Mosman Park North Ward candidate Andrew Wilson (left) continued his crime campaign, with (l-r) Cr Brett Pollock and Mayor Ron Norris listening, at the town hall meeting:
Camera IconMosman Park North Ward candidate Andrew Wilson (left) continued his crime campaign, with (l-r) Cr Brett Pollock and Mayor Ron Norris listening, at the town hall meeting: Credit: Supplied/Jon Bassett.

Mosman Park public meeting sees little support for calls to evict Housing Authority tenants

Jon BassettWestern Suburbs Weekly

A CALL to evict all Housing Authority tenants had limited support at a public meeting of council candidates in Mosman Park last night,

The crime debate was re-ignited when north ward candidate Andrew Wilson suggested 10 days ago that all the tenants of 143 Housing Authority units in Mosman Park be moved to Fremantle to stop crime and anti-social behaviour allegedly at some of the properties.

“These issues are real and need to be dealt with, but there are others we need to deal with, but these calls are mean spirited and divisive and I cannot agree with them,” North Ward candidate Paul Shaw said in front of about 60 residents.

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Last week, up to six Perth-based police officers carried out additional patrols of the suburb, after more incidents were reported.

“Once a day we have a house broken into in Mosman Park, and old ladies fear to go outside, with their sons delivering groceries,” Mr Wilson claimed at the meeting.

When asked by a resident for a solution, Mr Wilson said current rules should be applied so Housing Authority homes were kept free of “lawn clippings, rubbish, needles and shopping trolleys”.

He also suggested a private security patrol and council hotline to report crime being established as solutions.

The other ward candidate, Brett Carboni, said he was also concerned about the break ins, and while he did not have a solution, he said the issue needed investigation.

Among five south ward candidates, sitting councillor Jenna Ledgerwood said the crime debate was “timely”, but residents could also “blame” decisions by WA Police to move officers from the area to Perth.

“Tenants need our assistance, but there are real and perceived threats in Mosman Park. There are break-ins, and we need to improve our dialog with the Housing Authority and police after it dropped off for six months,” south ward candidate David Prestney said.

Mayoral candidate Mayor Ron Norris said the “jaundiced view” of crime, including Mr Wilson’s proposed private patrols being ”fantasy”, compared with the council working with police and the Housing Authority to solve a recent crime spike by several individuals last year.

“There are hotspots of crime and poor behaviour by different people in this community,” mayoral hopeful Cr Brett Pollock said, who also voiced concerns about safety fears faced by people walking from trains at night.