WA Scraps Stadium and Museum Plans

The Western Australian Government has announced that key projects, including the development of a new multi-purpose stadium, have been scrapped.
Blaming the global economic downturn and its affect on Western Australia's finances, Premier Colin Barnett has undertaken an overhaul of WA's capital works program.
As a result, plans for the new stadium replacing the Subiaco Stadium and a new museum at the old East Perth power station have been scrapped while the planned Perth foreshore facelift will now be a much more modest development.
Premier Barnett explained that "it's a matter of getting the priorities right - and essential services such as schools, hospitals and housing is what's important to the community."
The WA Government said there would be no commitment to build a new football stadium for at least two years, following which it would revisit the issue. Plans for the new museum at the old East Perth power station have been scrapped entirely in favour of a new museum within the Northbridge cultural project.
Instead, the WA Premier announced that more than $1.1 billion would be spent on new capital works commitments including $300 million to replace Princess Margaret Hospital, $55.8 million for the redevelopment of the Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital, $135 million for the Albany Regional Hospital and the building of 14 new schools.
Premier Barnett added, "the Government makes no apology for putting schools and hospitals ahead of a new football stadium."
All work on the new stadium project at the Subiaco Oval-Kitchener Park site has now ceased, along with plans to acquire adjacent properties.