2020 Perth City Council election

Last updated

2020 Perth City Council election
Flag of Perth.svg
 201717 October 2020 2021  
Turnout41.29%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Basil Zempilas.jpg
IND
IND
Candidate Basil Zempilas Di BainBrodie McCulloch
Party Independent Independent Independent
Popular vote1,8551,571786
Percentage29.44%24.94%12.48%
SwingIncrease2.svg 29.44Increase2.svg 24.94Increase2.svg 12.48

Lord Mayor before election

Lisa Scaffidi
Independent

Subsequent Lord Mayor

Basil Zempilas
Independent

The 2020 Perth City Council election was held on 17 October 2020 to elect a lord mayor and eight councillors to the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia.

Contents

These were the first elections for the council in over two years, after it was suspended in March 2018 due to issues arising from the behaviour of councillors. [1]

Media personality Basil Zempilas was elected lord mayor for a three-year term. Four of the eight councillors were elected for a one-year term until the 2021 election, while the other four were elected until 2023. [1]

Background

Beginning on 2 March 2018, the council was managed by a panel of three Commissioners appointed by the Government of Western Australia, pending the results of a thrice-extended two-year inquiry into the activities of the suspended council. [2] [3] [4] The report containing 250 findings and 341 recommendations, including suspected criminal behavior involving 23 individuals was released to the West Australian Parliament in August 2020. However, no single prosecution resulted. Police charged a councillor and his family with various offences but the charges were subsequently dropped. No apology or retraction was ever issued by authorities, despite the signal failure of the widely publicised "referrals" to result in further action. [5]

The elected City of Perth comprises eight councillors elected proportionally, with no divisions into wards. Excepting the 2020 election, usually councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. Elections are held every two years on the third Saturday in October, with (usually) four councillors elected for a four-year term at each election. The Lord Mayor is (usually) directly elected for a four-year term, with the Deputy Lord Mayor elected for two years by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. [6]

Council composition (at time of suspension)

The Lord Mayor was elected in October 2015 and, pending the results of the public inquiry, all Councillors' terms expired in October 2019. The makeup of the council at the time of its suspension, in order of election and term, is as follows: [6]

SeatCouncillorPartyNotes
Lord Mayor [7]   Lisa Scaffidi IndependentFirst female Lord Mayor of Perth
2015–2019 [7]  Janet DavidsonIndependent
 Jim AdamosIndependent
 Jemma GreenIndependentDeputy Lord Mayor 2017– [8]
 Lily ChenIndependent
2017–2021 [9]  Steve HasluckIndependent
 James LimniosIndependentDeputy Lord Mayor 2015–2017 [10]
 Lexi BartonIndependent
 Reece HarleyIndependent

Commissioner-led council

CommissionerTermNotes
Chair CommissionerEric Lumsden2 March 2018 – 9 August 2019Chairperson of the Western Australian Planning Commission. [11] [2]
Andrew Hammond9 August 2019 – 19 October 2020Commissioner 2018–2019. Former chief executive officer, City of Rockingham. [11] [2] [12]
Deputy Chair CommissionerGaye McMath2 March 2018 – 19 October 2020Former executive director, Perth Education City. [11] [2]
CommissionerLen Kosova9 August 2019 – 19 October 2020Former chief executive officer, City of Vincent.
CEOTermNotes
Martin Mileham1 September 2016 – 29 October 2018 [13] [14] [15] [16]
Murray Jorgensen OAM JP (acting)13 November 2018 – 4 August 2020 [17]
Michelle Reynolds4 August 2020 – 19 October 2020 [18]

Campaign

Six candidates nominated for the position of Lord Mayor. They were media personality Basil Zempilas, retired magistrate Tim Schwass, former Australian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Di Bain, TV reporter Mark Gibson, startup community entrepreneur Brodie McCulloch and architect Sandy Anghie. [19] Two candidates for the position of Lord Mayor also nominated as Council Candidates, Di Bain and Sandy Angie. [20]

