Elizabeth Quay Essay

Elizabeth Quay is a project that is currently being built on what used to be known as the Perth Waterfront. This $2.6 billion project was planned by the State Government, aiming to enhance Perth’s reputation as the most liveable cities in the world and return the city’s focus to one of its most iconic natural assets – the Swan River. Elizabeth Quay will provide the city with a variety of new public spaces that will serve many different functions and offer unique experiences to its citizens. The project’s plans and funding was confirmed by Premier, Collin Barnett, and Perth Lord Mayor, Lisa Scaffidi, in February 2011 and started construction on 26th April 2012. Barnett also announced the project to be named “Elizabeth Quay” on 28th May 2012,

in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. The quay is planned to open in spring 2015 for public use. The Elizabeth Quay project will cover almost 10 hectares of riverfront land and will be located between William Street and Barrack Street, with a latitude of -31o 57’ 26.7978” and a longitude of 115o 51’ 25.041”. The main attraction of the quay will be a man-made inlet measuring 2.7 hectares, and will be surrounded by two-storey promenade measuring 1.5 hectares. After it is completed, Elizabeth Quay will be one of the main tourist attractions of Perth, making Perth a more well-known place internationally.

Part 1:
Social:
The Elizabeth Quay project will have many social impacts on Perth and its citizens.

A positive impact of the project is that there will be many new facilities for people to enjoy. These facilities will provide the public with opportunities to live, work, relax, dine and entertain by the river. The project will deliver new public spaces, such as a children’s playground and an indigenous cultural centre, which will benefit tourists and the citizens of Perth. There will be new residential and short-stay accommodation, supplying the city with more housing and catering for the increasing population. New cafes and restaurants will give people new options to eat out, and new shops offer people a different place to hang out and shop around. These new areas allow the people of Perth to enjoy a fresh new environment and give them a different place to

go.
TYPE OF VEHICLE WEST FLOW EAST FLOW
Car 52 74
Bus 4 0
Truck/Ute 3 7
Bicycle 4 0
Other 1 4
COLUMN TOTAL 91 85
Another positive effect of the project is that there will be an increase in tourism in Perth.

Once the project is completed, the State Government predict that the Elizabeth Quay will attract more than 4 million visitors each year. This will impact the city majorly as the tourists will bring in money and cause businesses to expand and need more employees, therefore deceasing the unemployment rate and increasing GNI.
A negative impact of the Elizabeth Quay project is that Riverside Drive will be cut. Instead, drivers will have to drive around the Elizabeth Quay on The Esplanade. To the right, there is a table recording the traffic flow on the corner of The Esplanade and William Street in a period of 5 minutes, recorded while on excursion to the construction site. As you can see, there is already a large amount of cars that drive on The Esplanade, and if Riverside Drive is cut, more people will be forced to take The Esplanade route, causing the road to develop a heavy traffic

flow.
Another negative impact is that they removed a large grass oval used for many recreational activities and started building Elizabeth Quay in its place. This oval was used for many purposes, but now that it is gone, the people who used it must find a new place to go. The public used this oval for everyday activities, such as walking their dogs, going for a run and family picnics, as well as using it in many other ways. However now that the oval is gone, the people have been forced to find a new place to go. For most of them, this oval was the closest area to go to, and now they have to go out of their way to go to another location further away from home. This oval was not only used for the general public, but was also the place where the circus was set up for the people of Perth to watch and enjoy. So now they have to also find a new place to hold the circus, causing a hassle for many people. The photo at right shows the large grass area that was removed for the project.

