Perth Voice Interactive

The book is about local history but Bayswater city council had it printed in China.

Mike Severn runs Success Print in Bayswater and says “the book could have easily been printed and bound within the boundaries of the City of Bayswater”.

He says many locals will be “horrified to turn to the back of the book to find it was printed in China, rather than the money being spent in the local community where it would continue to circulate and add to the sustainability of ratepaying businesses.”

It’s hard to pin down who at the council was responsible for shipping the job offshore.

New mayor Sylvan Albert replied via email: “The city awarded the work to Fremantle Press as we believe they represented the best value. It would be incorrect to suggest that the City was in a position to dictate to Fremantle Press who they should use for the print element of the publishing project.

“The relationship with the print company in China was an internal matter for Fremantle Press and was handled exclusively by them.”

So we contacted Fremantle Press. CEO Jane Fraser says since the press is not the publisher of the book, but was merely commissioned by the council to produce it on its behalf, it was a matter for the city or the mayor to respond to.

by DAVID BELL