Homelessness, governance, reinvigorating retail spaces and creating a sustainable city are key platforms on which candidates are campaigning on. [21]

Zempilas has faced public scrutiny over his potential conflicts of interests after radio interviews by Russell Woolf on ABC Radio and Gareth Parker on Radio 6PR. [22] Bain released a list of potential conflicts in the City of Perth connected to her or her husband amounting to $95.75 million, including a private equity firm that owns a suite of buildings in the CBD. [23] McCulloch's company Spacecubed has refused a $15,000 City of Perth economic development grant awarded before his campaign announcement citing it as an example of strong governance and decision making. [24]

Zempilas was elected Lord Mayor with 29.44% of the popular vote with 41% turnout. [25] [26]

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The following is the order of precedence for Australia:

  1. The King of Australia: His Majesty King Charles III
  2. The Governor-General of Australia: Her Excellency the Hon Sam Mostyn AC
  3. The Governor of the State when within their own State.
  4. The Governors of the other States in order of appointment:
    1. Governor of New South Wales: Margaret Beazley
    2. Governor of Tasmania: Barbara Baker
    3. Governor of South Australia: Frances Adamson
    4. Governor of Queensland: Jeannette Young
    5. Governor of Western Australia: Chris Dawson
    6. Governor of Victoria: Margaret Gardner
  5. When within the Northern Territory, the Administrator of the Northern Territory: Hugh Heggie
  6. The Prime Minister: Anthony Albanese
  7. When within their own State or Territory, the Premier of the State or the Chief Minister of the Territory
  8. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in order of election :
    1. President of the Senate Senator: Sue Lines
    2. Speaker of the House of Representatives: Milton Dick
  9. The Chief Justice of Australia: Stephen Gageler
  10. Senior diplomatic posts:
    1. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in order of date of presentation of the Letters of Credence or Commission
    2. Chargés d'affaires en pied or en titre in order of date of presentation of the Letters of Credence or Commission
    3. Chargés d'affaires ad interim and Acting High Commissioners in order of date of assumption of duties
  11. Members of the Federal Executive Council under summons :
    1. Ministry List
  12. The Administrator of the Northern Territory: Hugh Heggie
  13. The Leader of the Opposition: Peter Dutton
  14. Former holders of high offices:
    1. Former Governors-General in order of leaving office:
      1. William Deane (1996–2001)
      2. Peter Hollingworth (2001–2003)
      3. Quentin Bryce (2008–2014)
      4. Peter Cosgrove (2014–2019)
      5. David Hurley (2019-2024)
    2. Former Prime Ministers in order of leaving office:
      1. Paul Keating (1991–1996)
      2. John Howard (1996–2007)
      3. Kevin Rudd
      4. Julia Gillard (2010–2013)
      5. Tony Abbott (2013–2015)
      6. Malcolm Turnbull (2015–2018)
      7. Scott Morrison (2018–2022)
    3. Former Chief Justices in order of leaving office:
      1. Anthony Mason (1987–1995)
      2. Murray Gleeson (1998–2008)
      3. Robert French (2008–2017)
      4. Susan Kiefel (2017–2023)
  15. Premiers of states in order of state populations, then Chief Ministers of the territories in order of territory populations:
    1. Premier of New South Wales: Chris Minns
    2. Premier of Victoria: Jacinta Allan
    3. Premier of Queensland: Annastacia Palaszczuk
    4. Premier of Western Australia: Roger Cook
    5. Premier of South Australia: Peter Malinauskas
    6. Premier of Tasmania: Jeremy Rockliff
    7. Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory: Andrew Barr
    8. Chief Minister of the Northern Territory: Natasha Fyles
  16. The Lord Mayor when within their jurisdiction
  17. Justices of the High Court in order of appointment:
    1. Michelle Gordon AC
    2. James Edelman
    3. Simon Steward
    4. Jacqueline Sarah Gleeson
    5. Jayne Jagot
    6. Robert Beech-Jones
  18. Senior judges:
    1. Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia: Debra Mortimer
    2. Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia : Will Alstergren
    3. Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia : Jointly held with the above by Will Alstergren
  19. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the (Australian) jurisdiction
  20. The other Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of the States and Territories in order of appointment :
    1. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia: The Hon Chris Kourakis SC
    2. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania: The Hon Alan Blow AO
    3. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory: Michael Grant
    4. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria: Anne Ferguson
    5. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia: Peter Quinlan SC
    6. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales: The Hon Andrew Bell SC
    7. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory: Lucy McCallum
    8. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland: The Hon Helen Bowskill KC
  21. Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in order of appointment:
    1. The Rt Hon Ian Sinclair AC
    2. The Rt Hon Sir William Heseltine
  22. The Chief of the Defence Force
  23. Chief Judges of State and Territory Courts in order of their appointment to any of their respective jurisdictions' courts
