The Pink Floyd Experience - Wish You Were Here 40th Anniversary

The internationally acclaimed Pink Floyd Experience is proud to announce the 2015 Wish You Were Here Australian tour. This celebratory tour will mark the 40th anniversary of this hugely successful album, which had its original release in September 1975.

Wish You Were Here has sold over 13 million copies worldwide, it achieved Number One status in the US, UK and Europe simultaneously, and remains one of the fastest selling albums of all time.

As well as performing the album in full the band will also perform other classic Pink Floyd tracks from their catalogue of albums with a stunning performance that stretches over 2 hours.

The Pink Floyd Experience is much more than a tribute to the great music of Pink Floyd. The band captures and conveys the spirit as well as the sound and jaw-dropping visual effects for which Pink Floyd is renowned. 

Having toured Australia on 5 occasions and sold over 100,000 tickets in their own right The Pink Floyd Experience are much admired for their note perfect performances, which remain true to the original. Their loving recreation of Pink Floyd’s landmark ninth studio album is not to be missed.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW THROUGH TICKETEK

PACKAGES

Make a night of it with Crown Show Packages.
Pre-show dinner available at Bistro Guillaume, Modo Mio or Market & Co.

RUNNING TIMES

7:30pm - Doors Open
8:00pm - Show Commences
Please Note: Running times are approximate and may be subject to change.

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Pink Floyd Experience, pink floyd perth, perth tourism, shows perth, shows australia, perth tourism news, pink floyd experience perth

Japan Festival Returns to Perth

The annual Japan Festival of Perth returns this weekend!

The Japan Festival of Perth is a free event which celebrates the long history of friendship between Australian and Japanese people.


This year, the Festival will be held on Saturday 7 March from 12:30pm-8:00pm in Forest Place, Perth.


Click here to view the program!

There will also be heaps of Japanese food, craft and goods stalls for you to visit including Japanese souvenirs, anime and cosplay goods and a chance to try origami and even a shateki darts game!


Yummy Japanese food that will be available at the Festival include: udon, yaki-soba and ramen noodles, takoyaki (octopus balls), kaki-gori (shaved ice with sugar syrup), okonomi-yaki (Japanese pancake) and of course, sushi!


There are significant Japanese nationals working and studying in Western Australia and also some are living on a permanent basis raising their Australian families.


The numbers are growing, reflecting the long history of friendship between the two nations.


The Japan Festival Association in Perth Inc. (“JFAP”) was established in 2013 as a non-profit organisation with an aim to raise the overall Japanese profile in WA.


As part of its activities JFAP reached out to these communities to look for ways to become more closely involved with and to contribute to this beautiful multi-cultural society.


The idea of Japanese “MATSURI” (meaning “festival” in Japanese) was launched as an opportunity to realise this dream under the name of the Japan Festival Event.


Click here for more information on the Festival! View the video below from last year's Festival!


The matsuri is a free event with lots of fun for kids and families as well as adults, offering a great opportunity for the Perth community to experience one of the most important cultures of Japan.


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What Are The Things You Love About Summer in WA?

IT’S hot, dry and ... heaven. If there’s one thing that characterises Western Australia it’s summer.

Three months of sun, sand, salt water and how we’ve moulded our lives to make the most of it. Whether that be a stunning swim at a beach Down South or waiting for the Fremantle Doctor to come sweeping through the front door. Maybe it’s a Simmo’s ice cream (two scoops), or crabbing at that secret spot in the Swan.

For some it’s backyard cricket with the boys next door, an outdoor movie under a still sky or an ice cold beer from one of our boutique breweries.

To remind us how lucky we are, today The Sunday Times and PerthNow lists 50 reasons why we really do love these three long, lingering months of magic.

Listed in any order we hope they trigger memories from the past and tempt you to try something new in this sunburnt state of ours. And if you think we missed anything that makes your summer great, let us know below.

