Councillor sets sights on Canberra

Geraldton’s Lewis Freer is the second youngest councillor in WA, and is not ruling out one day becoming Prime Minister of Australia.

The newly-elected City of Greater Geraldton councillor has undergone a “baptism of fire”, but is determined to be taken seriously.

“People might look at me and think, ‘he’s too young’, but age doesn’t determine someone’s ability to do something,” he said.

“Others might have experience, but I’m here to learn and I have the enthusiasm and drive to do it.”

Cr Freer was born in England and moved to Australia aged 5 with his parents, initially settling in Surfers Paradise before making the journey across Australia to Geraldton.

His dad, a plumber by trade, and more importantly a keen windsurfer, had found the family’s new home.

“We haven’t looked back since,” Cr Freer said.

Politics and journalism almost “happened by accident”, a consequence of his campaign to persuade the City of Greater Geraldton to unlock the 50 cent swing.

The 50 cent swing, also known as the Merry-go-round by the Sea, was initially erected on Geraldton’s foreshore in 1921.

It was dismantled and replaced with three new swings over the next 67 years, but in 2010 it was closed by the City of Greater Geraldton after three separate safety commission reports found it was a risk to public safety.

Cr Freer started a Facebook page, Keep the 50 cent swing swinging, and wrote a passionate plea to councillors and mayor Ian Carpenter.

“As mayor and councillors it’s your job to not only look after people’s rights, but their freedoms,” his letter read.

“You may think it’s just a swing but it’s more than that. It’s a part of Geraldton and now there is hole, a hole only you can fix.”

He was 14 years old at the time.

Cr Freer was interviewed on national radio and by The Australian newspaper, and the next year received a Young Achiever Award at Geraldton’s Australia Day Awards.

A side-effect of the 50 cent swing campaign was the City’s decision to establish a youth precinct.

The $8 million Multi-User Facility and Youth Precinct, the final instalment of the Geraldton Foreshore, is due to be completed in 2016.

“The 50 cent swing campaign changed the City’s approach to community consultation," Cr Freer said.

His entry into journalism was just as interesting.

In 2013, then-federal opposition leader Tony Abbott was in Geraldton soon after the arrival of the asylum seeker boat from Sri Lanka which was initially spotted only metres from Geraldton’s Town Beach.

Cr Freer met Mr Abbott and also then-Geraldton Guardian editor Alex McKinnon.

The late Mr McKinnon head-hunted Cr Freer as the newspaper’s newest cadet journalist.

“As opportunities present themselves, you’ve got to take them with both hands,” Cr Freer said.

It is with this attitude that he plans to approach his career in politics, and the aim is to make it all the way to Canberra.

“You’ve got to have a goal, and I wouldn’t say no (to being prime minister),” he said.

“I would be a different MP to most though. It would always come back to the truth.

“The Australian people are sick and tired of all the lies.”

But for now his focus is on local government.

“I don’t want to sit there and just let the four years go by,” he said.

“At the end of my term I’d like to see the City in a better financial position than it is now and the CBD thriving.

“I want Town Towers demolished and no empty shops.”

He said he had learnt many skills as a journalist, and one of the most important was talking to people and respecting other people’s opinions.

“It is necessary to listen, even if you don’t agree with what they’re saying,” he said.

He said he felt the City needed to be more accountable and transparent, and acknowledged steps had already been taken in that regard.

“The community wants change, they want to see where their rates go and get value for money,” he said.

Disclaimer: Lewis Freer has been a journalist at The Geraldton Guardian for the past three years. He has now resigned his position to focus on his role as City councillor.