Perth council, WA govt in East Perth school row

The proposed East Perth primary school is the latest addition to the list of disputes between the City of Perth and the state government, with the status of the site in limbo.

A 2.6-hectare piece of land on Nelson Crescent, also known as the Queens Gardens car park, has been earmarked for a 800-student primary school that is set to open in 2028.

The City of Perth owns the land in freehold, and a major land transaction would have to occur for the state government to develop the school on the East Perth site.

However at a council meeting last night, the majority of city councillors voted to declined to enter the transaction.

Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas said the city welcomed a proposed school for inner-city residents but the deal needed to stack up.

“I note, as of everyone else in the community, state government is responsible for providing public primary schools, local governments have never been obligated to cede land for school infrastructure at zero cost to the state,” he said at the meeting.

“So you might ask the question, why are we being asked to do that now?

“The state is effectively trying  to leverage value of the city’s own land and using a 64-yr-old statute that has lost its utility … to drive a commercial arrangement and pressure the city to transfer its land free of cost to the state.”

Planning Minister John Carey, who has been vocal against the council's previous decisions, has again taken to social media his disappointment of the decision.

“The state government has held up its end of the bargain. The designs for the new school are terrific and will be a gamechanger for residents in East Perth and the CBD,” he posted today.

“In fact, it will be the single largest investment by a state government in a public primary school for local residents.

“We believe we found a win-win for both the city and local residents; a huge investment in a local primary school and unlocking the value of one lot to realise an estimated $27.5 million value to ratepayers.

“The city has taken almost a year to finalise this report and it is full of concocted arguments that should have been subject to more scrutiny by councillors and that local residents should have had the opportunity to comment on.”

Mr Zempilas said the state’s offer represented a financial  of $29.9 million to the city over a 30-year period.

“As a comparison, the highest and best use of the site would see the potential financial cost to the state’s proposal equate to $110million over a 30-year analysis period,” he said.

Mr Zempilas also claimed the state government made up the numbers in its proposal.

“That was only the economic benefit, the $63 million that the state government tells us we can enjoy,” he said.

“They also added $14 million of social impact.

“This is actually quite entertaining. I’ve heard others described these numbers touted by the government as voodoo economics, [it’s] not a bad phrase.”

The East Perth primary school is the latest to a list of topics the state government and the city have feuded over.

In the past year, Mr Carey has publicly voiced his objections to the city’s decision to stop operating the Safe Night Space program in East Perth.

Mr Zempilas has repeatedly said the program, run by Ruah and the city, was only meant to be a two-year trial.

Mr Carey’s predecessor Rita Saffioti also overruled the city’s decision on Ruah’s relocation to a Northbridge building in 2022.

In his role as Local Government Minister in 2022, Mr Carey exempted the Western Australian Cricket Association from paying rates despite opposition from the City of Perth.