Latest news with #Zilani
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Councillor warned during Mandurah rates discussion
City of Mandurah council members clashed before adopting a budget with a 4.08 per cent rates increase. The increase amounts to $69.44 a year or $1.34 a week for the average residential property. This is higher than the 2024-25 rate rise of 3.98 per cent and will generate $102.9 million for the city. In a statement, mayor Caroline Knight said rate decisions were 'never easy'. 'This marks the end of a long and considered process, one that involved months of workshops, briefings and deep discussion,' she said. 'I want to thank my fellow councillors for the respectful and collaborative way we've worked through this. These decisions are never easy, especially when they result in a rate increase for our community. 'No one likes to raise the cost of anything, especially in times like these. We know many people are feeling the pressure of rising costs and we absolutely take that seriously. 'As councillors, we're community members too — mums, dads, grandparents, business owners, volunteers, and sports coaches… and we don't make these decisions lightly. 'But we also have a responsibility under the Local Government Act to act in the best interests of our whole community, now and into the future.' Cr Zilani Credit: Supplied Cr Ahmed Zilani opposed the rate increase at last week's meeting, while Cr Ryan Burns opposed the budget and financial plan. Cr Zilani spoke about the role he believed the mayor could play in reducing rates. He has previously shared his plan to run for mayor at the next election. Cr Peter Rogers called Cr Zilani out for 'election speak' during the debate. 'There was no campaigning speak, I said leadership can bring our rates reduced,' Cr Zilani countered. Despite his opposition to rising rates, Cr Zilani said he would support the budget. During closing arguments, Cr Zilani was again warned, this time by the mayor. 'In closing, I would like to request my councillor colleagues be patient during my speech because my speech has connection between every sentence … every year I got blamed by the council…' Cr Zilani began. 'Excuse me Cr Zilani, would you please cease there,' Ms Knight interjected. 'I'm going to warn you now around relevance under 7.7 of the standing orders.' Order 7.7 means the presiding member can call the attention of the meeting to any irrelevant, repetitious, offensive or insulting language by a member and direct that member to discontinue their speech. Cr Burns and Cr Dave Schumacher both voted against the business plan. In a statement, Ms Knight said the budget had been shaped to ensure the city could maintain and renew its $1.5 billion asset base while continuing to deliver the services and programs that the community valued most. 'We're maintaining and renewing our city's vast number of public assets — playgrounds, sports clubs, the Seniors Centre, the pool, roads, parks, footpaths, community centres, libraries and more — many of which people can access for free or at a very low cost, which is vitally important when we're all feeling the pinch,' she said.
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Goat for the vote: Mandurah mayor hopeful's meaty promise
Nominations for Mandurah's October mayoral election haven't opened yet, but already one hopeful is making some big meaty promises. During a recent visit to Peel Community Kitchen, Cr Ahmed Zilani promised to donate half a tonne of goat meat if elected mayor every year he remains in office. The councillor visited the kitchen to donate a full goat — about 15kg of meat — when he made the promise. Cr Zilani shared more details on social media, adding it would be 'at no cost to ratepayers. This will be arranged through external sources, not council funds'. While goat meat might seem weird or scary to some, it is a popular source of protein in South Asian countries. Australia is also the world's biggest exporter, despite only a third of Australians saying they have tried it. The taste can be similar to lamb or beef, depending on the cut. The community kitchen relies on food donations and feeds hundreds of people who are homeless, on the pension or down on their luck. Peel Community Kitchen revealed they used the meat to make a goat curry with rice. Cr Zilani made similar donations to the kitchen in the past, including 20kg of lamb meat in 2024, 2023 and 2022. Nominations for WA's local government elections open in August. Cr Zilani was contacted for comment.
