feel, what Perth truly lacks, and is connected to why I feel no sense of identity, ownership or particular pride for my city. I love Perth, but when friends and family come to visit there’s a common theme – no-one is really sure where to suggest going to do ‘touristy’ things. And don’t tell me Rottnest – it’s an island far away from Perth’s coast, and it’s not even all that.
No, the citizens of Perth do not need an Elizabeth Quay or a shiny new stadium or a state-of-the-art bus station to feel like we live in a great city. What we need is a sense of belonging to a bustling city that doesn’t need to look beyond its borders for sustenance. It’s in the eyes of the buskers that culture thrives. It’s in the gritty murals, the spontaneous festivals, the passionate public speakers and the sense that we, the citizens, can make our city whatever we want it to be.
We currently feel we are held hostage to a government that is trying desperately to do everything it can to appease us, entirely missing the point that it is not they that should be solely responsible for fixing this issue. Sure, they can provide the law enforcement necessary for us to feel safe, and the public spaces we need to carry out our activities, but ultimately it is us, the people, that can make this city a place to be.
The sooner we collectively realise that cities are made by the people that call them home the sooner we can actually start to make this place amazing.
It is not through wishing to see Perth become a tourist destination that Perth becomes a tourist destination. It is through wishing to see Perth become a place that we all want to be proud of that other people will then want to come and experience.
TJDempsey 