‘B-grade TV personality’: Labor lashes lord mayor, Libs vow to dump school deal

Liberal leader Libby Mettam says if elected she would return to the negotiating table over a new school, even as parliamentary debate over the land acquisition has descended into a row over her high-profile election candidate.

The East Perth Primary School development had stalled until last month, when the state government announced it would repeal an act preventing the 1.6-hectare site’s redevelopment, without approval from City of Perth council or its Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas, who is also the Liberal candidate for Churchlands.

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas and Liberal Party leader Libby Mettam. Credit: Holly Thompson/ Supplied

And Thursday’s parliamentary debate over the Labor government’s bill to secure the land descended into a slanging match over Zempilas.

Member for Cockburn David Scaife claimed Zempilas had backflipped on supporting the school after announcing his candidacy, labelling him a “B-grade TV personality” and accusing him of using the plan as a political football.

“Mr Zempilas can’t be blamed too much for this chameleon-like behaviour because I think it’s in his nature — at his core, Mr Zempilas is a B-grade Perth TV personality cosplaying as a politician,” he told Parliament.

“When you turn the cameras on, the smiling TV personality comes out, and when you turn them off, the mean-spirited Liberal candidate comes out, and the unfortunate result of that performance from Zempilas is that it’s the state government that has had to step in to deliver for Perth residents.”

When contacted by this masthead, Zempilas said: “I’m sorry, who is that? I’m sorry, I have never ever heard of that person. Is [Scaife] the motor racing driver?”

The lord mayor reiterated comments made at the time of the initial announcement in which he clarified that he was supportive of an inner-city primary school provided the business case stacked up for ratepayers.

Outside Parliament, Mettam said the way the government had gone about the land acquisition was unprecedented and “reeked of arrogance”, encouraging them to return to the negotiating table.

“The course of action that the Cook Labor government has taken is absolutely unprecedented and reeks of a government who believe that they are above accountability,” she said.

Mettam said her party was committed to the development, but refused to be drawn on what she believed was a fair amount of compensation for the site.

The state intends to compensate the city $4.2 million in lost revenue for the location, a portion of which is occupied by the Queens Gardens car park.

“We have the advice that this is the legal route that we should take as a result of the City not coming to the party, and we believe this is the right process,” Education Minister Tony Buti said after announcing the decision.

Zempilas maintains the site is worth more like $40 million and wants compensation closer to that.

But the state claims that unlocking this parcel would also unlock residential development that could see the city profit to the tune of $27 million.

Zempilas, who is also a prominent Seven West Media personality, has frequently addressed the matter during council meetings claiming ratepayers have been dudded by the deal, sparking the latest bitter feud between the city and state.

In November, Zempilas received a letter from Buti’s office stating it would purchase a portion of the Queens Gardens car park site at “a fair market valuation” to allow for the construction of the school.

Both the City and the state government independently valued that portion around $40 million.

But Buti said there had never been an offer to purchase the land, and there was an issue with the language in the correspondence, which he “immediately cleared up”.

Read more

WA Labor MP slams government, state’s newspaper over ‘nature negative’ slant

WA leaky pipes fix could hit $1 billion: BGC

The morbid reason house prices will soar in the western suburbs