FREMANTLE mayoral candidate Adele Carles has accused the council of “rushing through” the Glory deal a day before going into election caretaker mode to deliberately derail her major campaign pitch.

Ms Carles wants the council to stay at Fremantle Oval so the new Walyalup Civic Centre can be repurposed as the state’s major Aboriginal Cultural Centre (“Carles plans political comeback,” Herald, September 4, 2021).

“Extraordinary lengths these guys are prepared to go to to block my proposed Aboriginal Cultural Centre – how dare they not let democratic due process take place,” Ms Carles told the Herald.

“The timing and rush for this Perth Glory deal four weeks out from the local government elections is unbelievable.

“If Fremantle people elect me as mayor on October 16, that will be an endorsement to repurpose the admin centre into a tourism drawcard to make the building pay for itself and to provide a much-needed boost to our struggling businesses in Fremantle.

“I say let the Fremantle people decide this one.”

An unattributed statement from the council said its Council Decision Making During Electoral Period Policy didn’t kick in until 4pm on Thursday – just 22 hours afterthe finance and policy committee meeting.

Unbelievable

“In any event, the item being considered at FPOL … is only to agree to the essential licence terms, for the purposes of advertising in accordance with the local government act.

Curiously, the council did defer the sale of 7-15 Quarry Street at its last monthly meeting specifically because 

the advertising period required under legislation fell during the caretaker period. As sales and leases are both considered “disposals” under the act, the Chook asked why the two items were being treated differently, but the question went in late and we haven’t heard back yet.