THE City of Perth will install the Boonji Spaceman statue next week despite a lengthy campaign against the move by local advocacy group Save the Kebab.

The controversial decision will see the US artwork by Brendan Murphy installed in the Stirling Gardens, in place of the Ore Obelisk sculpture, which stood there for over 50 years.

Boarding has already gone up on the site and invitations to an unveiling event scheduled for 23 May have been sent out.

Save the Kebab has been advocating for the repair and reinstallation of Paul Ritter’s Ore Obelisk, which stood in Stirling Gardens from 1971 until 2021. 

Nick-named The Kebab, Ore Obelisk was commissioned to recognise WA’s mining industry and mark the state’s one-millionth resident.

In 2021 it was placed into indefinite storage after a report found it was unsafe and posed risk to public safety. 

The future of the Ore Obelisk is uncertain, but the City is due to present a report about both it and Lorenna Grant’s The Arch in June. 

Boonji is set to stay in Stirling Gardens for 12 months, but the City has not confirmed the statue’s next location. 

Save the Kebab is concerned the City will extend the 12-month stay.

Curator and Save the Kebab campaigner Helen Curtis said the real concern was if the City decidedthe cost of moving Boonji to another location was not a good use of public funding.

If Boonji stays, the reinstatement of the Ore Obelisk on that site cannot occur. 

“We believe it’s not just possible – but highly probable – that the City of Perth intends to leave the Boonji Spaceman permanently at Stirling Gardens. That is unacceptable,” Ms Curtis said. 

Ms Curtis said the promotion for Boonji is “a spectacular spend” and beyond anything she encountered in her 13 years of managing public art at the City of Perth. 

She said during that time it was a struggle to secure basic funds for significant local works.

“The disparity here is staggering,” Ms Curtis said. 

Ms Curtis noted the reception, the use of Council House feature lighting, and PR company managed social media campaign, including video production in the lead up to the arrival. 

Though the sculpture itself is a gift, the City budgeted $250,000 for the installation and transportation of Boonji. 

Campaign

Over the campaign, Save the Kebab raised questions with council and critiqued its decision-making process. 

“What’s most alarming is the silence. Not one elected member has raised public questions about the process. That’s their job – to scrutinise decisions and ensure integrity. The absence of oversight is deeply concerning,” Ms Curtis said.

“If I was on council and it was evident that there were probity questions, I would have real questions. That is literally the job of an elected member – to govern.”

On 29 April, Save the Kebab’s Ms Curtis and Felicity Johnson attended a council meeting to ask further questions, but claim they were “shut down”. 

Ms Curtis and Ms Johnson submitted questions with less than 24 hours’ notice.

They acknowledged the questions would be taken on notice but requested to ask them anyway. 

“We were shut down by Cr Liam Gobbert. He cited a standing order noting the maximum time permitted for public question time,” Ms Curtis said. 

“I called on the Local Government Act asking respectfully to be heard, which Cr David Goncalves supported.” 

But Cr Gobbert countered with a Point of Order under clause 5.3 of the City’s Standing Orders Local Law 2009, which prohibits interfering with the proceedings of the meeting.

“Neither the deputy lord mayor nor the governance staff seemed to know what to do. 

Ms Curtis’s behaviour was deemed out of order and she claims a security guard was motioned to come close, making her feel threatened.

The council minutes state “the deputy lord mayor ruled the behaviour out of order and proceeded to the next item of business.”

Ms Curtis has not made a complaint, but said she could complain, and said this is “not the behaviour you would expect of a person holding office”.

Save the Kebab will decide on its next steps after the June report on the Ore Obelisk and The Arch is made available. 

“We’ll be watching closely to see if the June report contains anything of substance, or just more spin,” Ms Curtis said. 

Save the Kebab has also sent letters to premier Roger Cook and other ministers requesting them to decline the invitation to the unveiling event. 

The arrival of Boonji coincides with Brendan Murphy’s exhibition Life is Electric at Gullotti Galleries in Cottesloe, opening on May 23 and running for eight weeks. 

by ELOISE BUDIMLICH