Jaylen Henke (6), Kynan Wells (8), and Jai Henke (8) enjoying a game of cricket at home in the garden. Photo: Marie Nirme

1. Backyard cricket. All we need is a bat, a ball and an esky for wickets (or a wheelie bin). No tip-and-run for us though – that’s for amateurs.

2. AFL footballer Hayden Ballantyne: Boating, skiing, crabbing and fishing with family and friends in Mandurah.

3. Sundays at the Mundaring Weir hotel. Nestled in the Perth Hills’s jarrah forest – there’s not much better than a pint of beer, the bush band and the venue’s famous spit roast.

4. Fish and chips while watching the sun set over the ocean at one of our beautiful beaches.

5. The influx of tourists from all over the world who come to WA to experience one of the world’s best summers. More than 500,000 interstate and overseas visitors will travel from all over the world to enjoy our piece of the world during summer. The majority of tourists are from the UK and Singapore and the US.

Moonlight Cinema is back for 2015.

6. Outdoor films. There are plenty of options to enjoy a great film outside at night, from the Moonlight Cinema at Kings Park to the Somerville Auditorium at the University of WA. A special mention has to go to the funky Rooftop Movies on the top floor of the Roe St car park in the City.

7. 92.9 Breakfast presenter Heidi Anderson: I love being able to cruise down the freeway and within three hours be in paradise (the South-West). A perfect day for me is waking up in Dunsbourough with a breakfast at Sumudra cafe and then heading down to Meelup Beach. I normally finish up with a pint of beer at Eagle Bay Brewery while munching on their delicious ribs and watching the sun go down.

8. Ice coffee, because deep down we’re all a bit bogan.

9. The “interactive sculpture” in Perth’s Forrest Place we call the water labyrinth. It’s like a giant sprinkler fight in the city.

Wendy Lockhart, Zali Eddington and mum Brooke enjoying Perth’s water labyrinth. Photo: Marie Nirme

10. The new free sun lounges at Bathers beach in Fremantle.

11. Fresh fruit. Fresh bread. Fresh honey. Fresh everything from one of the state’s 21 farmers markets. Special mention to the Boyanup Farmers Market (every fourth Sunday of the month from 8am-noon).

12. The summer music festivals and outdoor concerts every year. We may not have the Big Day Out or Soundwave anymore, but mega stars like Drake are still enticed to WA by events like the Future Music Festival.

13. West Coast legend Karl Langdon: Crayfishing off Hillarys, fishing off Rotto and crabbing in Mandurah at this time of the year is the best way to spend quality time with family and friends.

14. Watching our champion cricket team the Perth Scorchers at the WACA as part of the Twenty20 Big Bash League.

15. The sausage sizzle. It doesn’t matter if it’s outside Bunnings, at your kids’ sporting match or on the home barbie – the sizzle is a summer staple.

16. Night markets. The “Twilight Hawkers Market” every Friday in Perth is a taste feast and has spurred a bunch of more local versions, like the new night markets every Monday night in Inglewood.

17. Dragging for prawns in the Swan River on a balmy night. Once a summer institution, this is back on the agenda thanks to restocking efforts.

Rottnest Island is an iconic beacon of summer in WA.

18. Our iconic Rottnest Island. Pinky’s, The Basin, a mock cream bun from the bakery or a sweat-soaked cycle to West End. The list goes on.

19. Crown Austrlian Resorts CEO Barry Felstead: Having an ice old beer while cooking a steak on the barbie.

Jenna Bevan exercising on the DNA tower in Kings Park. Photo: Alf Sorbello

20. Wedding season. Love is in the air during summer as cooing couples walk down the aisles at venues (or beaches) all over the state.

21. The award-winning and world-famous Simmo’s ice cream at Dunsborough, Busselton, Mandurah and Rottnest. Too many flavours to count. Maybe Licorice for dad, Lemon Sorbet for mum and a non-stop selection for the kids including Caramel Malteser, Jaffa, Crunchie Munchie, Bubblegum. Plenty of excuses for a return visit or two or three ...

