Liberal Party councillors ‘allowed’ to vote on prison

Sharon Webb

MEANDER VALLEY councillors who stood as Liberal candidates supporting the government’s proposed new prison will be allowed to vote on the planning application for the project.

General manager John Jordan said the councillors would be required to manage any conflict of interest or bias in accordance with relevant legislation and their role when acting as a planning authority. At the April council meeting Westbury Region Against the Prison president, Emma Hamilton, asked, ‘Will the council tell us if Cllr Susie Bower and Cllr Stephanie Cameron will be allowed to vote on the Liberal Party’s prison proposal rezone and/ or development application should they not be elected and remain on council?’

Westbury resident Peter Wileman added, ‘Are the two councillors who are standing as Liberal candidates, supporting the three Liberal incumbents in state government, allowed to continue in their council roles as elected ‘unbiased’ councillors?

‘Especially in light of the imminent planning application by the Liberal state government for the proposed northern maximum security prison at Westbury.

‘Both the Labor Party and the Greens have stated their opposition to the flawed prison proposal, leaving only the Liberal Party as proponents, to which the two councillors show a clear bias.’

When asked about how she would handle voting on the prison planning application having been a Liberal Party candidate, Cllr Bower said she would take advice on the issue.

The prison potentially was a fraught issue during the election. The Liberal Party successfully damped down any discussion of it.

WRAP spokesperson Linda Poulton claimed that at least one Liberal candidate for Lyons had told voters that a prison at the reserve is inevitable, but if elected, that candidate would nevertheless fight for the town to make the best of it.

‘By conveying to the people of Westbury that a prison at the proposed nature reserve is inevitable, this candidate is effectively lying straight to their faces’, Ms Poulton said.

‘Due diligence for the site is not yet complete. Federal Government agreement needs to be obtained.

‘The whole process then needs to go through a planning process which is meant to be independent. It is fraught with legal impediments and WRAP is determined to fight it until the end. So this prison is very, very far from being a done deal.

‘This candidate is peddling a lie, but what’s worse is seeking to promote themselves as a voice for the town on the back of that lie.’

A Liberal Party spokesperson indicated it was unlikely the party would respond to the allegation because party leader Peter Gutwein didn’t want to speak about the prison.

Ms Poulton said, ‘Despite their silence, we know [the Liberals] are worried about what the local booths will show come election day.

‘Meander Valley is clearly very important to them, more important than anywhere else in Lyons. Why else would four out of six of their candidates be from the Meander Valley?’