A City of Canning councillor said he was disappointed by the behaviour of a small group of residents during the recent debate over a proposed Cannington bus route.
At the city’s December 19 meeting, where council voted unanimously against the proposal to redirect buses off Albany Highway and past homes in Cannington, councillor Patrick Hall said he was disappointed to hear threats had been made over the issue.
Mr Hall said residents were entitled to their points of view, and he appreciated the input of the majority of residents who had been civil, but thought a small group of residents had allowed themselves to get caught up in emotion.
“A lot of people gave us wonderful feedback, but there was a core group of people who were personally attacking councillors, saying nasty things,” he said.
Mr Hall did not mention the names of residents he believed had acted inappropriately.
“My understanding was at the public meeting some councillors were threatened they wouldn’t be re-elected if they backed the Fleming Avenue route,” he said.
“There were threats; they were disparaging toward the mayor.
“Shouting at executives and making threats against councillors was out of line.”
Mr Hall said the alleged aggression arose before council had a chance to discuss the issue properly.
He said he believed council would have voted down the link without the need to descend into aggressive behaviour.
Councillor Sara Saberi, who represents the Beeloo Ward which includes the Cannington area, said she had received a substantial amount of resident communication in the run up to the vote, but she had not heard of threats being made.
“I didn’t hear about people losing their seats, maybe the threat was that you need to listen to the people,” she said.
Ms Saberi said residents had been forceful in putting their information forward to councillors, but that was to be expected from a passionate campaign.
“It’s something they care about and they just wanted their voices heard,” she said.