22. Ditching the confines of the gym and getting fit instead by running along the Swan River at dawn or watching the sun set as you go up and (and up and down again) at Kings Park’s DNA tower.

23. The Golden Valley Tree Park in Balingup. The 60-hectare, heritage-listed site in our South-West has a collection of trees that was started more than 100 years ago and is now the largest arboretum in WA.

24. Skyworks 2015. Join the throng of patriotic Australians and celebrate what it means to be an Aussie on The Esplanade foreshore and at Kings Park. As ever, the spectacular fireworks will be a highlight of the January 26 celebrations.

Australia Day at the South Perth Foreshore.

25. Sky News presenter Ashleigh Gillon: A long lazy vineyard lunch accompanied by a chilled bottle of Margaret River white. Life with a toddler means opportunities for the indulgence are few and far between. For my family, the discovery of Arimia down south has meant we can still enjoy what has always been a favourite summer’s day treat.

26. Swimming with dolphins at Bunbury thanks to the multi-award winning Dolphin Discovery Centre.

27. Lake Leschenaultia. Pack your bathers and head 45 minutes inland to the Shire of Mundaring where this former railway dam turned recreational lake offers a stunning weekend retreat.

28. WA Cricket coach Justin Langer: Catching blue manna crabs and then eating them with fresh bread, salt, pepper and vinegar. You wouldn’t be dead for quids.

29. Cheering on the table-topping Perth Glory in the soccer A-League.

30. Craft beer, from the staples at Little Creatures in Fremantle to the Feral Brewing Company in Baskerville.

31. Don the mask and snorkel and make a splash at the Busselton Jetty. The longest jetty in the southern hemisphere is a wildlife mecca, with visibility to match.

32. A steak and cheese pie at the Dunsborough bakery.

33. Kayaking on Augusta’s Blackwood River in the rivermouth.

34. Popstar Samantha Jade: WA summers are simply the best. From Cottesloe Beach to Margaret River we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The Giants are coming to Perth.

35. The Giants. We haven’t seen them yet, but these towering puppets (one that stands 11m tall) will be something to remember. The $5.4 million public spectacle will kick off the Perth International Arts Festival and be the biggest free public arts event the state has ever had.

36. Dropping the crab nets in the Swan River or Peel Inlet for a feed of fat blue mannas.

37. Watching how bad the weather is everywhere else. As Perth enjoys an amazing summer, there’s always someone on your Facebook newsfeed who is complaining a miserable winter and declaring how jealous they are of your photos.

38. Nine News Perth weather presenter Scherri-Lee Biggs: Fish and chips on at Cottesloe beach on a balmy summer evening.

Scherri-Lee Biggs. Photo: Sean Middleton

39. The Boyup Brook Country Music Festival.

40. Trying your luck under the lights of the Narrows Bridge for the mythical mulloway.

41. An early morning round at Point Walter Golf Course. The giant gum tree in the middle of the fairway on the 7th hole has ruined many promising under-par rounds.

42. The Fringe Festival. Running from January 23-February 22, the annual art event takes over Perth with everything from burlesque to a battle between rappers and comedians. This year’s event comes with the Fringe World UV rating (mild to very hot) so audiences can tell what they’re in for.

43. Every green thumb with a veggie patch loves summer for one reason above all others – it’s the one time of year to grow a bountiful harvest of sweet, juicy tomatoes that eclipse anything you can find in a supermarket. For a true taste of summer, pick one ripe from the bush, wrap it in a basil leaf and devour on the spot.

44. Tourism Council Chief Executive Evan Hall: Summer Sunday in the Perth Hills. I love wandering through Kalamunda markets, having a picnic in the cool at Araluen gardens or a Sunday session with cold ciders at CORE cider house.

45. The summer afternoon sou’wester. Beach-goers might head for home when the sea breeze kicks in but this is the hour our army of kite surfers relish.

46. Summer is crayfish season and few spots are more scenic than diving for crays off Hamelin Bay near Augusta. While you’re in the vicinity, take in the spectacular view from the top of the Augusta lighthouse.

