91 Days Later: Minister and Zempilas in war of words over Perth night space

The blame game between the state government and the City of Perth over Ruah’s safe night space for women has been reignited, with Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas claiming the facility had now been closed longer on the state’s watch than the council’s.

It’s been almost three months since Homelessness Minister John Carey exercised his power to call in a row between the city and Ruah that had reached the State Administrative Tribunal.

City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas and Homelessness Minister John Carey have clashed over the safe night space.

The city had approved the community service provider’s plans to operate the facility at its existing James Street premises in Northbridge.

But that was conditional on the facility being operated “to the city’s satisfaction”, an order Ruah said was “heavy-handed” and a risk to its success.

The saga over operation of the women’s shelter last boiled over in November when a city-funded pilot Ruah had been running from the Rod Evans Centre in East Perth ceased amid complaints from residents.

The lord mayor, now also the Liberal candidate for Churchlands, used his deputation time at this week’s council meeting to launch a scathing attack on the state over its handling of the situation, an attack he said was prompted by journalist questions about the facility.

“I’m glad they’ve asked because it enables me the opportunity to give the answer: I don’t know,” Zempilas told the meeting on Tuesday.

What the prominent Seven West Media personality did know was that the ball had been in Carey’s court 48 hours longer than it had been in the city’s — because Zempilas had crunched the numbers.

“From the Safe Night Space closing [November 30] to when this council unanimously voted for it to reopen at a new location on James Street was 89 days, and within those 89 days, another site was put forward in Northbridge which was rejected by the state government,” Zempilas said.

“From the moment of that unanimous decision to reopen to today is now 91 days.

“So the Safe Night Space has now been closed longer than when it initially closed following our decision on November 30.”

Zempilas told the council and public gallery the centre could have opened three months ago and urged those with questions about the facility to direct them the state government’s way.

“Winter has set in, the cold weather has come. The rain has come,” he said.

“The state government … it would appear have a decision looming or pending or being deliberated.

“But the longer those deliberations go, the longer the Safe Night Space is closed and that’s not an outcome, I believe, is favourable to anyone in our community.”

Minister Carey fired back, telling WAtoday the situation was one of the city’s own making and the onerous conditions imposed on Ruah left the nonprofit with little recourse but the tribunal.

Carey, who has since handed the decision-making power over to Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson over concerns of a “perceived conflict of interest”, said the city had chosen to impose additional conditions on the provider’s operations without consultation.

“It’s disgraceful for the lord mayor to attempt to rewrite history. First, he shut down the service and then forced Ruah to go through an entirely unnecessary process,” he said.

“The Safe Night Space could have been open within days at the James Street site. In fact, the lord mayor himself confirmed an expedited pathway was available, but he refused to implement it.

“As a preferred use, public advertising or full council determination was not required, the lord mayor himself forced this application down the longer public advertising pathway.”

Ruah chief executive Debra Zanella insisted the organisation was working to be ready to reopen and had established a community advisory group with members from the city and other stakeholders.

Zanella said Ruah’s preference would have been to reopen sooner, but that the conditions imposed by the city were “untenable” for the service’s effective delivery.

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