The Premier and Prime Minister have put aside their differences to announce the refurbishment of the Frasers complex at Kings Park to provide a retreat for leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The Premier and Prime Minister have put aside their differences to announce the refurbishment of the Frasers complex at Kings Park to provide a retreat for leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
CHOGM, to be held in Perth in October, will bring together 53 world leaders who would use the retreat as somewhere to meet informally and in private.
The temporary marquee that sits atop Frasers Restaurant will be replaced with a steel and glass structure designed to showcase the views across the city.
Premier Colin Barnett said the $9 million refurbishment would pay for itself, showcasing Perth to the world's leaders and ultimately becoming the official State reception centre.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said CHOGM would be the biggest international event Perth had ever seen and commended the location chosen as showing off Perth's best attributes.
"Large numbers people come to this beautiful city, and when they do, they want to see this view," the Prime Minister said.
Mr Barnett and Ms Gillard appeared relaxed and comfortable in each other's company, despite remaining at loggerheads over the Federal Government's proposed mining tax and health reforms.
Both leaders said they were looking forward to further private discussions on those contentious issues later today, and Mr Barnett reaffirmed his commitment to not holding up healthcare reform.
"I've made it very clear that even if Western Australia has a different view from the Commonwealth and other states, we would not stand in the way of the Commonwealth and other states reaching agreement," the Premier said.
"So if my signature's requirement to facilitate arrangements... I would obviously do that."
The leaders retreat is being designed by architect McDonald Jones and will be built by Perkins.
Construction will largely take place offsite to minimise disruptions at Kings Park, and the Premier anticipated on-site work beginning in April, and continuing through until completion in August.
In addition to the Frasers complex refurbishment, the floral clock will be moved closer to the site and updated, and the adjacent Botanical Café would benefit from a new terraced alfresco area.
The Premier said the public would still have access to Kings Park over the CHOGM weekend, but that the area around Frasers and the botanic gardens would be closed off.
He announced that the public would receive free public transport on CHOGM's October 28 opening day, in an effort to minimize traffic in the city but still invite people into Perth to enjoy the festivities.
It was previously announced that the October 3 Queen's Birthday public holiday had been moved to the first day of CHOGM for this same reason.
Preparations for CHOGM have been ongoing for the past six months, and the Premier said concerns still existed over the availability of hotel rooms and aircraft parking and storage.
The state government has secured 300 spare hotel rooms as a contingency plan, the Premier said.
Both leaders spoke highly of the co-operative process in planning the event.
