Jandakot Residents and Ratepayers Association

Rates up. Services down. And now WALGA says some of what you paid for was never essential.

WALGA’s president went on ABC Perth and warned that rates will rise “closer to five and eight per cent”. In the same interview he said councils may “reduce non essential services or maybe some of those nice to haves”.

That single sentence changes everything.

It confirms that ratepayers have already been funding programs and services that can now be removed without affecting core operations.

If they can be cut now, why were they funded with compulsory rates at all.

If they were never essential, why were they in the budget during years of steady rate increases.

This is the moment ratepayers should start asking questions.

For years the message has been predictable.
Costs are rising.
Fuel is rising.
Bitumen is rising.
Wages and overheads are rising.
Therefore rates must rise.

But this is a rare occasion, if not the first time, the sector’s own leadership has admitted that part of what ratepayers have been paying for is optional.

Once that admission is made, the public is entitled to ask what else has been sitting in the budget under the label of non essential.

Ratepayers deserve to know:

• What exactly counts as non essential

• How long they have been paying for it

• How much it has cost

• Who proposed it

• Who approved it

• Who monitored it

• Why ratepayers were funding non essential services when rates rise every single year

• Whether ratepayers were ever asked if they wanted these nice to haves

• Where the decisions to spend on non essential items came from

• Whose ideas they were and what process allowed them through the budget cycle

And there is another question that now sits squarely on the table.

Recent public discussion about WALGA’s influence on council budgets raises a further issue that ratepayers are entitled to examine. Are WALGA’s fees themselves essential, or are councils paying for an additional layer of administration that could in some cases be handled inhouse.

Ratepayers were never asked whether they wanted this extra layer.
They were never asked whether they preferred local capacity building over external fees. They were never shown the cost benefit analysis that justified outsourcing functions to WALGA instead of strengthening internal teams.

If non essential services are now being reviewed, then it is reasonable for the public to expect that external administrative structures will be reviewed with the same scrutiny.

Because when the peak body says rates are going up again and in the same breath says councils may cut non essential services, it raises a simple unavoidable point.

If money is tight, why were ratepayers funding non essentials in the first place.

If the answer is that this is simply how the system works, then the system needs to explain itself.

Ratepayers are being told to brace for higher bills and fewer services.

They deserve to know exactly what they have been paying for and why some of it was never essential.

City of Melville Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc. Save Perth Hills PerthNow Karl Stefanovic Jandakot and Glen Iris Estate @

Amazed that Yaz Mubarakai MLA turns off comments when they are negative to his blurb? Not so amazed really ! He’s blocked most is us.

I hope you are all enjoying a well-deserved Easter long weekend! 🐰🐣💖

Last year we introduced new laws to add two new public holidays to WA's calendar - Show Day and Easter Saturday. If this bill passes the upper house, we will be celebrating a public holiday on this day in 2028.

As always, thank you to the superstars who have been going to work and keeping WA running over the break 🌟

On ya Tom.

Planned power outage affecting your property - AGAIN!!!!
Your ref: ENAR 618707
NMI: 8001948318

Hi Leanne,

We’re conducting essential maintenance in your area soon to improve network reliability. To ensure the safety of you, our crew, and the community, we will need to turn off your power while we complete this work.

Property to be affected: 8 Hartwell Pde Jandakot 6164

Start time: Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 9:00 PM
End time: Friday, 30 January 2026 at 5:00 AM

Please forward this email to anyone else who may be impacted by the planned outage, i.e. tenants.

We always try to minimise the length of these outages, but sometimes unexpected issues mean the crew will need to keep your power off for longer than planned. We will endeavour to contact you if the outage is cancelled, or power restoration is delayed. The start time indicates our estimate for commencement of works and power will be turned off no sooner than that time, however it can take up to 1-2 hours to turn everyone's power off.

If you have any questions please contact us or visit our website for tips on how to prepare for a planned power outage.

Thanks for your patience while we carry out this work.

Regards,
Customer Service Team

We wish you all A Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Prosperous New Year.

Deputy Mayor Cr Phoebe Corke - City of Cockburn Councillor Tarun Dewan - City of Cockburn we are very interested to know when the next Landgate valuation for GRV will be set for Cockburn. We suspect if not already, budgets being organised for 26/27 and with GRV’s expected to rise considerably, we would hope the rate in the $ for rates will be decreased and not used as a windfall to raise additional money by council officers for pet projects that are not required. We are in a time of considerable monetary extremes and would expect councillors to take that into consideration. Councillor Carol Reeve-Fowkes - Cockburn East WardJandakot and Glen Iris EstateCity of CockburnChontelle Stone - Councillor, City of CockburnCity of Melville Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc.

You should have received updates from our AGM last week.
Please join us in welcoming our new committee, comprised of talented individuals dedicated to driving positive change:
Michael Smith - Chairperson,
Vicki Dutton - Vice Chairperson,
Rebecca Smith - Treasurer,
Tracy Murdocca - Committee Member,
and Jeannette Smith - Secretary.

We're excited to leverage their unique skills to propel our organisation forward. Stay alert for new opportunities and connections emerging in our community.

Wishing you a joyous Christmas and New Year's season.

Councillor Tarun Dewan - City of CockburnDeputy Mayor Cr Phoebe Corke - City of CockburnCouncillor Carol Reeve-Fowkes - Cockburn East WardJandakot and Glen Iris EstateCity of CockburnChontelle Stone - Councillor, City of Cockburn

Attended the AGM of JRRA with Deputy Mayor Cr Phoebe Corke - City of Cockburn
Our sincere thanks go to Jeannete Smith, Worlfgang, Janet Muttet, and Leanne Chaproniere for their tireless efforts in serving the community over five years. We extend best wishes to the newly elected members Michael, Bec and Vicky.
Treeby Community AssociationJandakot Residents and Ratepayers Association

You are invited to the AGM on Saturday 6 December 2025 , 9am at The Berrigan and be apart of the new era of JRRA.
New faces, new places, new people, new ideas.
And theres more ……..