Business News :: Great For The State :: Vol1, Issue 10

GREAT

for the

STATE 16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

EDITION 10

12-PAGE LIFTOUT

CULTURAL GROWTH he Triffids to Tame Impala: T

a global phenomena P6

Connecting architecture

to culture P8

New museum, new era P10

Cultural landmarks P12

Artful advancement

Festivals, urban art and small bars create new Perth identity P3

Partners Marcus Canning Director, The Rechabite Photo: Gabriel Oliveira

GREAT for the STATE

EDITION 10

Cultural growth Perth has come a long way since the Lonely Planet described the city as dullsville, with a thriving festivals, street art, music and events scene now creating vibrant connections with Western Australia’s history and indigenous culture.

OUR PARTNERS – HELPING US SHAPE GREAT FOR THE STATE Professor Ted Snell AM CitWA Chief Cultural Officer University of Western Australia

Perth is a vibrant cultural community that welcomes each new year with a cavalcade of cultural activity initiated by the Perth Festival and the Fringe. Throughout the year, it is a vibrant space where cultural activities connect individuals and inspire communication that transcends barriers of language, ability and socio-economic divisions. The wide variety of music, theatre, literature and visual arts performances, publications and events creates a crowded calendar of opportunities to be entertained, inspired and informed. Our rich cultural life continues to enhance the vibrancy and liveability of our city, and that is an extremely worthwhile investment.

(See page 7)

Matt Woods Chairman of Partners KPMG

The arts sector is an integral part of the fabric of our society. Not only does it create a vibrant culture and enjoyment for millions of people, it is also critical to the sustainable and economic development of Western Australia’s future.

That is why KPMG is proud to support some of WA’s leading arts organisations.

(See page 9)

Rob Slocombe Group CEO RAC Photo: LILA PHOTO

Road Safety Commission figures tell us that 25,340 people were killed or seriously injured in Western Australia between 2008 and 2017. Nowhere has this been felt more than in regional WA, which in 2018 accounted for more than 60 per cent of the state’s road fatalities, despite being home to only 20 per cent of the population.

As we begin to turn our minds to festive celebrations, it’s important we pause and reflect on those who have faced the devastating realities of road trauma – many who will have an empty seat at the Christmas table this year – and ask ourselves if, as a community, are we doing enough to prevent this unnecessary suffering.

(See page 10)

Professor Peter Leedman Director Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research

Living in a country where such vast distances separate some communities from major healthcare centres unfortunately results in different levels of care being available.

How quickly people can get a diagnosis, how easily they can access regular treatment, even whether a doctor serves their town, are real factors that produce varying health outcomes. This reality also brings with it an acceptance that remoteness and lower socio-economic influences are the only reason some people do poorly. However, novel research by a Perth oncologist has delivered some surprising results about other factors that cause worse patient outcomes.

(See page 11)

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16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

GREAT for the STATE

Thriving hub of festivals,

bars and street art Story by Dan Wilkie

One of the world’s biggest fringe festivals, a stunning street art scene and key regulatory changes have been hailed as catalysts for Perth’s progression from dullsville into a destination.

DRAWCARD A dazzling and diverse array of acts has captured the imaginations of Fringe World attendees. Photo: Attila Csaszar

W

HEN Marcus Canning joined Artrage as its festival director in the early 2000s, he had little inkling the organisation had the potential to become a cultural phenomenon.

Artrage had been operating since 1983 and by the time Mr Canning came on board was attracting just $300,000 per year in government funding.

In those days, Artrage truly operated on the fringe (perhaps an allusion to what it would become) occupying empty spaces and unused warehouses as it showcased the talents of local Western Australian artists and performers.

“Artrage had elements of Fringe festival culture to it, but it was very much about local artists, artists slightly on the edge,” Mr Canning told Business News.

“It wasn’t so much about the audience, it wasn’t about devel-

oping a market, it was very much about the artists and the development of them and their work.

