ONLY THE BEST FOR FREO RATEPAYERS & RESIDENTS

NOW that the dust on the Fremantle local government elections has settled, let me take readers on a trip down memory lane to reflect on four years of representing the ratepayers and residents of Fremantle.
Remember the $1.2m ratepayer inducement that was going to be given to a hospitality owner to operate a tavern in our new civic centre.
Former mayor Brad Pettitt and elected members supported the motion. I took your strong objections to the chamber and in time the deal fell through and was withdrawn.
What about Tent City? The state government took control of the situation because the City of Fremantle had lost control. I was the only councillor to ask questions as to why the city allowed activists to use the homeless for state electioneering. I shared information with the community when the city was silent.
I revealed that the city had made a net loss for FY2020 of $8.4m compared to a loss in FY2019 of $2.8m. I asked how this was possible when monthly financial reporting was positive. My reveal was questioned and even ridiculed by fellow councillors. The next day the CEO stated, “Councillor Vujcic is correct”. My online posts shared this information with the community.
During the construction of the civic centre the projects cost were  under-reported. It took me months to figure out  how and why. The Kings Square Business Plan stated  the total project costs would not exceed $45m. The project was funded by the sale of three city properties (Queensgate Carpark, Queensgate Centre, Spicers site) for $30m and a government loan of $15m.
It became evident that $45m was not enough and that additional millions were required. The extra millions resulted in the selling of three more carparks  on Adelaide, Josephson and Point streets and the government loan was increased to $20m.
I estimated  the total project cost was $67m, and not $46m. The audited cost was $63m in 2021. We are still spending money on the building. This information is now on public record. You now know why parking is an issue and why the city is financially challenged.
My consistent support of the Red and Blue CAT bus service also is on record. For all the sympathetic rhetoric from mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge and elected members, they finally got rid of the service. The overspend on the civic centre is the opportunity cost of the CAT bus and lack of maintenance of our heritage assets and basic services.
The community once again came out strong against Ginger Morris’s application for a small bar licence and won. This was a win for common sense.
The community once again got it right in pushing back on the massage business, which really was something else, on South Terrace. The application was withdrawn. It was so easy to stand with the community on this issue.
I did not support the expense of $35,500 for the Yes Voice campaign. It was a federal issue that was adequately funded and promoted.
To watch the fanatical support of Mayor Fitzhardinge and elected members for the Murdochs was astonishing. It had the trappings of a Trump rally, with the T Shirts, the foot work and colourful rhetoric. The Fremantle Markets will be retained by FMPL for another twenty years without going to tender. A deal costing the ratepayers millions.
A third party, GTL Enterprises, offered a much better deal, millions more and the elected members voted for less. Would Mayor Fitzhardinge take $3m instead of $6.5m if this was a personal deal? I pulled everything out to show that a tender was in the best interests of the ratepayers, especially with GTL Enterprises wanting to compete with the Murdochs, even paying for legal advice which was shared with the city.
What a journey this was been for both of us. When I was elected as your South Ward Councillor in October 2019 I took an oath: “I take the office upon myself and will duly, honestly and with integrity fulfill the duties of the office for the people in the district.”
I took the oath with me at every council meeting, to remind myself of the duty owed to the ratepayers and residents of Fremantle. Thank you Fremantle.
“Victory is in having done your best. If you have done your best, you’ve won” – Bill Bowerman