Perth mayor says Western Australia should “swoop in” and host Commonwealth Games

Perth mayor says Western Australia should “swoop in” and host Commonwealth Games
Edited by Travel Weekly


    Western Australia should take over as host of the Commonwealth Games, according to Perth mayor, Basil Zempilas.

    Speaking to radio station Triple M, Zempilas says the state should “swoop in” and host the games in the west.

    He said Western Australia could carry the torch for Australia and was in a position to dictate how much would be spent on the games in order to save them.

    “What WA should be in a position to do in the next few days is say to the Commonwealth Games committee, ‘Here’s the venues we’ve got, we’re not spending $7 billion,’” he said.

    You make your Commonwealth Games fit the venues we’ve got.”

    Zempilas said an athletes’ village costing around $500 million could be used as social housing after the games had finished.

    “Our financial state here in WA is far superior to the parlous state that exists in Victoria.

    We’ve got a huge opportunity to swoop in, get it at the right price and do something defining for our city.”

    Former WA premier Mark McGowan put an end to any potential bid for the Games after an audit suggested it would cost about $1 billion.

    McGowan criticised the Victorian government for spending so much money on the Commonwealth Games at the time of the Audit.

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