“At that time there was no organisation that was really taking the mandate of market development seriously.”

By the mid-2000s, however, Artrage had built a considerable presence in WA’s cultural landscape.

As well as an annual spring festival, Mr Canning established a popular live performance venue in The Bakery.

While no longer operating, The Bakery provided the opportunity for eager punters to experience performances by a diverse range of artists, with local heroes Tame Impala, English musician Jamie xx and hip hop pioneer Kurtis Blow among the highlights of an astoundingly long list of performers.

Continued on page 4

16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

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GREAT for the STATE

Circa $25m Fringe World income 2019

IN TOUCH Marcus Canning says Perth’s engagement with Fringe has been one of his biggest career accomplishments.

Photo: Gabriel Oliveira

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16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

GREAT for the STATE

Continued from page 3 Importantly, Mr Canning said The Bakery provided Artrage with a platform for financial independence, and ultimately, the establishment of Fringe World.

By 2008, Artrage had been operating for 25 years, and with its silver anniversary celebration came an element of soul searching about what the organisation would do for its next two and a half decades, Mr Canning said.

“That discussion and that thinking laid the groundwork to stay relevant,” he said.

“Everyone needs to reinvent and at some point to stay relevant and keep moving.

“That investigation was, ‘Is now the time for Perth to have a true Fringe festival’?

“It was a process that we were able to run quite deeply; we took a good two years to put the plan together and the first pilot for the Fringe World festival was a little program in the Spiegeltent in the Urban Orchard.”

That Spiegeltent, Mr Canning said, was a unique element that set the foundation for the festival’s success, in that it was something that had never before been seen in Perth .

“The program we put into that tent that year was quite radical for Perth at the time, it was the first time that Perth had been introduced to some of the more out there Fringe content,” he said.

“The overwhelming excitement we received from a very wide array of demographics that engaged with the program that year really gave us the juice to say ‘Yep, Perth is really up for this’.

“The growth from that point was astronomical.”

In 2019 – Mr Canning’s last

Fringe festival – more than 400,000 tickets were sold to Fringe World shows, and more than 850,000 people attended the festival.

The festival’s income was around $25 million, the majority of which was sourced from box office sales, while Fringe World created 2,205 jobs and facilitated a direct spend of $78 million.

Mr Canning, who has since established live music, restaurant and performing arts venue The Rechabite in a joint venture with Adrian Fini, said Perth punters’ deep engagement with Fringe was the most magical thing about the festival.

“When we launched Fringe there was a real shift in the thinking of what the organisation was about and what its purpose would be,” Mr Canning told Business News.

“I personally found it was quite challenging at the time, but I think one of the things that we’ll always be very proud of and continues to be one of the most successful aspects of Fringe is how it’s managed to turn a big chunk of the population into coming out and engaging and seeing as many things as they possibly can.

“These were decades when Perth grew up and got serious as a city, when the population got hungry for new cultural experiences in its own backyard.

“Local culture moved from the underground and the peripherals to front and centre and Fringe World rode the wave of change and contributed to it.”

While Artrage and its Fringe World raised the profile of the arts in WA and thrust the scene in front of a new audience, FORM

executive director Lynda Dorrington said there were several other catalysts that had emerged alongside the festival juggernaut, not the least of which was the introduction of small bar licences in the late 2000s.

Since the introduction of the new licence (allowing for venues with a capacity of 120 or less), Perth’s small bar scene has flourished, with 136 bars now operating across the state offering a dazzling array of global cuisines and the finest local and imported wine, beer and spirits.

“There are many talented people in retail, hospitality, the arts and creative sector who have gritted their teeth, refused to leave, and have backed this city,” Ms Dorrington told Business News.

“I think their efforts are admirable.”

Ms Dorrington has been at the forefront of Perth’s cultural growth in her leadership of FORM, which has boosted its profile in the city largely thanks to its efforts to facilitate major street art installations to enliven previously dull areas.

