Former councillor Peter Fiorenza eyes return to local government, nominating for Greater Geraldton council

Geraldton’s Mr Everywhere is arguably a fitting description for Peter Fiorenza. The high school teacher is a former City of Greater Geraldton councillor, football commentator and hosts his own weekly show on Radio MAMA. In late 2021, Mr Fiorenza stood down from council half-way through his four-year term, over mental health reasons. But almost two years later, he is throwing his hat back in the ring, determined and passionate about wanting to return to council to continue his community service. He is one of 16 candidates vying for four spots on the council at the October 21 election. “I have always been drawn to community service and get real satisfaction from helping individuals to prosper. As the Ben Lee song says ‘we’re all in this together’,” Mr Fiorenza said. Mr Fiorenza said waste was “by far” the most important issue for council going forward, saying many residents likely did not comprehend the massive costs associated with this area. “The delivery and logistics involved is something that takes up a great deal of CGG resources and, therefore, the greatest percentage of the City’s budget,” he said. “From what I understand, our capacity to dispose of waste is a constant problem. There are a number of other areas that are also important like homelessness and coastal erosion, but progress here only comes with working effectively with government agencies at either State or Federal level that have primary jurisdiction.” Mr Fiorenza said in recent times the council had tried to keep rate rises to a minimum while still delivering good results for the community. “The way CGG operations have bounced back after COVID is a credit to a team who has promoted recovery through to effective progress,” he said. Only one woman is among the 16 candidates, and Mr Fiorenza said ideally he wanted to see a cross-section of diversity on council — including gender, age, employment and culture — but “people can only select from those that put their hand up”. Disappointed that voter turnout to voluntary local government elections is typically low, Mr Fiorenza believes postal voting is a good initiative and will watch with interest the impact of preferential voting in this poll. Mr Fiorenza said some people did not realise how good they had it in terms of Geraldton’s lifestyle, which was the city’s biggest asset. “There are many who have a somewhat pessimistic or negative outlook. The glass is half empty rather than half full. This is indeed something that needs to change,” he said.