Zempilas unleashes on Labor in what could be his last mayoral address

Basil Zempilas, the City of Perth lord mayor and Liberal party’s candidate for Churchlands, has taken several parting shots at the Cook government in what could be his final address to council.

Zempilas sent a letter to Premier Roger Cook this week outlining six areas of tension simmering between the city and government since he was elected as lord mayor in 2020.

Perth Lord Mayor and Liberal candidate for Churchlands, Basil Zempilas.Credit: Trevor Collens

They included rejecting a city request to operate an East Perth car park as the government prepares to build a new primary school; the government’s intervention in a rates fight with the WACA; and the premier’s failure to meet with Zempilas this year, as required under the City of Perth Act.

Zempilas read the letter aloud at the start of what could be his last lord mayoral address, given the council breaks for summer until February, which would be in the middle of government caretaker mode ahead of the March election. He also told the meeting he would take a leave of absence from council when the writs were issued for the election.

Cook last convened the City of Perth committee in August last year, and at the top of Zempilas’ list of gripes was the failure to arrange a meeting this year.

“Further to my earlier correspondence, it appears neither you nor your office intend convening the next City of Perth Committee before the end of this year,” Zempilas said in his letter.

“As the lord mayor, it has always been my role to advocate for our city. I have done this diligently and consistently.

“The continued disinclination for state government to engage with the city has been challenging but we will continue and welcome a meeting to discuss the above matters which importantly affect our community.”

The City of Perth Act requires the premier, Perth lord mayor, local government minister, as well as heads of the city and Department of Local Government of the day, to meet biannually at times set by the premier.

Responding to opposition taunts on the topic in parliament in October, Cook said his diary was too busy and that Zempilas’ decision to run for the Liberals had changed the dynamic of their relationship.

“I don’t have any truck with what the mayor of Perth wants to do with his political career, but obviously there are implications associated with that, including it impacts on these sort of opportunities to catch up,” he said at the time.

Zempilas said several government interventions to grant the WACA a rates discount – or in the case of this financial year and the 2022-23 financial year, a 100 per cent exemption – had cost the city nearly $1 million.

On the 497-bay car park in East Perth, Zempilas took aim at the state government for rejecting a proposal for the city to run the car park – acquired through the East Perth Primary School project – on behalf of the state.

The bays are currently being offered for free to commuters, but Zempilas has previously claimed they would have generated $650,000 in parking levies, and that the total cost of the move could be as much as $1 million.

“This has led to two car parks with no management whilst at the same time incurring a parking levy for WA taxpayers with no offsets, which the city running the car parks would have provided,” Zempilas said.

On the topic of parking, he also revisited one of his oldest beefs with the government – the City of Perth parking levy.

The levy came into the focus of Auditor-General Caroline Spencer, whose report last year scolded the government for its management of the fund, which is topped up with a $1000-$1200 annual fee applied to every bay in the city.

“I have advocated previously for the abolition, reduction or, at the very least a ‘freeze’ to the Perth Parking Levy because of the adverse impacts on business and the city’s economy,” Zempilas said.

“My previous correspondence to you and the minister for transport seeking change have been ignored. In fact, the levy has continued to increase.”

Zempilas also questioned why the state government had not formally closed out the City of Perth Inquiry, and where the state government’s official response to the inquiry recommendations was.

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