Prior to the establishment of FORM’s PUBLIC initiative, Ms Dorrington described Perth city as “vanilla”.

“The city has really progressed in leaps and bounds since the early to mid-2000s, and I think visitors who come to a place and see an energy expressed on walls and buildings in large, colourful murals often get a sense of a city that’s open, experimental, diverse,” Ms Dorrington said.

“That sort of impression can’t do Perth any harm.

“However, all the street art in

the world can’t make a place vibrant and welcoming to visitors unless its people are invested in offering good service, hospitality, experiences and kindness.”

She said the importance of street art in enlivening a city could not be understated, particularly when that street art tapped into the rich cultural history of WA’s indigenous people.

“It’s self-evident what indigenous artists contribute to our sense of place, cultural heritage, and a depth of distinctiveness that we as non-indigenous Australians can only begin to marvel at, let alone understand,” Ms Dorrington said.

“Look at Noongar artist Laurel Nannup’s artwork First Contact at Elizabeth Quay. Anyone who’s visited the Karratha Health Campus is surrounded by unique art created by the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi artists of the region.

“Take a walk around Optus Stadium; anyone who’s walked among the public art in the grounds will be experiencing the largest assembly of art by Noongar artists anywhere in the state.

“FORM persuaded the development consortium of the necessity of that undertaking, helped raise the funding for it, and guided the artists through the process.

“How on earth can we have any major development in WA without some representation and acknowledgement of and by its First Nations people?

“If public art is a way of celebrating and drawing attention to places and their purposes, this is how WA gets to shed a much more meaningful light on these developments.”

16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

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GREAT for the STATE

From The Triffids to Tame

Story by Dan Wilkie

WA musical acts have a long history of elevating the state’s cultural offering to a global stage.

EMERGING Stella Donnelly is one of WA’s latest artists to make an impact internationally.

Photo: WAM 6

P

sychedelic rock group Tame Impala’s astonishing rise from a South Fremantle rehearsal room to become an international phenomenon is a recent version of a familiar tale for those associated with the Western Australian music scene.

In fact, such successes have been so frequent that director Aidan O’Brien was inspired a decade ago to create the documentary Something in the Water to examine how such an isolated capital city continues to produce so many internationally successful acts.

The film followed the rise of a wide range of successful WA bands spanning several eras, from The Triffids and The Scientists of the late 1970s to Eskimo Joe and John Butler Trio in the early 2000s.

West Australian Music chief executive Mike Harris said the cycle was repeating in contemporary times, with Tame Impala not

16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

alone in its rise to international prominence.

“There is Pond, Birds of Tokyo, we have Stella Donnelly coming through, Carla Geneve, Troye Sivan, and I’m probably missing a few, but the scene is so strong at the moment,” Mr Harris told Business News.

“The whole scene in WA is so collegiate and supportive – you’ll always see in the crowd people from other bands going to see bands.

“That collegiality or collaboration in a sense is really important.

“I suspect it’s something to do with the isolation that people seem to pull together, whether they think about it or if it’s just something inherent that people do.”

Mr Harris said of all art forms, music was possibly the most accessible for the biggest number of people, particularly the rise of streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

And with that global reach, Mr Harris said musical acts had the most potential of any art form to elevate WA’s cultural offerings.

“If you walk down the streets of New York, London or LA, and ask people to name a WA artist, musical or otherwise, they are more likely to be able to name a WA musical artist,” he said.

“Music does put us on the map – WA in many ways can be defined by our musical output.

“The Triffids, unfortunately for them, were bigger overseas

and interstate than what they were here.

“I was watching the Guy Ritchie film RocknRolla the other day, and I said ‘hold on, that’s The Scientists’.

“Dave Grohl would say that The Scientists influenced Nirvana.