47. Manjimup stone fruit. During summer the peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots are ripe, full of flavour, sweet as honey and about as local as they come.

48. Summer means it’s finally warm enough to ditch the wetsuit and indulge in a surf or stand-up paddle board session at Iso’s reef off Cottesloe wearing only boardshorts or a bikini.

49. Being lazy. Summer in WA is hot, so there’s no better excuse to just lounge around. Whether its under the shade in a park, on the couch at home or down the beach – summer makes being lazy socially acceptable.

50. WA Premier Colin Barnett: Tennis season. I play early on Thursday mornings and on the weekends when I can. For tennis lovers this is a great time of year with the Hopman Cup in Perth and the Australian Open (on TV).

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Natural Pink Lakes of Perth, Australia - Hutt Lagoon at Port Gregory

Western Australia is home to a number of extraordinary ‘pink lakes’.This particular bubblegum-pink wonder of nature is the Hutt Lagoon at Port Gregory (about 5 hours drive from Perth city).

This stunning spot is hidden along the extensive coastline of Western Australia and its vibrant hue is created by bacteria which becomes trapped in the salt granules.

The breathtaking colours of the Hutt Lagoon in Western Australia change during the day, and it is best viewed at sundown.

The colours of the Hutt Lagoon are magnificent from the air, these shots were captured onboard Kalbarri Air Charter.

Photo credits: Lancome & Australia.com

Top 10 tourism strategy could see Perth overtake Gold Coast

Currently, on a list of international visitor nights spent per tourism region, Perth sits in fifth place with 719,000. The Gold Coast is fourth with 755,000

A leading WA tourism body has called on a working plan for the rail link between Perth and the airport and the development of bigger and better event venues to be among the state government's priorities.

Cutting government red tape currently hampering the development of tourism initiatives and improved customer service standards are also among the strategies that the Tourism Council WA believe can see Perth overtake the Gold Coast as the No. 4 most popular destination in Australia for international visitors.

The new plan set out by Tourism Council WA is expected to create 11,000 new jobs and add $2.6 billion to the local economy from extra visitor spending.

Tourism Council CEO Mr Hall said that most of the attractions and accommodation needed for the Destination Perth strategy to be realised are already being planned or are already underway.

"But we must work together on the events, services and marketing to convert these new assets to bums on seats and guests in beds," he said.

"New destinations such as the museum, stadium and Elizabeth Quay will transform Perth as a tourism destination.

"Under the Destination Perth strategy, our evolving city will create new jobs delivering services to new visitors."

The strategy was delivered to media and industry members by Mr Hall on Monday as a vision to be considered by government, industry and the community.

It was developed in alignment to the state government's Strategy for Tourism in WA that has a target of doubling the value of tourism expenditure from $6 billion in 2010 to $12 billion by 2020.

Part of the strategy includes 10 major developments that have been identified as targets that if addressed will see Perth rise closer to the top of favoured destinations for international, interstate and intrastate visitors.

Currently, on a list of international visitor nights spent in 2012 per tourism region, Perth sits in fifth place with 719,000. The Gold Coast is fourth with 755,000.

And in a similar list that shows domestic overnight visitors in 2012, Perth is in seventh place with 2,808,000, behind both the North Coast and South Coast of NSW. Again, the Gold Coast is fourth behind Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Mr Hall insists that the rail link between Perth and the airport needs to happen sooner rather than later and hopes it is not still an issue for debate by the time the next state election comes around.

He also believes that there is a renewed interest from private investors in Perth that could help make the wish list more achievable.

"There is certainly an appetite for private investment in the city; we are seeing people wanting to build hotels. We haven't seen that for many, many years," he said.

"That's what happens when you get the policy right, with government and with the private sector. We are seeing people wanting to start up new tourism operations and certainly for things like the cable cart, these would certainly be private operations, funded by the tourism industry, not by government.

"What we are doing is leveraging off government investment in things like Elizabeth Quay and the stadium and the museum and we can turn that into jobs and revenue and improved lifestyle for the people of Perth."

