Calls grow louder for city charter

Calls for a capital city charter to give special status to the City of Perth as a valuable asset to Western Australia, and also as containing a unique constituency, have been made for some time.

Before last weekend’s election, the Gallop Government committed to the establishment of a Capital City Working Party, comprised of representatives from government agencies and ministerial portfolios, to discuss the idea of a charter.

If the principle is agreed to, the form of such a charter would then need to be debated, but essentially would involve a partnership between the state government and the City of Perth, with one providing co-ordination and expertise and the other management.

Lord Mayor Peter Natrass is one of the advocates for a charter, and has been promoting the ideas since 2001.

He said the vast difference between the role of other local governments and the capital city was sufficient justification for it.

“They are totally different. And they need to be treated differently, and that is why the charter is an important issue,” Dr Natrass said.

The City of Perth Council has taken on responsibilities on behalf of the state and the broader metropolitan area, according to Emerald Hotel proprietor Laurie O’Meara.

“The council spends a lot of money on civic receptions, on being involved in the Perth Convention Bureau and other memberships along those lines, which are really relevant to the whole state, and a lot of people do not appreciate it,” Mr O’Meara said.

“I would think that adds up to a  fair amount of money on an annual basis, and that would indicate to me that a charter or some different arrangement for the city would make a lot of sense.”

Pro Property director Brett Wilkins said the issue of a charter came back to the issue of leadership from both state and federal governments.

“In the end it doesn’t matter how much the city council, Peter [Natrass] and everybody else does, there is only so much that they can change,” Mr Wilkins said.

“If you are going to have a real act of involvement in the CBD and the city then it has to be led from the top.”

Several attendees at the WA Business News lunch said Perth should aspire to have a charter and voting system like the Melbourne City Council, where company secretaries and a director are automatically registered on the electoral roll.

Councillor Michael Sutherland pointed out that the city was slow to undergo change, and that it was often the state that made the big decisions for the city.

“Things happen too slowly in Perth. If you think about what Brisbane was like in 1982 and what it is like now, it is a different world,” Mr Sutherland said.

“We battle to get something done on the foreshore.”