The Australian Christian Lobby today thanked the Perth Lord Mayor, Basil Zempilas for his tenacity and commitment to reinstating the Nativity event.
WA Director, Peter Abetz, said he was delighted that the City staff honoured the council’s 24 November decision to restore and run a Nativity event this year.
“We accept that it will be on a smaller scale than previous years due to the time restraints and COVID restrictions,” Mr Abetz said. “It was pleasing to see newly elected councillors heed the community’s calls to continue hosting the ever-popular Nativity event.
“It really is a victory for good old-fashioned people power. The Commissioners cancelled it on the grounds that it was ‘not all inclusive’, which led to Cait Sfakianakis starting an online petition. The petition garnered 7,000 signatures and our supporters sent over 1,200 emails to Commissioners and to some mayoral candidates. The Commissioners would not budge, but Mayor Basil has delivered on his promise to do his best to see it reinstated.
“We appreciate that the resultant timeframe put significant pressure on the staff at the City, and we thank them and the production company for pulling it all together.”
The City has announced that the Nativity event will be held in Forrest Place on Sunday evening, 13 December as a ticketed event allowing over 500 people to see the production – a far cry from the 10,000 people who saw it last year in the Supreme Court Gardens.
ENDS
