East Perth school site in limbo

Education Minister Tony Buti has doubled down on the state government’s plan for an East Perth primary school despite the City of Perth’s refusal to give up the site.

The City of Perth council last night voted to decline a major land transaction with the state government.

The 2.6-hectare site on Nelson Crescent has been earmarked for a primary school to accommodate 800 students by 2028.

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas has also called on Premier Roger Cook to step in, claiming Dr Buti has bungled the deal over the land proposal, which was for the city to cede the land to the state government.

Dr Buti said he was disappointed by the council’s decision last night to an offer he described as once in-a lifetime.

“We will now consider all possible options and I don't have any capacity at this stage to tell you what's in or out,” he said.

“I will discuss with my ministerial colleagues and the whole cabinet what we should do going forward.

“We are committed to building an inner-city primary school in East Perth. The only thing stopping that from happening is the City of Perth.

“We are offering to build a school that is valued at around $150 million investment, which is far in excess of any investment we have made in a primary school in a Western Australian history.”

Dr Buti declined to comment on whether there had been talks of alternative sites for the proposed East Perth primary school.

The East Perth site, operating as Queens Gardens car park, is owned by the city in freehold title.

Speaking to journalists this morning, Mr Zempilas repeated on the comments he made at the council meeting last night.

He said the state government provided information and calculations that could be described as voodoo economics.

“The numbers do not make sense. The fact of the matter is, they [government] value this land at $40 million,” Mr Zempilas said.

“We’re asking for a fair deal and I'm not sure that minister Buti is up to it anymore.

“Quite frankly, I think he's bungled this negotiation. His arguments don't make sense. I'm not sure that he's the right man for the job.

“He's still saying there is no cash offer, or there is no consideration of a land swap.

“His logic doesn't stack up his numbers. I'm not sure where he's plucked them from [and] frankly, I think he's out of his depth on this issue so it's time for the premier to step in.”

But Dr Buti could not be drawn on the comments made by Mr Zempilas.

“People can play games. I’m not interested in playing politics, what I’m interested in is trying to provide a first-class primary school in East Perth,” he said.

"To me, the issue is not the lord mayor and his political future. The issue is the blocking of the ability for the state government to build an inner-city private school.

“This isn’t unusual. The Elizabeth Quay area was ceded by the City of Perth to the former Liberal government for them to build what we see [now] … and so was the Ocean Reef Marina.”

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Dr Buti has also disagreed with Mr Zempilas's claims that the state goverment initially offered cash consideration for the site.

In a letter dated November 21 2023, with Dr Buti's letterhead, the state government offered to purchase the site at fair market valuation of $39.2 million, according to Mr Zempilas.

"He's written to me and said, 'we're going to pay you fair market value'. Then two days later says, 'Ah, that was a mistake'," he said.

"If a minister of the crown is sending letters on government letterhead and signing them, and then says that's a mistake, what does that say?

"Then we introduced the concept [that] if you're not going to pay us cash, what about a land swap? What about compensating us with land that the state government owns in and around the city and giving us that instead, in lieu of cash, but they have also rejected that."

Again, Dr Buti disagreed on Mr Zempilas's version of events.

"[Zempilas] has never made any offer or provided any land swap deal so I’m not sure exactly what he’s talking about," he said.

“Last night, I believe the CEO of City of Perth in the meeting twice stated the government made no offer of money."

City councillor David Goncalves was the lone voice at the council meeting last night, refusing to vote with the majority of the elected members.

"The one bane of Australian politics has always been the blame game from different levels of government," Mr Goncalves said.

The East Perth primary school is the latest addition to the disputes between the state government and the city.

In the past year, Planning Minister John Carey has publicly voiced his objections to the city’s decision to stop operating the Safe Night Space program in East Perth and other matters concerning Ruah Community Services.

Mr Carey’s predecessor, Rita Saffioti, also overruled the council’s decision on Ruah’s relocation to a Northbridge building in September 2022, reversing its refusal.

The state government's authority to overthrow the city's decision has repeatedly been mentioned by Mr Zempilas and other councillors at subsequent council meetings, including last night.

Another row between the two tiers of government was the redevelopment of the Western Australian Cricket Association improvement project that is part of the $1.5 billion Perth City Deal.

Funding for the 50-metre, six lane swimming pool at the WACA grounds redevelopment had been the subject of growing tension between the city and state government.

The city continue to feel the sting when Mr Carey, in his role as local government minister, exempted the Western Australian Cricket Association from paying rates despite council's opposition in late 2022.