Economic:
As a result of the Elizabeth Quay project and changing the course of the river, the city will be affected economically in both positive and negative ways. A positive impact of the quay is that it will decrease the city’s unemployment. According to the State Government, the construction of the project is expected to supply jobs to more than 1,600 people, and once completed, will be the workplace of more than 10,000 people. As a result of this, the unemployment rate in Perth will decrease dramatically, thus bringing up GDP and GNI.
Another positive to the project is that the profit earned from the quay will be used to expand and improve other services. Elizabeth Quay is predicted to attract more than 4 million visitors each year, and with the project becoming such a popular attraction, it should generate lots of money that could be used for the improvement of other services, including health services to the city’s citizens.
A negative of the project is that in order to cover the $2.6 billion cost of the project, they had to cut funding in other areas. This leaves less money for projects that are just as important as Elizabeth Quay, forcing them to make do with small budgets. One of the budgets that the State Government has cut is the Country Local Government Fund (CLGF). This fund was established to help redress the backlog in regional infrastructure, adding up to almost $2 billion. While the Perth Waterfront is turned into Elizabeth Quay, the CLGF has been reduced to a fraction of its previous amount, and the funding that remains is only enough to complete the existing unfinished projects. The budget for the CLGF has reduced from its projected allocation of $190 million to less than $80 million. As a result of these budget cuts, other important projects and funds, including the CLGF, struggle to make do with their minimal funds.
Another negative of the quay is that the State Government is driving themselves into more debt. A Chinese restaurant, the Grand Palace, was shut down as a result of the Elizabeth Quay being built where it was located. As a result of their restaurant being forced to close, the owners are negotiating with the government about compensation, and to date, have been paid more than $7 million interim payment. The State Government is continuing to pay them more money until a settlement can be reached. “The final figure could reach $20 million dollars,” says the Opposition’s Margaret Quirk. The State Government is already in debt by more than $20 million from making bad mistakes, and is driving themselves further into debt with this payoff.

Environmental:
Throughout the construction of the project and even after it is completed, it will have majorly affected the river and its native flora and fauna, as well as its foreshore inhabitants. By changing the course of the Swan River, there will be many negative effects on the environment, however there are a few positives that come with it. A positive of the project is that they will plant a garden and trees on the island. This will replace the trees that they removed in order to build the project and will provide the public with a peaceful natural area that they can relax in.
A negative impact on the environment is the pollution that is being deposited into the river. The project has affected the city with air, water and noise pollution, creating many problems for the environment and the public. When looking at the field sketch attached, you can see that there is a large amount of machinery working on the project. This machinery is very loud and can be very disturbing to surrounding residents and workplaces. One of the causes of this pollution is the dredging that they are doing in order to make the inlet. To help stop the dredging from affecting the water quality, they have set up a silt curtain, a submerged net that separates the dredging area from the rest of the river. However this prevention plan is not proving too successful. Dolphins that live in the river have been using the barrier to capture fish, and in the process, are getting caught in the net. In just one week, officials said that four dolphins, including a mother and her calf, have been sighted by project workers inside the dredging area on separate occasions. Two plumes from the dredging area have polluted the river, one as a result of the workers raising the curtain to release a “trapped” dolphin. The dredging of the inlet is expected to last around 3 months and will excavate 20,000 cubic metre of sediment. According to a Detailed Site Investigation report from 2011, in the dredging areas, some of the soil contains a cocktail of heavy metals, pesticides and asbestos. As said by Piers Verstegen, a Conservation Council director, dredging causes toxic material to be released into the water and any animals going into the dredge plume are potentially being exposed to toxic pollutants.
Also, as trucks enter and exit the project area, mud and dirt from the industrial area and contaminated sites is being deposited on the surrounding Perth roads. This debris then turns into dust, where it can be inhaled and affect people who travel on the roads. The image at right shows the debris that has been deposited onto the streets. This dust, if inhaled, could be detrimental to the public’s health.

