Perth Voice Interactive

“Stuff Perth and whether it wants all of us or not,” says former Vincent deputy mayor Ian Ker.

He believes Perth city council’s rejection of Vincent’s request to be swallowed whole is a gift that should not be overlooked.

The Mt Lawley resident, an inaugural Vincent councillor who retired in 2009 after 14 years’ service, is urging electors to vote for Question 2 in the plebiscite—against abolishing the city, and keeping it as a municipality.

That vote would be a poke in the eye to premier Colin Barnett whose council reforms are designed to stamp out small municipalities like Vincent.

Mr Ker says Vincent has proven itself to be a viable council that is in tune with its community.

“[In Perth] it’s all about the bureaucrats and a small number of council members,” he says in this week’s Voice Mail (page 4).

He praised acting Vincent mayor John Carey for challenging Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi’s “arrogant assertion” Vincent had spent too much time organising rallies and not enough on book-keeping (Voice, September 5, 2013).

“I guess that sums up the difference between Vincent and Perth—our diversity enables us to multi-task, whereas Perth is all about big business.

“Be warned, members of the Vincent community, this is the sort of approach you’ll get to community involvement if we end up in the City of Perth. “Vote to retain Vincent in the plebiscite.”

Meanwhile, Cr Carey says “self-interest” was behind Perth city council’s rejection of Vincent’s suburbs in its submission to the Barnett government.

“This is about a fear from City of Perth about having 22,000 extra voters in their system, that they’ll actually have to engage with residents, they’ll actually have to respond, they might have to doorknock,” he mocked.

“What’s the impact of 22,000 voters into their electorate? It’s going to shake things up, they’re not going to like it.”

by DAVID BELL