CITY of Perth commissioners have confirmed planning will go ahead for the 2021 Australia Day Skyworks.

Planning on the $2.8 million event has to start soon if it’s to get sorted in time, and chair commissioner Andrew Hammond said staff should get the ball rolling so as to not tie the hands of the new council to be elected in October.

He says there’s many varied viewpoints on Skyworks but commissioners shouldn’t be cancelling it, and the new council should have a discussion with the community about whether to fund Skyworks and celebrate Australia Day.

If the new council decides to pull the plug immediately after getting elected, the city would’ve already spent about $556,000 in planning and staff time. 

They’ll keep in regular contact with WA’s chief health officer and police commissioner to check if the event can still go ahead. 

When deciding who to buy their fireworks from, a key part of the tender criteria will be whether the supplier is willing to shoulder some of the financial risk if it’s cancelled, instead 

of leaving them with 45 tonnes of unwanted explosives.