“Things that we’ve done here locally influence so many people in other places and I think there is a pride in that, in the way that people can look at WA not just as the world’s most isolated capital city, but a place with great creativity.

Music does put us on the map; WA in many ways can be defined by our musical output -Mike Harris

GREAT for the STATE

Impala, WA goes global “There are a whole lot of things that culturally puts us on the map; but then you can drill down and I think music jumps out of that, and has done for a long time, as a really strong cultural identifier for WA.” The rise to prominence of WAgrown acts comes at a time where the local live music offering is midway through a revolution.

Mr Harris said while the demise of long-running festivals such as the Big Day Out had taken away opportunities for exposure, others organisations such as local government authorities and the Perth Festival were stepping into the void.

“The evolution of festivals has seen broader opportunities for a broader range of acts,” Mr Harris told Business News.

“Now festivals are more niche, which means often there are fewer stages and fewer people. It’s an evolution of what people want.

“They want fewer stages, and I don’t think people want to be one of 40,000 any more.

“At a Big Day Out, a similar array of acts tended to land at those festivals.

“I think the niching or the boutiquing of festivals has probably been healthier for a broader range of artists.”

Looking to the future, Mr Harris said while venues such as RAC Arena and Optus Stadium were important to lure international acts to the state, they did not provide much opportunity for local acts.

However, attracting a band

like U2 to Perth was a crucial aspect in developing the next round of international superstars, he said.

“The big stadia are good, anything that activates an interest in music is good,” Mr Harris said.

“The job is then to either convert or draw from people going to see U2 at the football ground to explore more local stuff.

“For us, the biggest thing affecting music, like any art form, is the next generation.

“What does the next generation of audience look like and what does the next generation of artist look like?

“To ensure that the next generation is thinking about music and not only seeing it as an interest and a love, but a potential pathway to employment, is important, so any touch points for music is great.”

IDENTITY Mike Harris says music is a key element for any city to establish and demonstrate its cultural identity.

Photo: WAM

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Cultural vibrancy delivers sustainable growth and wellbeing

The extraordinary landscape and ecology of the western edge of this continent demands a response. For 50,000 years artists have documented their encounters and transformed knowledge with their experiences of living here. This place is a catalyst for new ideas and new approaches that generate a sense of urgency and of

making do. It is a space that can only be inhabited through bold action. That imperative continues to transform the life of Perth and its citizens.

Until the 1960s, Perth was just another small town at the extremity of the British Empire, fiercely proud and simultaneously self-conscious of its isolation. Now the

city is a vibrant cultural community that welcomes each new year with a cavalcade of cultural activity initiated by the Perth Festival and the Fringe. Throughout the year, it is a vibrant space where cultural activities connect individuals and inspire communication that transcends barriers of language, ability, and socio-economic divisions. The wide variety of music, theatre, literature, and visual arts performance, publications and events creates a crowded calendar of opportunities to be entertained, inspired and informed.

There is well-established empirical evidence that confirms the role of the arts in contributing to our individual and community well-being at the cultural, social and economic levels. Not only their contribution through cultural tourism but also through the role of our major cultural institutions in promoting cultural diversity by acting as a catalyst for cross-cultural dialogue, which connects people from diverse backgrounds and across generations. The arts provide both a lens and a mirror, enabling us to see our world more clearly and to understand our place within it.

Perth’s location in the same geographic zone as two-thirds of the world’s population provides the perfect launching pad for a re-examination of the importance of the cultural dimension in all aspects of contemporary life. By facilitating a deeper understanding of our own culture and having respect for the culture of others, we can forge enduring political and commercial partnerships.

These relationships will not only generate a more profitable future but also significantly raise our profile within our region. Our rich cultural life continues to enhance the vibrancy and liveability of our city, and that is an extremely worthwhile investment.

Professor Ted Snell AM CitWA Chief Cultural Officer University of Western Australia

16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

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GREAT for the STATE

Architecture, planning connect with culture Perth’s indigenous and European cultural history is being illustrated and celebrated in architecture new and old.

