City of Perth Council Meeting: 27 April 2021

Please find below my latest update after the April Council meeting.

As usual, these are my own thoughts and not representative of my colleagues or the administration.

1) Real action to help rough sleepers I was happy to support the Lord Mayor's motion to see a Beddown trial in Perth's CBD. This uses a secure space unused at the time which is owned by the City and connects those sleeping rough with a safe night while getting access to services. Council will get a report in a month on all the details, but last night was a clear signal from Council: we know the State Government is charged with providing more housing, they're not providing interim solutions, so we have to step up for our city. This builds on and complements Cr Di Bain's Rough Sleeper Plan which Council backed unanimously. Stay tuned for the full report at next month's Council meeting.

2) Getting the most out of the City's property portfolio As one of the largest property owners in the City, Council previously had no policy which guided its portfolio on behalf of ratepayers. We now have a clear and structured approach to when Council should buy land, potentially sell land, and how we should manage our tenants. It also protects land for community purposes. I'm really proud of how the entire Council and the administration has worked together to get to this point. We put a deadline on the officers and they came through. Council will now be able to objectively judge how the ratepayers' portfolio is performing, with clear opportunities identified to get the market involved to address our strategic priorities. With land being our ratepayers number one asset, and after everything they've been through over the Inquiry years, we needed a strong policy framework dictacting how we manage it. Now we have it.

3) Hay Street Mall Refresh We've got some challenges when it comes to supporting our retail heart. These existed well before COVID restrictions knocked our retailers for six. Council allocated $730,000 for a refresh of the Hay Street Mall. I'm hoping this ratepayer injection brings more life to a key corridor in our city. I encourage you to have a look at the plans and timeframes detailed in our agenda paper here.

4) Strengthening Council's governance framework I know it's not exciting but it's important. We've implemented a caretaker policy and finalised our new Code of Conduct. Both of these improve Council's governance framework by ensuring no major decisions are made in the immediate lead up to an election and puts in place strong behavioural expectations of your Elected Members in how they conduct themselves while representing ratepayers. As Western Australia's first local government, and after years of lax policy, Council continues to prioritise the best approach to governance.

5) Supporting the 2021 Resources Technology Showcase This is a celebration of the technological breakthroughs which have made Australia’s resources industry the most innovative and competitive in the world. The Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre will come to life for two days in June, showcasing the amazing technology that is driving the mining, resources, defence and space industries in WA. This free event gives entrants the chance to interact with virtual reality, drones, robots and all of the extraordinary innovation that is being developed and used across Western Australia. Council has pitched in $30,000 in sponsorship and foregone $10,000 in parking fees and other charges.

A quick summary of other activities throughout April:

- As we continue to improve parking in Perth, I was interviewed by Ollie Peterson to share my own views. Click here to listen to the segment from last week.

- On Thursday 22 April we visited West Perth to give people a chance to ask questions outside of the Council chamber process.

- We've met as a group to prepare our first budget with genuine reductions in expenses, a realistic approach to capital works program, and support for our neighbourhood groups. We've got a session on Saturday to continue this work. If you've got feedback on the budget please email me.

At the end of the day we are only able to get things done by working together as a team: your councillors, the City's staff, and our community. If there's something I can assist you with, please call me on 0406 681 432 or email me at [email protected].