Perth Voice Interactive

A BID to bring in a “night mayor” to drive Perth’s after-hours economy has been shot down by a majority of Perth councillors who reckon a standard mayor can handle the evening activity just fine.

Cr Sandy Anghie put up a notice of motion at the May 30 meeting suggesting the council establish a night-time economic advisory committee headed by a night mayor.

Night mayors typically liaise between venues and residents, run trials to boost night-time visitor numbers, advocate for night transport and more services for night workers, and try to boost night time safety. 

The night mayor and committee work like the council’s other advisory committees which cover areas like design, access and inclusion, LGBTQIA+ and Indigenous perspectives. 

Cr Anghie said 83 cities around the world have a night mayor or “night czar”, including London, Barcelona, New York, Berlin, and Paris. In 2021 Melbourne appointed its first night mayor.

“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel,” Cr Anghie said in her motion. “Let’s follow in the footsteps of Melbourne and other global cities and appoint our own night mayor.”

She said it was great to see the city filled with families at night during special events like the Christmas Lights Trail, and bringing in a night mayor could make those rare evenings more frequent.

Voted down 

Only one other councillor – deputy mayor Liam Gobbert – was willing to investigate the deal. 

All others voted against. 

Cr Rebecca Gordon wasn’t a fan. “In my opinion the city doesn’t need a night mayor. We already have a mayor that works 24-7 around the clock and engaging with stakeholders,” Cr Gordon said.

Lord mayor Basil Zempilas said neither he nor councillors needed a nocturnal counterpart.

“You are the night councillors and I am the night mayor. We don’t need another committee or advisory group,” he said, and recent visitation numbers showed evenings were already pretty healthy and leading the nation in many categories.

“As one 30-year veteran of the industry said to me last week, the night mayor concept is okay, but typically it’s what non-hospitality people think is a good idea for the hospitality sector. 

‘Leave it to us’ were his words.

“Melbourne is Melbourne, a beautiful city, no one has enjoyed it more than me. But I am not so fond of comparisons to Melbourne because as I’ve said, they’re not number one in total visitation at the moment.”

Council staff wrote a report saying the idea was “not supported at this time” because they already had a lot of night-focused initiatives like the Perth Liquor Accord and this could duplicate that work.

by DAVID BELL