Story by Dan Wilkie

T

he revitalisation of the Perth Cultural Centre has been the catalyst for architects and planners to tap into Western Australia’s cultural history when creating new buildings.

That’s the view of Ink Strategy director Carla Chatzopolous, who has been at the forefront of the placemaking movement in Perth.

The state government initiated a comprehensive redevelopment scheme of the PCC in 2009, embracing the history of the site by converting a concrete water feature into a native wetland and essentially creating a cultural heart for the city.

Ms Chatzopolous said the transformation was the first time the functions of the cultural insti-

tutions around the centre – the State Library of Western Australia, WA Museum, the Art Gallery of WA, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and the State Theatre Centre – had been externalised and celebrated in a public setting.

“It was almost like the rise of the cultural festival movement sprang from that,” Ms Chatzopolous told Business News.

“It also made the whole cultural offering for Perth a lot more accessible, by blurring the lines between activation and event offerings.

“It took it from being perceived as stuff that happens behind closed doors in a gallery setting to stuff that you can experience walking through the city.”

MENTALLY HEALTHY WORKPLACE WA MENTAL HEALTH AWARD WINNER 2019 MACMAHON.COM.AU

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16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

Ms Chatzopolous said the placemaking focus that was instituted in the PCC’s redevelopment was not simply being replicated for other precincts, it was also evolving as developers and landowners sought to create a more authentic experience for people.

She said the starting point of any planning process was to examine the cultural history of a place, and how that could be interpreted in the built form.

“People talk about cultural precincts as expressing the soul of the city,” Ms Chatzopolous said.

“People want to discover, so creating places that connect to people gives them a sense of discovery “There is so much more fo-

cus on indigenous storytelling now, which I think is really great, but it’s where you absolutely need to start.

“The process is as important as the outcome. It’s about identifying who are the important families and tribes and bringing those people together in a collaborative way and making sure there is a partnership journey that’s established, not just a narrative or a storytelling journey.

“To do that early, it gives you the opportunity to integrate that into the formative aspects of the project – the urban design, the landscaping and the built form – not just the public art and events and those sorts of things.”

In the east end of the city, Historic Heart project manager Sandy Anghie is leading an initiative to help the current generation better connect with the past.

The Historic Heart program was the brainchild of developer Adrian Fini and was established two years ago in an effort to revitalise the neglected eastern end of the CBD. “Basically when Mr Fini was building the State Buildings, he saw how run-down the east end of the city was with social problems, empty shops, and just general lack of life,” Ms Anghie told Business News.

“He made a commitment to himself that when he finished the project he would apply the same

GREAT for the STATE

HISTORIC Sandy Anghie is leading an initiative to embrace the architectural history of the east end of Perth’s CBD.

The east end has Perth’s greatest collection of heritage buildings -Sandy Anghie

model that he used for Cathedral Square to the entire east end.”

Ms Anghie said Historic Heart had evolved from a series of streetscape improvements and public art installations to incorporate several self-guided walking tours, each of which reveal different cultural elements in architecture.

“The east end has Perth’s greatest collection of heritage buildings. We’ve got Perth’s oldest building, in the old Courthouse Law Museum, that functioned as our first court, our first school, and our first community hall,” Ms Anghie said.

“There is also Perth’s first fire station, its first hospital, the Town Hall; all of these major pub-

lic buildings were concentrated here.

“What we have been doing is celebrating what we have.

“People are interested in history and heritage and I know myself and many of my friends, when you’re away on holiday you seek out history and heritage and go to the old neighbourhoods and cities, and we’ve got that here in Perth for people to enjoy.

“It is about the importance of our history and heritage, and celebrating that.

“In the past Perth had a reputation for knocking down really great buildings, but we’re kind of lucky in a way that there is so much in the east end that’s been left untouched.”