  24. Members of Parliament
  25. Presidents of Federal Tribunals:
    1. The President of the Fair Work Commission: The Hon Justice Adam Hatcher SC
    2. The President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal: The Hon Justice Emilios Kyrou AO
  26. Other Judges of Federal, State and Territory Courts in order of their appointment to any of their respective jurisdictions' courts
  27. Lord Mayors of capital cities in order of city populations:
    1. Lord Mayor of Sydney: The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Councillor Clover Moore AO
    2. Lord Mayor of Melbourne: The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Councillor Sally Capp AO
    3. Lord Mayor of Brisbane: The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Councillor Adrian Schrinner
    4. Lord Mayor of Perth: The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Perth, Mr Basil Zempilas
    5. Lord Mayor of Adelaide: The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith AM
    6. Lord Mayor of Hobart: The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Hobart, Councillor Anna Reynolds
    7. Lord Mayor of Darwin: The Rt Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Darwin, the Hon Kon Vatskalis
  28. Heads of religious communities according to the date of assuming office in Australia
  29. The Presiding Officer(s) of the State Legislature when in their own jurisdiction.
  30. Presiding officers of the other State Legislatures in order of appointment, then Presiding Officer of Territory Legislatures in order of appointment:
    1. Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly: Colin Brooks
    2. Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland: Curtis Pitt
    3. President of the Victorian Legislative Council: Nazih Elasmar
    4. Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly: Jonathan O'Dea
    5. President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council: Craig Farrell
    6. President of the South Australian Legislative Council: John Dawkins)
    7. Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly: Michelle Roberts)
    8. President of the New South Wales Legislative Council: Matthew Mason-Cox
    9. President of the Western Australian Legislative Council: Alanna Clohesy
    10. Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly: Mark Shelton
    11. Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly: Dan Cregan
    12. Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly: Joy Burch
    13. Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly: Ngaree Ah Kit
  31. The members of the particular State Executive Council under summons, then the Members of the other State Executive Councils in order of state populations, and then the Ministers of the Australian Capital Territory and then Members of the Northern Territory Executive Council:
    1. Executive Council of New South Wales
    2. Executive Council of Victoria
    3. Executive Council of Queensland
    4. Executive Council of Western Australia
    5. Executive Council of South Australia
    6. Executive Council of Tasmania
    7. Ministers of the Australian Capital Territory
    8. Executive Council of the Northern Territory
  32. The Leader of the Opposition of the particular State, and then Leaders of the Opposition of State Legislatures in order of state populations, then Leaders of the Opposition in Territory Legislatures in order of territory populations:
    1. Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales: Mark Speakman
    2. Leader of the Opposition of Victoria: John Pesutto
    3. Leader of the Opposition of Queensland: David Crisafulli
    4. Leader of the Opposition of Western Australia: Shane Love
    5. Leader of the Opposition of South Australia: Peter Malinauskas
    6. Leader of the Opposition of Tasmania: Rebecca White
    7. Leader of the Opposition of the Australian Capital Territory: Elizabeth Lee
    8. Leader of the Opposition of the Northern Territory: Lia Finocchiaro
  33. Members of the Federal Executive Council not under summons
  34. Members of the particular State or Territory legislature, and then Members of State and Territory Legislatures in order of population:
    1. New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    2. Victorian Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    3. Queensland Legislative Assembly
    4. Western Australian Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    5. South Australian House of Assembly and Legislative Council
    6. Tasmanian House of Assembly and Legislative Council
    7. Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
    8. Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
  35. The Secretaries of Departments of the Australian Public Service and their peers and the Chiefs of the Air Force, Army, and Navy in order of first appointment to this group:
    1. Chief of Air Force: Air Marshal Robert Chipman
    2. Chief of Army: Lieutenant General Simon Stuart
    3. Chief of Navy: Vice Admiral Mark Hammond
  36. Consuls-General, Consuls and Vice-Consuls according to the date on which recognition was granted
  37. Recipients of Decorations or Honours from the Sovereign, specifically Decorations or Honours which are at or above the Knight Bachelor or above, and precedence being established according to the Australian honours order of wearing, and, where two people hold the same decoration or honour, according to the date on which the award was announced
  38. Citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
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References