Part 2:
Sustainability is about providing for the present and future needs of the community with reference to social advancement, political stability, environmental protection and economic progress.
FOCUS QUESTION 1: Will changing the course of the river be detrimental to the river’s future sustainability and health?
Changing the course of the river will affect it in many ways that will be detrimental to its future outcome. As a result of the construction of Elizabeth Quay, the river’s water quality has and will continue to degrade due to the debris and toxic sediment that is released during the dredging of the inlet. This will cause many problems with the river in the future, including the death of a large proportion of the river’s natural wildlife. Once the population of these species has dramatically degraded, it will be hard to repopulate them and they will most likely not return to their current numbers. The river is also affected by algae blooms, particularly blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). This bacteria use photosynthesis like plants and use nutrients and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. If conditions are right, blue-green algae can increase so much that it causes a visible ‘bloom’ that can greatly affect the water quality of the river. As a result of the poor water quality, many problems can arise including environmental problems, disruption of drinking water supplies, water-dependent industries and activities and can also be a risk towards livestock, wildlife as well as the human population. The river is a target of this blue-green algae because it possesses many of its favourable conditions; slow-moving water, abundant sunlight and adequate levels of nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen. These conditions cause the algae to grow rapidly and could grow over the banks and into the project’s inlet, creating a safety hazard for everyone. The image at right shows the algae blooms that have previously existed in the Swan River. This presents an idea that the blue-green algae will have a massive effect. These problems will make it hard for the river to remain healthy and could affect its sustainability dramatically in the future and become an even bigger impact.
FOCUS QUESTION 2: Will the Elizabeth Quay project help the city to progress economically in the future?
The Elizabeth Quay project will help the city progress economically, but only to an extent. The 4 million visitors that the project expects to attract will help bring in money by increasing business sales, however a lot of this money will just be used for the up-keep of the quay, including keeping the area clean, tending to the garden and keeping the inlet clean and litter-free, and may also contribute to paying out the government’s debt. The government have already lost a lot of money due to the massive expense of the project, on top of their massive debt. The businesses will have to pay a higher tax and people who buy from the businesses will pay GST to help the government pay back the loan that they have from the tax payers. Once the project is complete, the quay will supply more than 10,000 people with jobs, therefore increasing GDP and GNI, and as their income increases, they will be taxed and that will also help the government to get out of debt. Overall, Elizabeth Quay will allow Perth to progress economically, but will also bring negatives and cause them to lose money as well.

Part 3:
The Elizabeth Quay project will also have effects on the Indigenous community. The Noongar people have a very strong connection with the land that Elizabeth Quay is being built upon and the area has a lot of significance in Noongar history.
‘Noongar’s close connection with the rivers and surrounding areas forms the basis for much of their culture, spirituality, and identity. For Noongar people access to freshwater, and the resources provided by the land and rivers, was central to their survival. It has been suggested that Aboriginal people’s connection to such places is so strong, that sustaining the health of their culture, depends on the maintenance of such places.’ Pg. 13 Hughes‐Hallett 2010.
Quite a large proportion of the city has been built on the marsh and swampy area that was once used by the Noongar people for hunting. As the city has developed and expanded over time, the land has been changed and altered to work with the construction of the city.
‘The Swan and Canning Rivers and their tributaries also hold great significance to the Noongar people as being created and sacred to the rainbow serpent ‘Waugal’, a dreamtime spirit taking the form of a giant snake. Elders taught Nyoongar people that the Waugal created creeks, waterholes, lakes and valleys on its journey to the ocean. It emerged at Mt Eliza and making its way to the sea, created the Swan River. Mt Eliza and the area in which parliament house now stands were named ‘Ga‐ra‐katta’, the site sacred to the Waugal. The strong connection with ‘Nidga Boodja’ (this land), is still significant to Aboriginal people who are the traditional caretakers of the land ‘(Department of Education and Training, 2008).
Associate Professor Forrest stated in an article written in December 2012 that he was disappointed that the new Elizabeth Quay project was not being named a traditional Noongar name. “It would simply be a chance to pick up the pieces and give indigenous people a sense of identity in the city,” he said.
“Where Elizabeth Quay is going in, that is what we call ‘Gabbee Darbal’,” Richard Wilkes, a Noongar elder, said. ‘Gabbee Darbal’ loosely translates to ‘fresh water’, and Elizabeth Quay is near where the first colonists found fresh water in central Perth. Mr Wilkes said in the same article that the Waterfront and link projects should have been named after Noongar people who were dominant at the time of colonisation, or should have been named after the original Noongar name for that area.
Due to the project being named ‘Elizabeth Quay’ rather than a traditional indigenous name, the project almost gives the indigenous community no recognition in the project other than a small cultural centre. This will impact the Aboriginal population majorly as the original land owners have not had much acknowledgement of their past ownership. There are many venues named after the royal family so it would only make sense that this highly significant ad cultural area would be named in honour of the indigenous population.

Conclusion:
As a result of the Elizabeth Quay project and changing the course of the river, there will be many positive and negative impacts. These include social, economic and environmental issues both on Australia and on the people. Some positives that will come from the project include a decrease in the unemployment rate, an increase in tourism and brand new facilities will be developed. Some negatives that come with the project include an increase in traffic, more government debt and air, water and noise pollution. Overall, after researching and reporting on the Elizabeth Quay project, the conclusion that I have come to is that Elizabeth Quay is creating more problems and negative impacts than it is creating positive effects.