City of Perth councillor travel costs triple to $106k, newly released figures show

Travel spending by councillors at the City of Perth more than tripled last financial year, jumping to $106,500, newly released figures show.

A table released ahead of Tuesday night’s council meeting, in response to community questions, revealed $163,524 was spent by councillors on travel over three financial years, from $33,880 in 2023/24 to $106,505 in 2024/25.

In 2024, council voted for a policy which allowed councillors to join the lord mayor in business class travel for both domestic and international flights, unless they specifically requested otherwise.

The summary lists overall travel expenses, but does not break down what the costs relate to, such as flights and accommodation.

Previous Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas, who served from October 2020 until March 2025, topped the table claiming a total of $45,066 across 2023/24 ($26,954) and 2024/25 ($18,112).

Former councillor Steven Wellard recorded $25,430, all in 2024/25, former councillor Clyde Bevan claimed $19,665 across the three years, and sitting councillor Liam Gobbert recorded $18,913, largely in 2024/25.

Councillor Raj Doshi accumulated $18,598, including $16,205 in the current financial year so far.

Councillor Catherine Lezer recorded $13,367 in 2024/25.

Current Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds claimed $10,364 across the three years and Deputy Lord Mayor David Goncalves recorded $2524.

An additional $9591 was listed under “others”, while councillors Lisa Ma, Adam Pacan, Chris Patton and Viktor Ko and former councillors Sandy Anghie, Brent Fleeton, Rebecca Gordon were recorded as having no travel expenditure.

In response to questions on Tuesday, a city spokesperson said the team responsible for the information was preparing for council and would not be able to provide further detail until Wednesday.

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