How many times does it have to be said: Vincent does NOT want to be part of the City of Perth.
Kate Emery is wrong when she says ('Barnett confident on council mergers', West Australian website, 16th December 2014) that "the City of Vincent wants to be part of the City of Perth". The City of Vincent proposal for this was only made in an attempt to avoid the worst aspects of proposals from the Minister and the City of Perth.
Nearly 4 out 5 of those who voted in October 2013 did not want Vincent to be abolished.
Vincent Council has clearly stated its position to be that it:
- Recognises the local community’s first preference, based on the results of the City of Vincent plebiscite and ongoing community feedback, that the City of Vincent remain as its own local government entity;
- Remains opposed to forced local government mergers which does not give ratepayers the final say on the future of their council.
The Mayor of Vincent has also strongly opposed the vote-weighting proposed by Barnett to ensure that "residents don't control the CBD" - the effect of which would be to make Vincent residents second-class citizens.
For Colin Barnett to say, publicly, that the City of Vincent supports his proposed City of Perth Act can only be described as an astounding act of hubris - one that is compounded by his expectation that the Opposition will support it, despite statements to the contrary previously made by the Leader of the Opposition, Mark McGowan.
The hope for those of us who value democracy and honesty is that, as in the Greek tragedies, the goddess Nemesis comes to our aid as the punisher of hubris. And Barnett has, apparently, admitted that he has no Plan B.
The fact is that the City of Vincent, the Nationals and the Labor Opposition have all said they oppose Barnett's proposed City of Perth Act with its gerrymander.
And Kate Emery clearly doesn't understand that unequal wards or vote-weighting are the same - both echoes of the infamous Bjelke-Peterson era in Queensland that was maintained only with a most horrendous gerrymander.
UPDATE 8pm
Barnett, on the ABC 7pm News, when asked how he hoped to get his Act passed, said "Power of persuasion. Watch this space". Those of us who have observed his tactics throughout this process know that means he will try to bully opponents into supporting him.
You said “Power of persuasion. Watch this space” Mr Barnett!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, we are watching you day in and day out and you know what, “you watch this space” and I will let you know we don’t need any more persuasion come State Election 2017. Make sure you close the door when you leave.