Eyes on the prize: Why are the WA Liberals so interested in South Perth’s trees?
By Emma Young
Tensions are boiling over six baby trees in South Perth with suggestions the state Liberal Party is using the local council as a campaign vehicle, bringing to a head 12 months of worsening division between members.
The situation is frustrating locals focused on the riverfront environment, who perceive the council’s machinations as muddying the waters – and the Liberal Party’s involvement as flooding the zone.
Deputy Mayor Bronwyn Waugh (left) won the Liberal preselection for 2025 over Mayor Greg Milner (right) with the backing of Liberal Party insider Tim Houweling (centre), but narrowly lost the seat. Credit: City of South Perth / Facebook
The vote to remove trees to protect “million-dollar” views deepens a pattern of controversial splits over council motions in the past year, including over a hockey club lease and a motion to grant “in-principle support” to a development proposal before its lodgment.
In these and other matters, Mayor Greg Milner has tended to side with the administration, in opposition to Deputy Mayor Bronwyn Waugh and other Liberal Party members.
Interpersonal tensions are severe, evident in council meetings, councillors not acknowledging each other when meeting in public, and one recently lobbing a Facebook insult at the mayor by publicly thanking each individual councillor for being such good a colleague – omitting Milner.
Other members are taking substantial leave periods but returning for controversial votes, and there has been a complaint made against one councillor with others moving to dismiss the adverse findings of an independent investigation, none declaring an interest.
There has also been a string of major resignations at the city, with two councillors, the chief executive and then acting chief executive all quitting within the past four months.
The situation has frustrated Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley, who, fresh off dissolving the Nedlands council, said she was “growing impatient with the number of internal disruptions occurring”.
A community figure with knowledge of the council who asked to remain anonymous stated there were widespread community concerns that a faction of the Liberal Party had made a concerted effort to “take over” the council over the past year.
The party hopes to regain the once-blue ribbon seat, after the 2025 state election saw Liberal candidate Bronwyn Waugh – the council’s deputy mayor – come within a hair’s breadth of regaining it from Geoff Baker, who was the first-ever Labor winner of the seat in 2021, but now holds it by only 1.6 per cent.
Whether the Liberals have an eye to the mayoral election of 2027 as well as the state election of 2029 is not yet known.
The Libs have waded into local matters in South Perth.Credit: Facebook (composite image)
But state Liberal members, including from influential and controversial faction ‘The Clan’, have leapt to support Waugh’s stance on the trees, which continues the pattern of opposing the stance of the administration and mayor.
Waugh has taken up the cause after Nic Coveney, Liberal member and original tree removal motion mover, quit days after the tree vote, citing personal reasons.
Mayor Milner is supporting a motion to reverse the tree removal decision on August 26, but it’s likely to fail as an absolute majority (five votes out of seven) would be required and Waugh is defending the decision, despite more than 600 angry locals signing a petition.
Waugh has taken to Facebook to reframe the debate as more about the environment than views, saying, “this decision wasn’t just about removing trees”, and citing the advice of unknown experts that low-lying planting is better for that location.
Waugh’s successful preselection bid for the 2025 state election defeated Mayor Milner, who had also nominated. He was squeezed out by the Clan’s preference for Waugh, WAtoday was told by a party member who wanted to remain anonymous – though Clan powerbroker Nick Goiran told media he had not influenced the decision.
Goiran and former Clan powerbroker Peter Collier liked the post, and comments in support also came from unsuccessful 2025 Liberal candidates Thomas Brough and Lisa Olsson, and selection committee chair Jeremy Buxton – all blending in with local commenters despite coming from all over Perth.
President of the party’s Curtin division Tony Wills thanked Waugh for “taking care of our grounds.”
The comments were on the nose to some locals who noticed how many had a Liberal affiliation in common rather than a South Perth home.
“It could be that some of these commenters genuinely feel these things, but these days it’s too easy to ‘farm’ support for social media posts using, for example, political party links,” said Bronwyn David, leader of South Perth Tree Canopy Advocates.
Houweling was observed by a tree canopy group member looking on after the group had attended a photo shoot with WAtoday. Credit: Cameron Myles / Supplied
The most frequent and vocal commenter was lawyer Tim Houweling, Waugh’s business partner at Cornerstone Legal, president of the South Perth Liberal branch, and chair of its influential Constitutional and Drafting committee.
Houweling was Waugh’s campaign manager and, at a council meeting weeks before the state election, the mayor accused him of “hijacking a deputation for political purposes” by bringing up issues Waugh was campaigning on. Houweling shot back that this accusation was “inappropriate” and he was there in good faith as a ratepayer.
A Facebook account from a “digital creator Tim Hou” has been accusing the local Tree Canopy Advocates group of spreading misinformation and “attacking councillors who chose reason over rhetoric”, and saying the mayor listens to “who yells loudest”.
Tim Hou also said he had “worked on wetlands matters, buffer zones and appropriate planting for more than 25 years” and said “trees in that location deliver no ecological benefit”.
Houweling was also seen by a member of the public observing a WAtoday community photo shoot with the tree advocacy group.
Waugh posted thanks to Tim Hou for his “experience and insight” but did not respond to questions from the public or this masthead asking which experts she consulted.
“It is unnecessary for me to respond to politically motivated questions that reek of an obsession with seemingly no interest in the substantive governance matters before our local council,” Houweling said when approached for comment.
Waugh told this masthead she had not asked anyone to support her post.
Bronwyn Waugh responds to Tim Houweling. Credit: Facebook
“I am not part of any Liberal ‘Clan’ group and have never been involved in it,” she said.
“My decision on this matter was based on the information before me, and my Facebook post explained my reasons … linking this issue to party politics is inaccurate. The environmental advice I referred to came from independent experts with relevant qualifications.”
David, who is contemplating a future state campaign for South Perth as a teal candidate and also running in the October council election, said councillors should make decisions based on their community’s needs rather than party loyalties or careers.
The October council election will be interesting, with other candidates including Liberal Party member Josh Olsen, tree canopy advocate including Kathy Lees.
The city’s acting chief executive Matthew Scott said changes to employees and councillors occurred “from time to time” and did not diminish the city’s focus on delivering services and projects.
Beazley said situations such as those in South Perth reflected negatively on the whole sector, when most councils were doing the right thing.
“I am committed to ensuring good governance is the main focus of councils,” she said.
“The introduction of the Local Government Inspector will identify issues at an early stage and avoid these ongoing unnecessary disruptions.”
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