Top 10 developments:

1. Perth Airport upgrade and rail link to the CBD;
2. 1900 additional hotel rooms and a broader range of budget, business and luxury hotels.
3. 4 new event venues and expansion of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre to 30,000m2 (from 16,700m2).
4. Fast track approvals for innovative new experiences, tours and adventure activities.
5. New flagship attractions including the Elizabeth Quay to Kings Park Cable Car and an Indigenous Cultural Centre.
6. Managing and marketing new attractions to attract new visitors to Perth (eg selling 10,000 seats to Victorian visitors for AFL games at the new stadium).
7. A new iconic annual home grown event to showcase Perth to the world.
8. Sustained investment in public beaches, parks, gardens, heritage and cultural assets.
9. Investment to secure future business and tourism events timed to fill the new hotels and attractions as they open doors.
10. Enhanced customer service culture and liberalisation of liquor and retail trading regulations.

By Brad Elborough -

Source: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/top-10-tourism-strategy-could-see-perth-overtake-gold-coast-20140325-35f83.html#ixzz2x7627uQ5

Perth International Arts Festival 2014

Perth International Arts Festival 2014 is the longest running and best loved international arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere.

This year is the 62nd annual Festival. In 2013 Festival shows sold more than $5 million worth of tickets, with attendances of over 500,000 from a city of under 2 million people: we sell more tickets per capita than any international arts festival in Australia.

The 62nd Perth Festival kicks off on Friday, 7 February and runs until 1 March. The diverse program offers a world-class cultural feast for arts lovers of all ages and persuasions. In a quintessentially Western Australian experience, more than 1000 of the world's most exciting contemporary artists transform and disrupt Perth as the Festival spills across unique venues and glorious, outdoor spaces.

Living up to its worldwide reputation for excellence, in 2014 the Festival delivers a program of unforgettable, enriching works, created by artists who are daring, thoughtful, and innovative, with 26 Australian exclusives, 33 Australian premieres and two world premieres.

Perth Festival Artistic Director Jonathan Holloway said: "The 2014 Perth Festival collaborates with the world's greatest artists and many of Western Australia's most creative and talented people to find new and exciting ways to create a Festival in and of Perth. Joining us in our exploration of what it is to be a 21st Century festival in the remotest and yet most connected capital city in the Southern Hemisphere are Robert Wilson, Dawn Upshaw, Martin Amis, The National, William Kentridge, Tod Machover and Public Enemy, to name just 20 of the 1000+ artistic collaborators."

The 2014 Festival explodes in a spectacle of wonder with the Lotterywest Festival Spectacular Veles e Vents, supported by Eventscorp. For three nights over the opening weekend, the Spanish masters of public theatre take to the seas and the sky, recreating a ship's grand and perilous voyage in a sublime visual display of fireworks and light. Suitable for the whole family, the exclusive Australian premiere promises to kick off the 2014 Festival with an explosion of music and movement.

The Festival's free program takes art to the people as the streets of Perth are playfully transformed and life re-imagined. Sam Routledge & Martyn Coutts' I Think I Can brings avatars to life in an enchanted model town. The Lotterywest Festival Celebration, Jeremy Deller's Sacrilege, invites Festival goers to literally leap into ancient history, re-creating Stonehenge as a full-scale bouncy castle.

The Chevron Festival Gardens become the ambient Festival hub as guests gather, discuss and participate, with free entry to the Garden from 5pm until late Wednesday-Saturday and 6.30pm until late Sunday-Tuesday.

The 2014 Theatre and Circus program traverses the spectrum from the gritty to the surreal, inviting the world's most acclaimed performers to the Australian stage. Modern master of the Russian avant-garde, Dmitry Krymov, makes his Australian debut with A Midsummer Night's Dream (As You Like It), a whirling re-imagining of history's first great love story, that of Pyramus and Thisbe. From Israel comes the Australian premiere of Not by Bread Alone: 11 deaf-blind actors take audiences on a profoundly moving journey through their inner world, as bread is kneaded, formed and baked on stage. Raw and explosive, South Africa's Yael Farber adapts Strindberg's classic Miss Julie to post-apartheid South Africa in Mies Julie, revealing theatre at its most potent.

