The Ferret: Pollies bringing the drama closer to Parliament House as WAAPA looks to move into the CBD

THEY CALL THIS VISION? A giant TV screen. Yep, that’s one of the revolutionary ideas now being pushed to reinvigorate our capital city. And funnily enough, this stroke of genius is so innovative it’s actually just bringing back something that we once had. To be honest, it’s been so long since the Ferret strolled through the thoroughfare that is the wasteland near the Art Gallery of WA and the State Library that I didn’t even realise we had lost the big TV screen that used to be there. So I was taken slightly aback this week to find there’s a new “commercial lease opportunity” for the Perth Cultural Centre doing the rounds for someone to operate a “LED display” in this “highly visible public precinct”. The job includes the “exclusive right to sell digital advertising” on the screen and also “content curation” (however alcohol and “adult-rated” advertising is banned). The tender document for the arrangements boasts about how the Greater Perth Area is a “thriving economic demographic” that should boast a population of 2.5 million by 2035. And they have a median weekly household income above the national average. If only some of them would spend that money in Perth to stop the seemingly endless shop closures! IT’S GETTING DRAMATIC On the CBD and how the state of the city is, after all, WA’s most interesting drama. The Ferret broke the news that Edith Cowan University was seeking to move the very illustrious WA Academy of Performing Arts into the Perth CBD back in August. This is the acclaimed institution that gave us Hugh Jackman and that sanctimonious bloke called Tim Minchin. I’m hearing a significant announcement of Federal funds backing the idea could be made very, very soon. The news will likely come from Cities Minister Alan Tudge, although The Ferret wouldn’t be surprised if the all-powerful Finance Minister Mathias Cormann isn’t part of the rollout, too. Question is whether there will be any room on the announcement stage for the McGowan Government. DEAF AS A POST And on the McGowan Government ... Not everything in the Ferret’s column is a scoop. Sometimes I like to use my little corner of The Weekend West to simply make a point. This week, WA Labor decided to roll out an attack ad on social media targeting Liberal Leader Liza Harvey and her TAFE record. It’s a social media stunt, so one can only assume it cost next to nothing. But perception is everything in politics — and the perception is quite clearly that Labor is so rattled by polling that they’re desperately going negative more than a year out from voting day. It’s a dumb decision and one that has many in the party (and even the Opposition) scratching their heads. Make no mistake that WA Labor is still reeling from the disastrous Bill Shorten Federal campaign and how they (not Bill) misread the mood of Sandgropers so badly. As the PM whisperer Ben Morton pointed out recently: “It was the ALP’s WA parliamentary and organisational wings who are predominately left-wing that contributed to ... Shorten’s own misreading of WA and middle Australia.” The jury is still well and truly out on just how clever this McGowan mob (who beat a bruised and battered and well past his use-by date Colin Barnett to get into power) actually is. GREAT SCOTT, IT’S A DYNASTY Last but not least. The Ferret is hearing that the son of two political luminaries could be looking at a run for State politics. Word on the street is that Scott Edwardes may put his hand up to contest Kingsley. The Rio Tinto employee is the son of Perth power couple Colin and Cheryl Edwardes. Cheryl is a former MP and was the State’s first female attorney-general. Colin is a strategist with deep ties within politics and is currently working with Ms Harvey’s campaign to become premier. The West Australian: The Ferret