More than 600 residents told the City of Mandurah to leave Hall Park public at a rally on February 16 after council decided to excise a portion for commercial development.
Mandurah Environment and Heritage Group (MEHG) members, along with hundreds of residents, were joined by councillors and representatives from the Libertarians (Ryan Burns), Liberals (Steve Thomas), One Nation and Legalise Cannabis (Sharlene Mavor).
The rally was organised by Friends of Hall Park (FOHP), residents concerned about council’s sell-off of public space to the Western Foreshore Development.
Left Coast Leisure Group has been granted a 25-year lease to build a 650-patron pub/restaurant with a microbrewery, mini golf course and chocolate factory along Mandurah’s quiet Western Foreshore.
“Today we’re here to try and save our park, the A-Class Reserve,” said rally organiser Amanda Gibbs.
“The council has not completed its due diligence, nor has it had meaningful consultation with the Indigenous community, or the family that gifted the land back in 1953.”
Mandurah Council voted last August 27 to form a “” with Left Coast Leisure Group.
It voted 9 to 4, with Rhys Williams, a former mayor and WA Labor’s candidate for Mandurah, enthusiastically endorsing the proposal.
Ryan Burns (Libertarian candidate for the LC) as well as independent councillors David Schumacher, Ahmed Zilani and Jacob Cumberworth oppose the development.
A portion of the park, a protected Class A Reserve next to the King’s Carnival, will be replaced by car parks. However, council has yet to apply for permission to excise a portion of the reserve.
There will also need to be a 30-day public consultation and lands minister John Carey has yet to start that.
Dr Steve Thomas, Liberal MLC for the South West, told the rally he would start a parliamentary petition to halt development.
Protesters want the Western Foreshore left as is.
“Do they realise what they have here? This is the jewel of Mandurah,” one resident said. “They talk about tourism; people come here for the waterways. It’s very sad.”
MEHG activist Daniela Buters believes about 12 mature trees would be felled as part of the excision. “These trees are about 60–70 years old. Birds migrate all the way from Siberia to these trees. We can’t afford to cut one tree down, unless it’s diseased.”
Meanwhile, about 180 FOHP activists attended the City of Mandurah Annual Electors Meeting on February 10, so many that it was relocated to the Senior’s Centre.
More than 70 questions were asked over two hours, during which councillors disclosed that the environmental assessment, required for the proposed seafloor dredging for a jetty, is yet to happen.
This is despite the Major Land Transaction already having been agreed.
Council CEO Casey Mihovilovich calculated that 11% of the 39,500 square metre park will be excised.
However, FOHP members, including rally organiser Amanda Giblett, believe that up to 40% could be excised, when the size of car bays are taken into account.
The CEO asserted the community was consulted in 2018 and last year.
However, despite an overwhelming number of objections, only minor amendments were made, such as a 10pm curfew and a promise to consult on local traffic flows in the future.
It became clear at the meeting that council would not halt the proposal based on how many had objected.
Residents moved two motions at the AGM: to rescind the August vote to proceed with the development, which passed 105/9; and to consult the Binjareb Elders on the use of their ancestral land and act in the best interest of the wider community, which passed 105/5.
said council would decide if it supports this motion at its meeting on February 25.
“If council does decide to rescind its original decision, it would effectively put an end to the Western Foreshore proposal,” Knight said.
FOHP is organising a big presence at the February 25 council meeting to ensure the AGM motions are taken seriously.
ڴǾ community page and email fohallpark@gmail.com.]