Gina Rinehart wants a helipad and ‘meow terrace’ at her $270m Perth HQ

Four months on, the miner is seeking a fresh development approval to install helideck markings, fall protection and a clear zone on the roof of its five-storey office building to accommodate Rinehart’s Bell 429 helicopter.

According to the proposal, the $10 million, eight-seater chopper would land at the site adjacent to Kings Park no more than 12 times annually between 7am and 7pm.

The aircraft is the same make and model as that owned by Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison, who also sought council approval to land his at a public park opposite the miner’s Osborne Park headquarters about five kilometres north-west of Rinehart’s office.

It is understood that the helipad could serve as a back-up option for emergency services, located between three of the city’s major hospitals.

Roy Hill’s new digs on Perth’s western fringe are already undergoing a major overhaul to turn the facade pink, refurbish the interior and add a landscaped terrace.

The company bought the 6000-square-metre block on Ord Street, previously occupied by Santos, for $60 million three years ago to shift its 1000 employees from Perth Airport to the city centre.

Feline facilities

The application has shed more light on the miner’s plans for the new headquarters, with detailed architectural drawings showing the first two floors of flexible working stations, collaboration areas, and a town hall amphitheatre.

Rinehart – worth $38.1 billion – is set to occupy the third floor, which features a large chairman’s office and en suite complete with an outdoor terrace.

To her right, the office of her right-hand man, Roy Hill chief executive Gerhard Veldsman, who will occupy an executive suite surrounded by meeting rooms and a waiting area for their guests. The executives will also have their own private kitchen and boardroom.

The third floor will also be home to a studio for Roy Hill’s 24-hour radio station.

Rinehart, a patron of popular pet welfare service Cat Haven WA, has earmarked space for a “cat” meeting room leading to a “meow” terrace.

Those occupying the complex’s surrounding office buildings and high-rise residential dwellings have been notified as part of a month-long public consultation process.

Just two business days after the proposal was first advertised, a City of Perth spokesperson revealed five submissions had been received but declined to divulge whether they were penned in support or opposition to the proposal.

The city is also yet to decide whether the plans will be approved by the development team under delegated authority or referred to the council.

Hancock Prospecting declined to be drawn on the proposal, deeming it inappropriate to make any comment while the plans were under assessment.

The application comes almost two years after the company shot down persistent speculation the headquarters would feature a helicopter landing area.

The development application is the second Hancock Prospecting has lodged with planning authorities as part of a plan to drop $270 million on redeveloping the company’s two West Perth sites – separated by less than 300 metres.

The billionaire’s family empire is seeking the approval of Western Australia’s Planning Commission to clear four blocks of land to make way for its new $250 million headquarters.

Hancock Prospecting wants to demolish three office buildings and a 120-year-old Federation-style home to build two 12-storey towers connected by a podium.

The development – earmarked for the site the company has occupied since Rinehart’s pioneer father Lang Hancock led the firm in the 1980s – comprises a crèche, food and beverage offerings, corporate offices, five serviced apartments, a pool terrace, gym, sauna and steam rooms.

A city spokesperson told The Australian Financial Review it had broadly backed Rinehart’s proposal, but suggested parts of the design be reviewed or refined.

The proposal stirred controversy among heritage conservationists and raised questions about a potential conflict of interest, after it was revealed Perth’s former lord mayor-turned-opposition leader Basil Zempilas used his casting vote in 2023 to go against official advice and remove the 120-year-old property from the city’s heritage list – as requested by Hancock Prospecting.

Zempilas, who has regularly attended and emceed Rinehart’s functions and whose wife was on the payroll for her company Rossi Boots, denied receiving any financial benefit from Rinehart and rejected any assertion he should have declared an interest in the matter.

A total of 70 public submissions concerning the $250 million plan were received during the month-long consultation period, 40 of which backed the proposal, 26 of which opposed and four of which were neutral.