Western Australia premier Cook pushes for direct Perth–India flights; terms India ties ‘fundamental’ to state’s prosperity
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Western Australia premier Cook pushes for direct Perth–India flights; terms India ties ‘fundamental’ to state’s prosperity")
Perth-India flights on the cards? Roger Cook pitches bigger Australia-India partnership Photograph: (WION)
Western Australia wants to take its India relationship to the next level, with Premier Roger Cook pushing for a direct Perth–India air link. He says the connection could unlock new opportunities in tourism, education, trade and investment.
New Delhi: Western Australia Premier Roger Cook has used his latest visit to India to press for a direct Perth–India air link, arguing that closer ties across minerals, education, film and cricket are “absolutely fundamental” to his state’s prosperity.
Speaking to WION's Sidhant Sibal after opening a University of Western Australia campus in Mumbai, Cook said this was his fourth trip as a minister or premier. Western Australia, he noted, is Australia’s largest state and “the western gateway” on the Indian Ocean.
“We consider the relationship with India absolutely fundamental to our economic prosperity,” he said. “Greater and closer ties with India [are] an important part of ensuring that both our… province and your country continue to thrive.”
The premier said more than a quarter of a million travellers already move between India and Western Australia via hubs such as Singapore and Bangkok. “We want… a direct aviation link, because that’s going to unlock all kinds of opportunities around tourism, international education, around direct investment [and] trade,” he said. Indian tourism to the state had grown more than 24 per cent in a year, he added.
On investment, Cook pitched Western Australia as “one of the most secure investment environments on the globe,” citing assets that must last two or three decades. The state is the world’s largest lithium producer, supplies about 20 per cent of the world’s iron ore, and has copper, nickel, cobalt, oil and gas plus an emerging advanced manufacturing sector powered by renewables.
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“We are the only place on earth where you can get every element of a lithium-ion battery,” he said. “You can have secure supply chains if you engage with Western Australian companies.”
He pointed to a $6bn ammonia plant built through modular construction in India as a model. Mumbai was chosen first, he said, “to acknowledge the great partnership” with Indian engineering firms.
Creative industries featured too. Cook said Western Australia had launched a WA Indian Film Council after completing a A$290m film studio. The state offered “incredible environments, amazing open plains… [and] incredible coastlines” for Indian productions in a bid to attract Bollywood.
Education is another key pillar of ties. Indians is Western Australia form the largest overseas student cohort. “Yesterday I had the delight of opening a University of Western Australia campus in Mumbai,” he said, so students can study in both countries.
On space, Cook said that Western Australia was “the only place in Australia where you’re going to have both equatorial and polar launch capability.”
Sport, he added, would carry the relationship into the stands. Perth Scorchers will play Melbourne Renegades in Chennai on 12 December in the Big Bash League’s first match outside Australia.
“Cricket is not only a great celebration of sport. It’s a celebration of the relationship that’s growing between Australia and India,” Cook said, naming Virat Kohli as a favourite: “Not only is he one of the best cricketers in the world, he’s also a gentleman.”
