Jaysen Miguel - Bunbury Mayor (05.06.2026)

**Mark Duffield** (0:11)
This is Mornings with Mark Duffield on S.E.N.W.A.
Yes, welcome back to the Harvey Norman Superstore. We're out here on Sandridge Road in Bunbury. Of course, we're here ahead of the big game tomorrow between North Melbourne and Fremantle at Hands Oval. Don't forget before the end of the show, we've got the big giveaway. Of course, if you've been in the store, if you've spent a bit of money and put your name in the boxes that they're providing at the store, you might win the major prize, which is two tickets to the sold out game between North and the Dockers tomorrow. It's a clubroom event. It's a corporate function. The best seats in the house. You'll be watching the game from a better position than any of the other 15,000.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:57)
You'll be fed and watered pretty well as well, I imagine.

**Mark Duffield** (0:59)
Fed and watered, probably mainly watered. But joining us now, one of the men behind this great event is the Bumbry Mayor, Jaysen Miguel. He joins us on the show. Jaysen, welcome.

**Jaysen Miguel** (1:09)
Good morning, boys.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:10)
How are you, mate? Look at the smile on your face. You're up and about. We spoke to you on Tuesday, I think it was, but you're up and about right now, aren't you?

**Jaysen Miguel** (1:17)
Yeah. Well, I've just come from the Oval Maid and it's buzzing down there. So it's good that the town's alive. So we're really excited for tomorrow.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:24)
Yeah. North Elminscalf.

**Jaysen Miguel** (1:26)
Of course, mate. Well, we wouldn't be sitting here if North Elminscalf haven't chose to sell their home games. So we've got to get around them.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:33)
All on board.

**Jaysen Miguel** (1:33)
Remember?

**SPEAKER_3** (1:34)
All aboard the North Train.

**Jaysen Miguel** (1:35)
Two year member now. Used me to get the first time this morning to buy this scarf. So it's good.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:40)
What excites you the most?

**Jaysen Miguel** (1:42)
Look, just having AFL in the region, we're just talking about on the way here. Obviously, this stadium that we built is going to be almost two years old and it was pretty much built. And then a couple of months later, we got a phone call saying this might be happening. So, it will come very quickly when those conversations are being had about the upgrade of hands over. We were saying, I'll be good if we get a waffle game and who knows, one day an AFL pre-season game and all this kind of stuff. And then next minute, we've got a premiership points.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:07)
And Tourism WA, so during the coverage of the game, obviously, if you're watching on telly or listening, watching on telly and listening to SESync, which you do, so you get the best commentators, they'll be having great packages of all the Southwest flying into Busso and coming to Bumbri and hitting the other way as well.

**Jaysen Miguel** (2:27)
Well, and that's the big benefit, of course, the game itself and getting this direct economic benefit that we're going to see over this weekend, but all the talk and spotlight on the region and the city, which we're very proud about. I was talking to some of your colleagues from SCN and Victoria during the week, and they were obviously giving a big plug up as well, and then they talked back during the week. They're all talking about it. So it's what we want to see. Fortunately, we're going to have perfect weather this weekend, bit better than last week, boys, but it's going to be a great spectacle.

**Mark Duffield** (2:53)
Jaysen, obviously, a game was played last year between West Coast and North Melbourne. There was also a pre-season game played last year between West Coast and North Melbourne. Have you been able to do any measures on what that event has been worth to the city of Bumbri and also the wider region?

**Jaysen Miguel** (3:09)
Yeah, look, there's always going to be stats around what you can use in these different arguments. I heard them talking about a $2 million economic uptick for the weekend. That's Tourism WA released some of those figures. ABC actually told me that this morning. I was unaware of that. I haven't seen that breakdown. We know, speaking with North Melbourne, they had around 1500 members come over from the East Coast for this two-week period.
So we know that's coming to town. You only had to walk around the city last year on the Monday and seeing the amount of North Melbourne people who were just in the cafes and whatnot. So the numbers are there. Something that's a bit more difficult to measure is obviously that exposure we are getting. How many people actually come out here for the first time and said, wow, WA and the region is really good, and how many of those may come back in future years or now start planning their trips with the Busselton Airport. Of course, it's so easy for the East Coast now to just jump on a plane and come over here. So that's something very difficult to measure. Of course, people who come to a place and have a good time, they'll come back again.