Blame game divides Fremantle community
STATE Labor member for Fremantle Simone McGurk has accused ‘tent city’ organisers of deliberately choosing Pioneer Park opposite her office to score cheap political points.
Responding to the alleged sexual assault of two girls, aged 13 and 14, by two men linked to the camp, the Minister for Child Protection, Women’s Interests, Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence and Community Services told 6PR that organisers are playing a, “very dangerous game”.
She said she had spoken to the City’s CEO this morning about shutting down the camp and moving on the nearly 100 people who have pitched tents since Boxing Day.
Premier Mark McGowan agreed and said WA Police had attended 77 calls for help since the camp was established by a group of “anarchists” called Freo Street Kitchen. Two men aged in their early 40s and linked by police to tent city have been charged with sexual penetration and/or indecent dealing of two girls in Fleet Street on January 1. One of the men was due to appear in Fremantle court on January 15. His co-accused is due to appear on January 29.
“You would think the authorities would draw the line at little girls getting allegedly raped,” 6PR presenter Gareth Parker said this morning. “You would think that was a line in the sand moment.”
The Premier called on the City of Fremantle yesterday to step up and resolve the issue it created. CEO Philip St John today met Department of Communities director general Michelle Andrews and Assistant Police Commissioner Col Blanch to discuss ways to dismantle the makeshift site.
However, Mr McGowan is misinformed when he states, “This has come about because the council invited the organisation to set up there for a day or two”.
Council did not invite anyone because it has never met to discuss it. So who made the decision authorising the camp?
Devil’s in the detail
Greens WA Mayor Brad Pettitt states on his January 5 blog, “About 50 tents have been pitched at Pioneer Park after organisers asked the City to allow a 24-hour food service on Boxing Day”.
According to a post (later removed) by City Ward Councillor Rachel Pemberton, the mayor never gave permission for the unauthorised camp because she said he is unable to do so, “under the Act or in reality”. She adds Fremantle Council also never gave permission. So who did?
Deputy Mayor South Ward Councillor Andrew Sullivan would not comment because he has declared a proximity interest with tent city organiser Jesse Noakes, who is understood to have leased office space from Cr Sullivan. With Dr Pettitt standing down as mayor to campaign for a seat in State parliament in March, the soon-to-be Acting Mayor will still be unable to comment on tent city, including next week when the first full meeting of council convenes since the camp was established.
This leaves Cr Pemberton, who reportedly was contacted by Mr Noakes about setting up camp, and City Ward Councillor Adin Lang, who is pictured here (courtesy of the Herald) with Mr Noakes, involved in the failed homeless experiment at the Hougoumont Hotel last year.
Cr Lang said at the time he was contacted by Mr Noakes before approaching the hotel to accommodate more than 30 homeless people. It is unclear whether Cr Lang took the project to council for approval, the item mentioned briefly as part of the City’s COVID-19 response in the April 29, 2020, council minutes.
As reported this week by FSW, who in the City is making decisions if Council members are yet to meet about the future of tent city?
City Ward resident Claudia Green went further today, posting: “Who spoke to Mr Noakes? Who told the police not to intervene over COVID protocols? Why did the City not follow its own risk management policy? Why was the Council not pulled together under its emergency powers to deal with this? The only authority to change that is the elected Council. It has not met yet.”
Ms Green said the report presented to the FPOL Committee this week was, “written TO the Committee with recommendations from the CEO. The recommendations were his, an administrator to a Committee. The Council has had no say in all of this, so WHO has been making the decisions? The Mayor has done much talking without Council imprimatur. The City may well have been involved but Council most certainly hasn’t.”
All roads lead to …
Dr Pettitt will step down as mayor to campaign for South Metro, his last days marred by the politicisation of the homeless, as shown here in this Greens WA black and white image of tent city posted to Dr Pettitt’s instagram site and a BradforSouthMetro post highlighting homelessness as a ‘State crisis’.
As one StreetWise reader says, “Who does this benefit? Certainly not the people in the camp who have been seriously assaulted”.
Which begs the question, and is at the heart of this issue, who will take responsibility for allowing tent city to set up camp on public land opposite the State Labor member’s office?
Is it the unknown elected members who spoke to Mr Noakes or City staff who have no authority to approve the street kitchen request even if, as Dr Pettitt claims, it was asked by Mr Noakes?
Someone with authority must have given permission for the significant amount of resources, including exclusive use of a publicly owned community asset, Pioneer Park, to tent dwellers in the past four weeks (On January 14, Freo Street Kitchen stated council had, “granted us access to the space, water and power”).
Does this mean that individual or individuals have enabled the ‘anarchy’ Mr McGowan has described in recent days?