Theatre genius Robert Wilson returns to Perth in the exclusive Australian premiere of Samuel Beckett's blackly comic masterpiece, Krapp's Last Tape. From New York, Perth welcomes An Iliad, superstar Denis O'Hare's riveting one-man performance of Homer's Trojan epic. The UK's internationally renowned NoFit State Circus brings circus as you've never seen it with the Australian premiere of Bianco, a graceful, aerial adventure of drama and breathtaking ability which immerses the audience in the action.


Further highlights include two Festival co-commissions. Malthouse Theatre's The Shadow King is an explosive interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear, melding contemporary Aboriginal storytelling in a blood-soaked interrogation of kinship, land and belonging. Co-commissioned by the Festival, Opus fuses the contemporary circus of Australia's finest, Circa, with dynamic music of Shostakovitch performed by France's Debussy String Quartet.

You Once Said Yes is unforgettable one-on-one theatre. As part of our Vital Stages program, we bring Look Left Look Right together with Western Australian artists to create a thrilling theatrical experience for the people of Perth. One of the most exciting theatre collectives in the world, Germany's Rimini Protokoll presents the Australian exclusive of Situation Rooms. In this multi-dimensional, interactive documentary theatre experience, audiences explore a maze of stories from people whose lives have been touched by the weapons industry. This is theatre like you've never experienced it before.

Perth Monopoly Board in the Planning

AN official Perth Monopoly game is in the planning, with Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi already throwing in her two cents worth regarding which landmarks to include.

Ms Scaffidi, who was last year dubbed second best mayor in the world, was one of the first on Tuesday to "like" the project's Facebook page, where members of the public can suggest landmarks they'd like to see included.

Top of her list was the 50-year-old Council House, which glows in a variety of colours at night following the addition of more than 22,000 LED lights in 2010.

She also suggested Kings Park, which City of Perth wants to include within its boundaries along with James Packer's Crown Casino at Burswood.

The park is currently administered by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority while Crown falls within Victoria Park.

Ms Scaffidi defended the City of Perth's plan to annexe more land, which has been rejected by Victoria Park Mayor Trevor Vaughan as "cherry picking".

"We're disappointed that some parochialism has slipped into this argument," Ms Scaffidi told AAP.

"They are very passionate about their local communities but we need to lift our horizons very strategically about what is the capital city and the form of local government that is going to serve our greater city well for the next 30 to 50 years.

"If we just do small tweaks and minor boundary changes, it's really not going to be worth the expense or the bother."

Ms Scaffidi also said the City of Perth remains staunchly opposed to the Liberal-led state government's plan to run light rail down its main pedestrian malls as there would not be enough room to accommodate both trams and foot traffic.

She said light rail would be good running down the main corporate thoroughfare, St George's Terrace, however.

Ms Scaffidi also said Transperth buses should not be allowed in the CBD as they add substantially to congestion, leaving the free CAT buses and light rail to ferry people around the small CBD zone.

Back on Monopoly, she suggested Jutland Parade in Dalkeith - one of the nation's most salubrious suburbs - could be Mayfair.

The game is scheduled to hit the shelves in November.

PCB Welcomes Perth Hotel Expansion

Metro Hotel Perth will increase its room capacity by almost 50% as management looks to capitalise on ever increasing demand for Perth hotels.

Following a $3.5 million renovation to all 94 rooms in 2009, Metro Hotel Perth is embarking on a new project which will include major renovations to the lobby area, hotel, pool area and restaurant.
Forty-six new rooms will also be completed by the end of the year, bringing the property’s offering to 140 rooms.

Making the announcement yesterday, Metro Hospitality Group chief operating officer George Bedwani said the additional rooms were vital to address accommodation shortages in Perth, where occupancy currently stands at 85%.

