Cook Government’s ‘Made in WA’ policy takes hit as Walking on a Dream tourism ad outsourced to east coast

The State Government’s commitment to its own Made in WA policy has taken a hit, with Premier Roger Cook labelling a decision to outsource production of a tourism commercial to an east coast company “pretty disappointing”. The embarrassing admission came just hours after his Government defended the move. As part of an existing multi-year contract, Tourism WA engaged The Brand Agency, a leading Perth creative agency, to produce the next phase of the State’s Walking on a Dream global campaign to increase tourist visitation. It has since been revealed The Brand Agency subcontracted part of the work to a production company on the east coast, although the Government confirmed the shoot will use “at least 70 per cent West Australian crew members and other local businesses”. A Government spokesperson said The Brand Agency “carried out a thorough review of more than 50 Australian and West Australian suppliers, assessing their experience, proposed budgets and timelines, plus their ability to deliver value for money on the taxpayer-funded project”. “Unfortunately, while a local production company and director were shortlisted, the cost identified was prohibitively higher than the chosen option,” the spokesperson said. However, an industry source told The West Australian it seemed unlikely a local production house would have been significantly more expensive. Mr Cook expressed his own doubts when asked on Thursday if he would reverse the decision. “We’ve got some great production crews, and I’m sure that could have been undertaken with Western Australians,” Mr Cook said. “We’ve already struck the contract (with The Brand Agency), so I need to look at the nature of that contract, but obviously it’s disappointing.” When asked if it was worth paying a premium to support the local screen industry, Mr Cook said he would “reflect on the questions”. Launched in September 2022 and featuring the hit song of the same name by Empire of the Sun, the musical act fronted by Perth-raised Luke Steele, the Walking on a Dream campaign paired iconic WA landscapes with mystical elements, such as flying, computer-generated whale sharks. The Government committed $72.7 million in the 2024-25 State Budget to Tourism WA to promote the State to key markets around the world using Walking on a Dream as its “global destination brand”. The Brand Agency has been contacted for comment.