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Thursday, 23 December 2010

While Perth may be perceived among Australia's elite as immature, unsophisticated and boring in comparison to Melbourne and Sydney, it is arguably becoming the most globally connected city in Australasia according to researchers at The University of Western Australia.

Professor Steffen Wetzstein of UWA's Centre for Regional Development recently collected data on behalf of the Committee for Perth for the FACTBase research project which examines the perceptions of the urban elite - business people, policy makers and academics - on the Australasian cities of Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland.

From Perth's perspective key findings of the research clearly confirm that leaders in the wider region have taken note of the economic impact of Western Australia's unprecedented mining boom of the early and mid 2000s.

Professor Wetzstein said this is because "Perth is increasingly perceived as a mining powerhouse that has the knowledge and management resources to be one of the mining capitals of the world".

"If global cities are increasingly specialised in highly globalised niche industries then it follows that Sydney is a second tier global city based on finance, insurance and producer services but Perth is developing into a first tier global city based on minerals, oil and gas exports," He said.

Committee for Perth Chief Executive Officer, Marion Fulker said that it is not surprising that the findings of the research revealed that Perth has been mostly associated with rapid wealth creation on the back of a fast growing mining industry.

"While still perceived by some to be a big town centre rather than a city there is no denying that because of our prosperity, Western Australia and Perth are having an extraordinary influence on the national political debate at the moment" said Mrs Fulker.

Other findings from the research reveal that Perth is still viewed as friendly, relaxed, outdoor-loving and family-friendly.  Unlike any other capital city in Australia and any New Zealand city, Perth is viewed as extremely suburban in nature and culture.

Professor Wetzstein and Mrs Fulker suggested that these attributes could be exactly Perth's point of difference in a rapidly globalising world.

Media references

Ass/Prof Steffen Wetzstein (+61 8)  6488 3433  /  (+614) 32 584 153
(UWA Centre for Regional Development)
Marion Fulker , (CEO, Committee for Perth)  (+614) 19 048 665
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716

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