Embracing the Arts, enriching WA Storytelling is essential to creating an inspiring culture for everyone to embrace.

That is why KPMG is proud to support the Black Swan State Theatre Company, Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, WA Opera, Perth Symphony Orchestra, and the WA Chamber of Arts and Culture.

KPMG.com.au 16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au © 2019 KPMG, an Australian partnership. All rights reserved. 241726789FIRM.

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GREAT for the STATE

Museum heralds new era for arts advancement

With construction nearing its end point, the WA Museum is shifting its focus to content development at the state’s newest cultural facility.

ENGAGING WA’s new museum is likely to be a game-changer for the state’s cultural institutions.

Photo: Monica Cugnier

SPONSORED CONTENT

Safe roads the first step toward vibrant and thriving communities In just five years, more than 500 people have been killed and 2,700 seriously injured on WA’s regional roads — a devastating reality for our regional communities and the equivalent of losing the entire population of a small town.

In 2018, regional Western Australia had a road fatality rate almost six times higher than Victoria. Our country towns are impacted by one of Australia’s worst levels of road trauma, and it’s been this way for a long time.

Nearly 70 per cent of all serious crashes in regional WA involve cars running off the road or drifting into the path of oncoming traffic, resulting in an alarming number of unnecessary deaths and serious injuries.

These crashes could be dramatically reduced by allocating funding towards low-cost safety treatments such as sealing road shoulders and installing audible 10

edge lines — simple solutions which reduce the risk and severity of a crash by alerting drivers when they’re veering out of their lane and allowing them time and space to correct their path.

This is why RAC is calling for the WA Government’s Regional Road Safety Package to be fully funded in the 2020/21 State and Federal Budgets.

This $900 million road improvement package would accelerate crucial upgrades across 17,000 kilometres of WA’s regional road network. The WA Government has outlined that more than 2,100 serious crashes could be avoided through this package, reducing deaths and serious injuries in regional WA by more than 60 per cent.

This life-saving package could be funded and rolled out over coming years using just two per cent of the taxes WA motorists are

16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

expected to pay to the State and Federal Governments each year (based on 2019-20 budgets).

In addition to the immeasurable social benefits, there is also clear economic rationale. With the cost of road trauma in WA estimated to be around $900 million per year, this package would significantly diminish the cost burden that road trauma places on our health system.

A road network with zero deaths and serious injuries should be a shared goal of us all, which is why progressing this life-saving endeavour demands long-term, bipartisan and multi-sector collaboration.

There is hope, and there is opportunity, but right now we need action.

Rob Slocombe Group CEO RAC

GREAT for the STATE

$430m

Story by Dan Wilkie

W

estern Australia will have a new cutting-edge facility by the end of 2020 to celebrate the anthropological, zoological, cultural and archaeological history of the state.

It has been a long time coming. The new museum has been more than a decade in planning, with the facility it is replacing much too small to display the more than eight million artifacts and exhibits in the state government’s collection.

Designed by architecture groups HASSELL and OMA and being built by Multiplex, the $430 million project will be almost four times larger than the old museum, comprising 6,000 square metres of galleries and 1,000sqm of special exhibition space.

Project designers have engaged with more than 45,000

people during the museum’s development, seeking to leverage off personal cultural experience as much as WA’s natural environment.

Exhibitions are set to include WA’s iconic blue whale skeleton, a Continuous Cultures gallery, which will be a hub for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories, and an Innovations gallery, which will include a replica of the famous Greek sculpture Parthenon Frieze.

“Much is expected of public museums in the 21st century and there is stiff competition for attention,” WA Museum board of trustees chair Alan Robson said in the organisation’s annual report.

“In order to deliver world-class experiences, it is vital we take an entrepreneurial approach.

“This means aligning our skills

with the best of business, engaging in some creative thinking, and deploying technology in new and innovative ways to ensure that we deliver value to visitors, while exposing them to the multitudes of wonder, delight and possibilities that exist in the world.”

