Broken records & black holes



COMMENT: THE Fremantle Markets lease and CAT bus service represent lost opportunities in the wake of one of the biggest developments in the port city, Freo’s Walyalup Civic Centre.
Times have been COVID tough since 2019, the $65m-plus cost of rebuilding the civic centre having taken a heavy toll on the City’s finances and community services, much like a black hole devouring all around it.
There is no return.
Nor is there escaping the fact ratepayers face further rate rises and sell-off of its assets unless the City can balance the budget and avoid indulging in activities outside its local government remit.
The financial impact of the $20m blow out of ‘Pettitt’s Palace’ opened in November 2021 has bubbled to the surface. In the streets, empty shops and rundown heritage buildings, including the Town Hall, Fremantle Roundhouse and Arts Centre.
Fremantle Markets Pty Ltd CEO Natasha Atkinson told council last month when it voted to advertise a business plan for a new lease that Fremantle’s iconic structures needed urgent TLC.
Confirming ‘compliance works’ were needed at the heritage-listed building from which she has run the markets for more than a decade, Ms Atkinson told FPOL it had been “incredibly loyal” to the City, “However, in return, we request a 20-year tenure, and no further delays” (streetwisemedia.com.au/we-have-been-incredibly-loyal-natasha-atkinson-ceo-fremantle-markets-pty-ltd).
In the two weeks between FPOL and full council meeting on May 24, “loyal” FMPL registered six new business names including ‘Fremantle Markets’ on May 17 and ‘Fremantle Port Markets’, ‘Freo Port Markets’, ‘Markets Fremantle’ and ‘Original & Still the Best Freo Markets’ on May 12.
The name grab follows six failed trademark attempts by FMPL even though the City owns the name under the current lease. Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge told FPOL (no correction offered by the CEO) there were “inherent risks” going to tender for the lease including, “We will lose the name. We don’t own the name”.
Under its lease, FMPL would have to “peacefully surrender” the name and, “change its name to a name which does not include the words ‘Fremantle Markets’. They cannot take the name nor any of the 150-plus stall holders who chose to stay and negotiate a better rental deal with a new landlord. Having threatened to take stall holders to a new site if the City went to public tender, Ms Atkinson returned to the podium on May 24 when, as reported at www.streetwisemedia.com.au/murdoch-family-name-grab-for-freo-icon, she said: “For many years now, the city of Fremantle and all of us at the Fremantle Markets have known the historic markets building needs urgent works. FMPL offered to pay for these works but we need a long term lease to offset these costs.
“Long delays have created more problems. The council voted almost three years ago in June 2020 to authorise the CEO to negotiate a new lease with us. The city’s own guidelines says there is no need to conduct a tender for a tenant paying full commercial rates.
“We believe all of us benefit from caring for our iconic structures. We urge you to ensure we can immediately start the urgent works to make Fremantle Markets’ structure safe for all our stallholders, visitors and tourists.”

Conversations and ‘urgent’ negotiations

MS Atkinson’s reference to the 2020 decision to allow the CEO to negotiate a new lease six years before it expired is revealing as it demonstrates a lack of urgency on the part of both the City and FMPL to attend to “essential” works, instead opting to ‘negotiate’ and have a ‘conversation’ for three years. And here we are.
In the 10 June 2020 minutes, ‘Fremantle Markets Essential Works and Lease Extension Proposal’, the summary states: “To consider the implementation of essential works for the Fremantle Markets to the value of approximately $1.7m. Agree with the head tenant for the financial contribution to undertake the essential works, with the consideration of an extension to the current lease term to allow for the financial recovery of these works by the tenant.”
Council adopted the current lease in 2008 after two advertised business plans. In 2020, it decided to address building audit reviews which identified several areas of risk, “for fatigue, age or requiring upgrade and items which could improve the operation of the markets”.
The City stated some conservation works had been undertaken funded by loans and reserve funds of approximately $1 million, adding, “The City is not currently in a position to provide funding to these works in the near future”.
However, the City said the markets’ closure during COVID was a good opportunity to complete the priority repairs, “the City and tenant have commenced a conversation about undertaking the works whilst an opportunity exists that may significantly reduce interruption to the business operations”.
The City stated the tenant, “has provided ‘in-principle’ support to contributing towards or undertaking these works, and to a discussion on how these works might be brought forward with a contribution from them. This ‘in-principle’ support is provided on the basis of consideration of a new lease term to allow sufficient time for the tenant to recover the cost of a contribution or undertaking”.
The City noted: “The tenant is of a mind they would likely only provide $1.7m in the context of a new lease. They have stated in the context of a lease extension the figure would more likely be a maximum of $1.2m. If supported by Council, it is intended the City negotiate with the tenant to consider a lease extension.”
The successful motion was moved by former mayor Brad Pettitt, the only dissenter South Ward Cr Marija Vujcic who on May 24, based on legal advice, questioned why the City should renew FMPL’s lease. The mayor asked Cr Vujcic to table the legal advice, which she did on May 24 and is attached here.
In 2008, when FMPL was awarded its current 18-year lease, the City said in response to public questions that  it had received, “two separate in-person presentations from the owners of FMPL and CEO of the National Trust of WA. These presentations were on their individual proposals to operate the Markets. Both of these presentations were included in the council meeting as public documents in March 2008”.
Cr Vujcic argues the CEO should have shared details of his discussions and meetings with GTL Enterprises in early 2022 and more recently Fremantle Markets stall holder Warren Thomas.
The City has ticked all the boxes. The proposed business plan may not be in the interests of ratepayers, but the option exists under sections 3.58 and 3.59 of the Act.
Criticism of the plan turns on whether the City has the authority not to go to tender. The City states the business plan process invites submissions and feedback prior to council making a decision, at “the conclusion of the business plan process”.
It adds: “The current tenant has been consulted in relation to the proposed terms, which have been agreed to by both parties.”
Read more on the Fremantle Markets at streetwisemedia.com.au.