  1. 1 2 "Basil Zempilas elected as new City of Perth Lord Mayor after years of commissioner-led council". ABC News. 18 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hon David Templeman MP (2 March 2018). "City of Perth council suspended, inquiry panel to determine fate". Western Australian Government. Archived from the original (Media Release) on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  3. Kagi, Jacob; Shepherd, Briana (3 March 2018). "Perth City Council suspended by Minister David Templeman after years of scandal and infighting". ABC News. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  4. "Confidence to be returned to ratepayers", Media Release, City of Perth, 9 March 2018
  5. Carmody, James (30 June 2020). "City of Perth inquiry finds council 'dysfunctional and poorly led', criminal charges possible". ABC News.
  6. 1 2 "Council Elections". City of Perth. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  7. 1 2 "2015 Ordinary Election Perth Results". Local Government Elections. Western Australian Electoral Commission . Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  8. Strutt, Jessica (28 October 2017). "New Perth Deputy Lord Mayor Jemma Green plots a new course to Lisa Scaffidi". ABC News. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  9. "2017 Ordinary Election Perth Results". Local Government Elections. Western Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. Titelius, Regina (22 October 2015). "James Limnios elected City of Perth's new deputy Lord Mayor". PerthNow. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 "Commissioners". City of Perth. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  12. "Chair Commissioner and new Commissioner appointed". City of Perth. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  13. "Council Sets New Course for City with Appointment of CEO" (Media Release). City of Perth. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  14. Strutt, Jessica (19 February 2018). "City of Perth chief executive Martin Mileham takes indefinite personal leave". ABC News. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  15. Emery, Kate (27 April 2018). "City of Perth's Martin Mileham takes leave as inquiry looms". The West Australian. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  16. Laschon, Eliza (30 October 2018). "Ex-City of Perth CEO Martin Mileham considers legal action after being sacked". ABC News. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  17. "City of Perth appoints CEO" (Media Release). CIty of Perth. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  18. "New City of Perth CEO appointed". www.perth.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  19. De Kruijff, Peter (7 August 2020). "Designs to lead a new-look city". The West Australian. p. 3.
  20. url=https://www.perth.wa.gov.au/live-and-work/elections/candidate-profiles
  21. Juanola, Marta Pascual (2 August 2020). "How Perth's lord mayor hopefuls plan to tackle one of the city's toughest issues". The Age. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  22. Christian, Brett (8 August 2020). "Basil grilled over conflicts". Post Newspaper. p. 11.
  23. de Kruijff, Peter (29 August 2020). "Lord mayor aspirant Di Bain lists companies she or husband John Poynton are connected to that could give rise to conflicts of interest". The West Australian. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  24. "Candidate refunds City". The West Australian. 8 August 2020. p. 23.
  25. Warriner, Jessica (17 October 2020). "Radio and TV host Basil Zempilas elected new Perth Lord Mayor". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  26. "Perth Section 4.13 Results (2020 Mayoral Election Results)". Western Australia Electoral Commission. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

References