Kwinana’s Secret Budget: What’s Really Happening with Your Rates?

If you’ve noticed your rates climbing while the basics—like road repairs, verge mowing, and community safety—are being ignored, you aren’t alone. While the Council stays quiet about it on Facebook, a massive project is running in the background called the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

Most residents don’t even know it exists. Let’s break it down in plain English.

What is the RAP?

The Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a formal “roadmap” the City uses to decide how it spends money and creates policies specifically for the Aboriginal community. In Kwinana, this group makes up about 4.4% of the population (2,016 people).

While the idea sounds good on paper, the way the Council is handling it is a major concern for the other 95.6% of residents (over 43,000 people) who are footing the bill.

Who is Running the Show?

  • The “Operational” Loophole: Mayor Peter Feasey recently confirmed that the Council did not even vote to adopt these protocols. Instead, they were labeled as “operational matters.” This means the CEO can spend your money without a formal public vote from your elected representatives.
  • High-Priced Consultants: Instead of using local staff, the City pays outside consultants thousands of dollars to write these reports. These costs are often “amalgamated”—meaning they are hidden deep inside 300-page reports under vague headings like “Community Development.”
  • The Minority Committee: A small group called the Boola Maara Aboriginal Consultative Committee now has a massive say in how land is developed and how City policies are written—often with more influence than the thousands of residents who have lived here for decades.

The “Cover-Up” and the Spin

The Council is very careful about how they hide these costs. Here is the reality behind the “spin”:

  • The Hidden Bill: You won’t see a line on your rate notice that says “RAP Cost.” It is buried inside categories like “Community & Arts,” which costs us millions every year. When we ask for the exact dollar amount, we get silence or excuses.
  • Symbols Over Services: The City spends big on “Welcome to Country” ceremonies, plaques, and consultants. Meanwhile, the community’s real priorities—like fixing the Kwinana Loop Trail or stopping crime—are told “there isn’t enough in the budget.”
  • The “Moral Shield”: Whenever residents complain about rate hikes, the Council uses the RAP as a shield. They frame their spending as “social progress” to make anyone who questions the cost look like they are “against” the community.

Why are the Majority Paying for the Minority?

Kwinana is a diverse city with people from all over the world. We believe in One Australia, where every resident is treated equally.

Right now, our suburbs are in a debt cycle from the FOGO bin disaster, yet your money is being funneled into “Cultural Protocols” hidden on page 275 of random reports. Even our own Deputy Mayor, a proud Nyungar man, proved that success in Kwinana comes from individual merit, not from hidden government subsidies.

What We Are Demanding:

  1. Line-Item Transparency: No more “amalgamated” budgets. Every dollar spent on the RAP and its consultants must be clearly listed.
  2. A Fair Say: Decisions that affect our rates should be voted on by the Council, not pushed through the back door by the CEO.
  3. Suburbs Before Symbols: Put our money back into the trails, the roads, and lower rates for everyone.

The Bottom Line: Your ratepayer money belongs to the whole community. It should be spent on projects that benefit everyone, not on minority-focused programs that lack accountability.

“The Mayor admits there was no public consultation and no formal Council vote. Decisions are being made behind closed doors by unelected committees. Read the full email exchange between ALWMGroup and Mayor Feasey [HERE].”