Organisations collaborating with WA Museum include arts and disability group DADAA, the Autism Association of WA, AWESOME Arts, and the Office of Multicultural Interests.

Key supporters from the business sector include Minderoo Foundation, the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, North West Shelf Shipping, Santos, the McCusker Charitable Foundation and Rio Tinto, among a long list of sponsors and benefactors.

Ink Strategy director Carla Chatzopolous said the impact of

WA Museum project

the new museum could not be underestimated, as an anchor for the cultural centre and a destination in its own right.

“So many of the vibrancy aspirations that we have for Perth as a city as a whole comes down to us having the world-class infrastructure that we need to be able to form partnerships, attract the kind of world-class exhibitions which will bring tourists to our state,” Ms Chatzopolous told Business News.

“I think it’s got a huge potential impact in terms of our whole cultural tourism offer, and really in some ways it’s bringing us up to speed with the calibre of infrastructure on the east coast and internationally.”

The Rechabite director Marcus Canning said he believed the new museum would provide Perth the opportunity to become

one of the great cultural capitals of South-East Asia.

“We’ve got all the ingredients and potential, we just need to keep bold as well as sensible strategies moving with momentum,” he said.

“With the new museum coming on line in 2020, now’s the time to give other cultural institutions in the area a turbo boost and get further precinct development rolling with conviction.

“This should include not only the Perth Cultural Centre but also the Link, Yagan Square and the broader Northbridge entertainment precinct.

“We need to ensure our arts and entertainment and hospitality scenes are pumping with life and innovation to both fuel this attraction and be fuelled by growing populations and visitors.”

SPONSORED SPONSOREDCONTENT CONTENT

Study Study debunks debunks cancer cancer myths myths

USTRALIA’S USTRALIA’S master master ofof interpreting interpreting census censusand andother otherdata, data,Bernard BernardSalt, Salt, last lastyear yearwrote wrotethat, that,ininrelative relativeterms, terms, Indigenous Indigenousbusiness businessisisbooming, booming,growing growingatat an anaverage averagerate rateofofaround around600 600new newbusinesses businesses every everyyear, year,a asmall smallbut butgrowing growingnumber. number.

Investment Investmentinincultural culturalgrowth growthappears appearstotohave have delivered delivereda ahometown hometownbenefit. benefit.

Our Our best best known known futurist futurist points points toto an an expanding expanding and and strengthening strengthening Indigenous Indigenous business businesscommunity. community.

InInaddition, addition,more moreIndigenous Indigenousstudents studentsare are completing completing year year 1212 than than previously previously recorded recorded and andmore morethan than80% 80%ofofIndigenous Indigenouspeople peoplenow now live liveinincities citiesand andnon-remote non-remoteareas. areas.

These These shifts shifts raise raise questions questions about about some some long-held long-heldassumptions assumptionsabout aboutthe thegap gapbetween between Indigenous Indigenousand andnon-Indigenous non-Indigenoushealth. health.

While While poor poor health health isis influenced influenced by by socioeconomic socioeconomicstatus statusand andwhether whetheryou youlive liveinin a amajor majorcity cityororinina aremote remoteregion, region,some someWA WA research researchisisfinding findingthere’s there’smore moretotoititthan thanthat. that.

An Aninitial initialstudy studyofofbreast breastcancer cancerininAboriginal Aboriginal women women inin WA WA by

by Associate Associate Professor Professor Andy Andy Redfern Redfernatatthe theHarry HarryPerkins PerkinsInstitute InstituteofofMedical Medical Research Researchhas hasfound foundIndigenous Indigenouswomen womenare arefour four times timesmore morelikely likelytotodie diefrom frombreast breastcancer cancerthan than non-Indigenous non-Indigenouswomen. women.

