Ask the hardies
THE New Year is upon us and soon, on February 3, the Annual Meeting of Electors will be held for ratepayers to give their views on the Annual Report 2023-2024.
The Fremantle Society will provide expert commentary from a senior accountant, so that council can be held to account, bearing in mind that in the past four years the electors did not agree to pass the annual report at their meeting.
Planning the budget for this year is well under way, but it is disturbing to hear a rumour that just a couple of councillors even bothered to submit budget proposals ahead of the deadline given by the officers.
Ratepayers should ask their councillors what specifically have they submitted as budget requests.
Also disturbing is the rumour that the money promised in this year’s budget for the interior of the Town Hall after years of lobbying by the Fremantle Society and others has been grabbed for something else and so the wonderful asset continues to deteriorate.
Also disturbing is to find that 2025 begins with filthy footpaths and broken streets.
High Street is a grubby disgrace.
The mayor’s message in the report begins that the past year has been all about “listening to the community” and “delivering on things that matter.”
The current reality is vastly different.
John Dowson
President, The Fremantle Society
Why now?
IT’S quite fascinating to see how Labor is suddenly splashing out the cash in Fremantle just prior to the election when we’ve felt neglected and unheard for so long.
And how they apparently see as achievements things the community fought against, like the police complex, or had to fight so hard to be heard in the least, like the new traffic bridge.
Or announcements like the one about a waterfront precinct in the harbour, similar to the announcement before the previous election of a film studio development which they promptly dropped the moment they were comfortably back in power.
Why don’t they do this during their active term in power rather?
For example, we’ve been upset about the disruption by ATCO ‘refurbishing’ the gas network while this money could have been spent on undergrounding power and electrification, avoiding another recurrence of the power outages we had again following the light drizzle at the end of last week.
The roll-out of large-scale renewable projects in WA has virtually stalled during the incumbency of the McGowan and Cook governments while households have continued embracing small-scale renewables (roof-top and batteries). With over 40 per cent of homes boasting rooftop PV now, we’re providing over 80 per cent of our electricity needs at times, and around 44 per cent on average.
I distrust the promises of politicians when this is not supported by what they do when they’re in power. I doubt it will be any different in this election.
Louis de Villiers
Hilton