Hey Google, go West

TASMANIA’S remote West Coast has put up its hand to be considered as the Australian home of Google in an “out of left field” bid the region’s council hopes the tech giant will take seriously.

However, the courting may be short lived, with Google managing director Jason Pellegrino recently tweeting that the company was not looking beyond Sydney for a location for its long-term headquarters.

West Coast Mayor Phil Vickers said the council had written to Google on Tuesday to ask it to consider setting up its Australian headquarters in his municipality.

The idea was put up by councillor Scott Stringer following reports that Tasmanian Senator Jonathon Duniam had contacted Google to ask it to consider this state for its Australian base.

“This opportunity is one too good to miss and we hope Google take it seriously,” Mayor Vickers said.

“With the NBN finally starting its rollout here on the West Coast there is certainly no reason for the West Coast to not be in the mix.

“Rather than simply ruling ourselves out of the race for such a proposal, council has agreed to have a go and hopefully this gathers some interest in our region.”

But Mr Pellegrino was upfront in a Tweet this month about Google’s intentions.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the interest from all over Australia for us to move to their towns and cities. But at this stage we are focused on Sydney and our long-term growth ambitions are here,” he tweeted.

In his letter, Mayor Vickers says the “rugged, barely tamed” West Coast was “looking to reinvent” itself and thought its “determination and spirit would make a perfect match for Google’s pioneering approach.”

Yesterday, Senator Duniam said he supported the West Coast’s tech bid and he was still working with the company to facilitate a visit to show it what the area had to offer and realise the vision of a world-class innovative precinct to be located in Tasmania.

State Growth Minister Peter Gutwein said Tasmania was leading the nation in terms of business confidence and it made “perfect sense” for Google to set up here.