Calls grow for ‘tent city’ inquiry

FREMANTLE Liberal candidate Miquela Riley says the City’s ‘tent city’ fiasco should be independently investigated if elected members and council staff knew it was a political stunt.
“The suggestion the City of Fremantle may have known about tent city prior to its inception is extremely concerning, particularly given the very serious impact it has had on residents, small businesses and tourism in Fremantle,” she told StreetWise today. “If this activity was authorised by elected representatives or other council staff, it should be independently investigated, as directed by the Minister for Local Government.”
StreetWise revealed Thursday at www.streetwisemedia.com.au/acting-mayors-office-staging-post-for-tent-city organisers used Acting Mayor Andrew Sullivan’s ‘office’ to store tents and other provisions for the homeless during the four-week debacle in which nearly 80 calls for police help were reported including the alleged sexual assaults on December 31 of two teens, aged 13 and 14.
Cr Sullivan shares space at 11 Pakenham Street with activist Jesse Noakes, whose group Freo Street Kitchen was evicted by the State Government on January 23 after the City refused to shut down the Boxing Day ‘sleepover’, instead providing organisers with access to water, power and portaloos.
Then Mayor Brad Pettitt, councillors and the CEO all knew Mr Noakes’ group operated out of 11 Pakenham Street where activists also conducted “de-escalation training” three days before they moved into nearby Pioneer Park. They knew because Cr Sullivan told them on January 1 when he declared a proximity interest “sub-letting” space to Mr Noakes even though he does not hold a lease. On January 5, he confirmed Mr Noakes’ group had tents and other provisions for the homeless stored at his office but, “was unaware that these tents would be erected in the park for an event that I understood would last just one day”.
Cr Sullivan has not responded to StreetWise requests for a comment.
Not a single elected member supported South Ward Cr Marija Vujcic’s call for an investigation. Instead, she is under pressure from fellow councillors after StreetWise published details of an ‘informal’ elected members meeting on January 11 at which Dr Pettitt, campaigning as a Greens WA candidate in the March State election, and City Ward Cr Rachel Pemberton, a member of his campaign team, reportedly admitted giving verbal approval to Mr Noakes (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/political-stunt-taints-greens-mayor).
Cr Pemberton this week called Cr Vujcic a liar after the council-funded South Fremantle Precinct site republished Cr Ward’s post of her unsuccessful motion for an investigation at full council on January 27, including details of the January 11 informal meeting.
Cr Pemberton was forced to retract the accusation and alter her initial post, still on the precinct site, to: “Cr Vujcic is incorrect and perpetuating misinformation.” She adds, “five councillors confirmed they DID NOT hear any such acknowledgement”.
(SFP administrator Kavi Guppta, who republished Cr Vujcic’s post and Cr Pemberton’s accusations, refuses to share the latest StreetWise revelations of Cr Sullivan’s role and relationship to Mr Noakes, despite the public interest – confirming this publication’s ‘Watermelon City’ report in the current issue of Freo StreetWise regarding council-friendly social media sites such as SFP, Mr Guppta having run City ward Cr Adin Lang’s 2017 election campaign at www.streetwisemedia.com.au/freo-streetwise-december-2020-edition).

Government failure

Ms Riley said Local Government Minister David Templeman (who did not respond to StreetWise questions today) had failed to address concerns surrounding the role played by the City before and after tent city was allowed to camp without authority in Pioneer Park.
“Tent City highlighted that Labor and the Member for Fremantle have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to homelessness. We have a homelessness crisis, and it did not happen overnight.”
Ms Riley said the community deserves transparency and proper representation at all levels of government: “Failure is evident at both levels of government on the management of Tent City and it is our local community and the vulnerable people without a home who have suffered the most.”
She said though the homeless people have moved on, “there is still no plan for homelessness”, adding she had written to Ms McGurk asking for immediate action on homelessness in Fremantle. “The only response she could provide was to direct me to the McGowan Government’s 10-year Homelessness Strategy. Labor can have 10-year policies but it is just talk. Where is the real action and where are the beds?”
Ms McGurk stopped short of supporting an investigation when contacted by StreetWise today: “This situation presented very real risks to the public, to local businesses and to the vulnerable people who were encouraged to come to Pioneer Park. I understand the City of Fremantle CEO is conducting a review into how the organisers were permitted to establish the camp. Like many ratepayers, I look forward to getting some answers about how this was allowed to occur.”
Ratepayers expect the City’s CEO report will need to answer questions such as why Dr Pettitt and Cr Pemberton, who said they were approached by Mr Noakes the week before Christmas and organised for him to meet, “relevant managers at the City”, did not call a meeting to consider Mr Noakes’ verbal request? Full council did not meet until 30 days after tent city opened.
What advice did the CEO, who is now on leave, give Dr Pettitt? As Mayor, Dr Pettitt does not have the authority to make such a decision, which he and Cr Pemberton have acknowledged. But he could have called a meeting to consider Mr Noakes’ request. He did not nor did he call for a meeting once it became obvious tent city had become a, “long term project”, to protest against the McGowan Government homelessness policies, as stated in the Activist Events of WA online site.
Dr Pettitt and Cr Pemberton deny having given approval despite Cr Vujcic’s notes of the January 11 meeting and, as reported by StreetWise on January 27, City staff having told Fremantle police they had.
Until the CEO report is released, all ratepayers have to go on is online hubris and hot air, as demonstrated today when Freo’s ‘One-eyed’ View dismissed StreetWise’s revelations about the Acting mayor’s role in tent city, then blamed the City administration for not following process before accusing Cr Vujcic of “leaking” internal communications without producing any evidence (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/fake-news-alert-freo-streetwise-to-freos-one-eyed-view).