“We believe the hotel industry in Perth will remain buoyant over the next five years as there continues to be capacity constraints due to few major hotel developments being built in Perth,” he said.

“This hotel is in high demand [and] we are now going the next step to ensure we benefit from the anticipated growth and demand over the next 4-5 years,” Bedwani added.

With the latest Deloitte Global Performance Review predicting that Perth occupancy will peak at 89% in 2014, Perth Convention Bureau chief executive Paul Beeson said the additional capacity comes as a fitting time for the MICE market.

“The effects on MICE will be positive, with an increase in room stock and by extension more competitive rates,” he told The Nibbler. “The WA government’s efforts to incentivise hotel development continue to stimulate additional room stock, and The Metro Hotel is a direct result of this.”

Construction will commence mid year and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. Management has promised the development will cause “minimal disruption” to guests.

Perth Zoo's Baby Echidnas Looking Sharp

THEY weighed less than a gram when they hatched, but Perth Zoo's two baby Echidnas are growing into their spikes.

The baby short-beaked echidnas now tip the scales at more than a kilogram but they have plenty more growing to do and could reach up to seven kilograms, zoo keepers say.

Babbin and Nyingarn gained world attention late last year as the first young - or puggles - successfully bred from zoo-born echidnas. Their four-year-old mothers, Mila and Chindi, were also born at Perth Zoo.

The puggles spent their first two months in their mothers' pouches before nestling into their nursery burrows and are just starting to venture out to explore their surroundings.

The zoo has 15 echidnas, eight of them born at the facility.

Echidnas have no major predators in the wild due to their spines, but dingoes sometimes eat them.

Perth Zoo Australian fauna supervisor Belinda Turner said the zoo's successful echidna breeding program was helping experts learn more about echidna behaviour and breeding.

An international echidna workshop is currently being held at Perth Zoo to discuss their reproductive behaviour and increase their breeding success at other zoos.

BABBIN THE BABY ECHIDNA AT PERTH ZOO TODAY. PICTURE: SUPPLIED PERTHNOW

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Rihanna Brings Diamonds to Perth

Controversial pop diva Rihanna will kick off her Australian tour at Perth Arena on September 24.

The Barbadian singer, who last played Perth two years ago, kicked off her Diamonds World Tour in the US on Friday and has dates throughout North America, Africa and Europe until the end of July.

The 25-year-old, whose hits include Umbrella, Only Girl (In the World) and We Found Love, will have a short break then return to the road in Oz.

Rihanna recently revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that she had rekindled her on-and-off again relationship with rapper Chris Brown, who was charged with assaulting her before the Grammy Awards in 2009.

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Perth Booms But WA Regions in Peril

Hotels in Perth and mining centres continue to thrive in Western Australia while the South West of the state remains in peril.

Latest figures show occupancy in Perth CBD and Geraldton at 86% and 83.4% respectively while in the South West more than half the rooms are empty with occupancy sitting at just 45.3%.

Occupancy across regional WA as a whole was 62%.

The figures, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the September quarter, further illustrates the gulf between mining and city centre areas and regional tourism centres.

Tourism Council WA said the government is relying on the mining boom and under investing in tourism.

"WA has the second lowest level of funding for tourism promotions of any state," chief executive Evan Hall said. "As a result hotels are booming in Perth and mining towns from business travel, while regional tourist towns are struggling.

"There's more to our economy than digging holes in the ground and it's time for the government to make tourism and events a state priority."

ABS figures show Broome occupancy at 79%, Exmouth 66%, Margaret River 54%, Esperance 51%, Derby, West Kimberley 46%, Busselton 44% and Augusta 28%.

Australian Hotels Association (AHA) WA chief executive Bradley Woods said measures are being taken to drive tourism.

"Initiatives by the State Government, including a new regional marketing campaign to generate tourism in regional Western Australia should result in a boost for those tourism regions who are currently doing it tough," he said.