Are We A Nation of Knockers?, Western Suburbs Weekly, Residential – 30 May 2016

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ARE WE A NATION OF KNOCKERS? Why do we in WA not attract overseas visitors? Sure we are a long way from anywhere, but so is Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne but they do ok. Could it be that we are perceived as a little bit … boring? Well, probably …cos you know what? We are boring. Boring, over regulated, under adventurous, totally programmed to “no”, “can’t”, “won’t work”, “can’t be done” and “not allowed”. Why do you people have a problem with anything new? Why is there a rule against everything fun? What do people look for in a holiday destination? Sun? We’ve got it. Beautiful beaches? We’ve got them. Great food? It’s out there. Good shopping? Absolutely – in fact some of the best. Nightlife? Hmmmm could be better but some fabulous small bars have opened. Luxury hotels? Sadly lacking. So, anyway, it’s a good start - but there’s nobody here. Because there is no “vibe”, no real excitement. South Terrace in Fremantle on a Sunday is the closest thing to it in WA. Northbridge on a Saturday night can get pretty exciting. Beaufort street has a nice balance. What have they all got? Outdoor venues, people in the streets, eating, drinking, music, talking,

laughing – this is what people come to enjoy. Let’s bring back the fun and festivity that makes Europe such a draw card. And look at the beaches here compared to in say Spain, Italy and South of France. Wow, what a difference! In Spain, you can lie on comfy lounges, be brought an umbrella, a cocktail while you listen to the music from the vibrant

I remember coming back to Perth from Cape Town and Durban in the 1980’s and shaking my head in despair at our beachfront with its old shacks and sad unit blocks, well guess what? Nothing’s changed. Now, where I see no place for apartment blocks in the heart of Subiaco, I see great opportunities for stylish apartments along the beachfront with cafes and shops on

“Let’s preserve all the great

things – the character, the history and let’s replace all the bad stuff with well thought out developments...” beachside bar and some wonderful food at any time during the day or in the evening. Imagine that at Cottesloe beach! Sitting on the sand with antiquated umbrellas that take off and stab people along the way are SO yesterday – but if that’s your thing there’s still plenty of beaches to do that on.

the ground floor creating a brilliant boulevard of activity along our coastline. Of course there will be the objections – I was PR manager at Observation City when it was being built and so I got all the complaints about it being an eye REAL ESTATE

LOCAL E

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sore on our beach, overshadowing, more traffic… anything they could complain about they did, but hey! It’s a coastline and there is miles of it so can we please get over it now? It’s like people who buy a house next door to a Hotel and then complain about noise! Don’t even get me started on that one! So come on guys – let’s all pull together here to make this fantastic city better. Let’s preserve all the great things – the character, the history and let’s replace all the bad stuff with well thought out developments that aren’t built just to make money for one syndicate but give back and create fantastic creative venues for everyone. Let’s relax the rules that don’t make sense and allow some vibrancy, ingenuity and personal responsibility back into our lives – then perhaps we can all benefit from a thriving tourism industry instead of putting all our eggs into the oil, gas and mining industry basket… NIKI PEINKE

THE PROPERTY EXCHANGE


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