Committee to make Perth more liveable, attractive

FORMER banking chief and high profile director Tony Howarth has taken on the chair of the Committee for Perth, to help steer the state out of what he sees as a state of crisis - procrastination over decisions to make its capital more liveable. Mr Howarth said the state had a unique opportunity over the next few years to capture the advantages of today’s strong economic times for the benefit of all future Western Australians. “It is about capturing the uniqueness of Perth to make it one of the most attractive and liveable cities in the world,” he said. “To do this means that we need to accept that in the middle of such strong prosperity we have a crisis.” “And that crisis may become a lost opportunity because of inaction and inability to agree how and what we invest in to enable Perth to reach these goals. I am positive that the Committee for Perth can play a real role in making this happen.” Mr Howarth said the committee’s role was getting the right groups of people together. “It is lifting the bar about we think about Perth,” he said. Mr Howarth said enforced shopping hours was a good example of something that made Perth less liveable for many people - both existing and prospective visitors. “You are told virtually where and when you can shop,” he said.