However, However, when when remoteness, remoteness, longer longer times times totodiagnosis diagnosisand andage ageare aretaken takeninto intoaccount, account, Indigenous Indigenouswomen womenremain remaintwo twototothree threetimes times more morelikely likelytotodie diefrom fromthe thedisease. disease.

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The Theresearch researchfurther furthersuggests suggeststhat thatAboriginal Aboriginal and andnon-Aboriginal non-Aboriginalwomen womencontract contractdifferent different types types ofof breast breast cancer, cancer, their their bodies bodies respond respond differently differently toto cancer cancer and and benefits benefits ofof cancer cancer treatments treatmentsmay maybe beless. less.

Professor Professor Redfern Redfern found found that that Aboriginal Aboriginal women women were were diagnosed diagnosed with with significantly significantly higher higherpercentages percentagesofofthe thehigher higherrisk riskcancers, cancers, they theyhave havehigher higherrates ratesofofvitamin vitaminDDdeficiency deficiency that thatcan canmake makecancers cancersmore moreaggressive, aggressive,and and their theirbodies bodiesmay maydispose disposeofofcertain certainanti-cancer anti-cancer drugs drugsquicker quicker––reducing reducingthe thebenefits. benefits.

Professor ProfessorRedfern Redfernnow nowplans planstotolook lookatatthe the many manyadditional additionalfeatures featuresofofa abreast breastcancer cancerand and its itssurrounding surroundingtissue tissuethat thatare areimportant importanttotothe the tumour’s tumour’sbehaviour behaviourand andthe thepatient’s patient’ssurvival. survival.

No Noprevious previousknown knownstudy studyininAustralia Australiahas has analysed analysed Aboriginal Aboriginal tumour tumour biology biology inin these these ways. ways.

He He plans plans toto examine examine the the kind kind ofof DNA DNA mutations mutationsthat thatcontrol controlthe thecancer cancerbehaviour, behaviour, the themix mixofofproteins proteinsininthe thecancers cancersthat thatcan canstop stop treatments treatmentsworking, working,the theimmune immunecells cellsininthe the cancer cancerthat thatcan canalso alsoaffect affecttreatment treatmentand andthe the density densityofofthe thesurrounding surroundingbreast. breast.

While Whilesocioeconomic socioeconomicand andgeographic geographicfactors factors are arelikely likelytotocontinue continuetotoimpact impacton onthe thespeed speed ofofdiagnosis diagnosisand andthe theease easeofofaccess accesstotomedical medical specialists specialists and and affordable affordable treatment, treatment, research research into intodifferent differentaspects aspectsofofbreast breastcancer cancerbiology biologyinin Aboriginal Aboriginalwomen womenare aredebunking debunkingthe themyth myththat that such suchsocial socialfactors factorsare areall allthat thatisisresponsible. responsible.

16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au

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GREAT for the STATE

Cultural landmarks

WA’s cultural infrastructure offers a window into the evolution of the state’s artistic offering over the past century.

Perth Entertainment Centre was the state’s premier indoor arena before it was demolished in 2012. Replaced by the cutting-edge RAC Arena, the PEC hosted some of the world’s top acts, from Queen and Elton John in the 1970s, to contemporary acts such as Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Photos: Tim Clarke, Gabriel Oliveira

His Majesty’s Theatre remains one of Perth’s most iconic heritage buildings. The Edwardian Baroque building was constructed in 1904 and still hosts musicals, ballet, opera and theatre, even after it was superseded by the $91 million State Theatre Centre in 2010.

Photos: Gabriel Oliveira

Fremantle Oval became the base for the Fremantle Football Club in the 1890s, when the ground’s historic Victoria Pavilion, which still stands today, was built. It’s a marked contrast to the newly built Optus Stadium and is a poignant reminder of the evolution of sporting infrastructure over the past 110-plus years.

Photos: State Library of Western Australia, Gabriel Oliveira 12

16 December 2019 | businessnews.com.au