CITY THROWS MAYOR UNDER BUS OVER RACISM CLAIMS

EXCLUSIVE: THE City of Fremantle appears to have distanced itself from potentially defamatory comments by mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge after she used social media to accuse The Fremantle Society and president John Dowson of racism for having asked councillors to ensure ‘positive and inclusive’ plans for Western Australia’s bicentenary in 2029.
As reported by StreetWise, Fremantle’s leading heritage advocate emailed the mayor and elected members last week to raise concerns over the council’s proposed 200th birthday celebrations centred around Arthur Head including Bathers Beach and Round House.
Cr Fitzhardinge responded on May 28 at a National Reconciliation Week breakfast to publicly ‘call out’ the Society and Mr Dowson on Facebook and Instagram where Mr Dowson responded: “This is a shocking and defamatory attack … You have totally misrepresented the complaint that was lodged with you. You need to withdraw this video and apologise, to avoid legal action.”
She said she would, “not be intimidated by your threats”, and added on Instagram: “If you work actively against recognition of indigenous histories, seek to claim that colonial perspectives are superior or more important than indigenous ones, deny indigenous links to an area and attack indigenous led consultations then there are a very limited number of nouns to describe this approach, and it needs to be called out.”
Cr Fitzhardinge has engaged Hammond Legal instead of City lawyers to respond to Mr Dowson’s action against both the City and her.
The issue for the City and councillors is who pays the legal fees? If the public spat goes to Defcon 1, the cost could be substantial for ratepayers if the City is liable for defending Cr Fitzhardinge’s accusations, which are still posted online.
All of the comments on the mayor’s Facebook page are critical of her post attacking Mr Dowson. Most of those on her Instagram page are supportive of her post and disrespectful of Mr Dowson, who presently is heavily involved in (among other heritage pursuits) Albany’s bicentennial preparations for 2026.
Mr Dowson said he could not comment further when contacted by StreetWise today except to say he had sent Hammond’s response on behalf of the mayor to CEO Glen Dougall and asked whether the City had a policy on elected members’ legal fees. He confirmed the City’s lawyers also responded to say the matter was between the mayor and him and that the social media sites the mayor used are not funded by the City.
“Basically, they (the City) have thrown her under the bus,” Mr Dowson told StreetWise. “I understand what the City is saying, but she represents the council. It is irrelevant whether she stands on top of a hill or says it through her or council’s Facebook page, as mayor she has said something defamatory.”
StreetWise has learnt all councillors including the mayor receive an additional allowance for computers, phones, internet access and online subscriptions to various platforms. Until 2023, former councillors confirmed the allowance was $4000 a year. That’s $16,000 for each councillor or $176,000 for the term of 11 elected members who can still use their own devices. There also is no requirement to spend the allowance.
StreetWise understands the allowance is now broken up into monthly payments and tacked on to the meetings allowance paid to councillors whose pay has increased from $29,000 to $34,000 (plus 11.5 per cent super and other perks).
This publication was told most councillors created social media sites as extensions of their election campaigns whose name they could later change. They were not sites for making official statements on behalf on the City.
The mayor is the only official spokesperson for the City. Had a councillor posted the claims, the City could say they were not the official spokesperson and therefore not responsible for what the councillor said nor the legal costs it incurred. The mayor, however, can say what she likes, and has, dragging the City into a potential defamation action that could cost ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The important point is she used council-funded technology to publish her comments despite what the City lawyers have told Mr Dowson.
It will be up to council (and its insurers) whether it is liable for the mayor’s offensive comments, noting there is no confidential item listed in the agenda for next week’s council meeting.
StreetWise has contacted the City to confirm whether it will cover Cr Fitzhardinge’s legal fees given she has engaged her own lawyers and whether she received the allowance.
Mr Dowson’s lawyers wrote to the mayor on May 28 and stated: “In Australia, an accusation of racism is one of the most egregious things one could say about any person or body and would very definitely have the effect of lowering the standard and reputation of any person in the community who is so accused.
“You clearly made the video in your capacity as Mayor of Fremantle and therefore the City of Fremantle is one of the publishers.”
Additional reports www.streetwisemedia.com.au.