Marija Vujcic

Marija Vujcic was elected to the Fremantle City Council in 2019 representing South Ward (defeating Jon Strahan 937/849). She had stood unsuccessfully in 2017, coming third after Andrew Sullivan and Liam Carter. In 2021 she stood as mayor, coming second to Hannah Fitzhardinge. Her term ended October 2023.

2023 election statement:

Vote for Accountability - Trust Marija Vujcic

"Marija has made it crystal clear that Freo Council and its Officers need to be held to account on financial and governance issues. She has demonstrated in her current term that she is fearless when it comes to representing ratepayers and residents. She is one of very few Councillors willing to stand up for us and we all need her to remain in position. I will be voting for Marija and I urge you to do so too".
David Parker, resident, ratepayer and former State member for Fremantle, former Deputy Premier of WA

"Thank you for fighting for 4 years alongside the locals to keep our vital CAT bus service”.
Ian and Margaret Ker, CAT Bus Champions.

Trust and transparency motivate me to stand up for Fremantle again as I ask for your vote.

"Marija has consistently spoken in favour of Freo Markets going out to tender as the recent lease renewal doesn't benefit the community".
Georgie Adeane, Sunset Markets

Mobile: 0408 950 446
Email: m.vujcic@bigpond.net.au
Facebook: marijasouthward
www.marijavujcic.com

'Additional statement'

My name is Marija. I grew up in South Freo and White Gum Valley as the daughter of Croatian immigrants who taught me the values of family and community as the virtues of a good life. I have raised four beautiful children and we cherish our Freo lifestyle together.
My background is in Education and Human Resources and I am working with Jundalya as a trusted advisor and business mentor for the Thalanyji Traditional Owners.
In my second term I will work for:
• zero increase in rates for 2024/25.
• the full restoration of the Red and Blue CAT bus services.
• more transparency on the sale of ratepayer assets.
• improved basic local services for ratepayers.
• greening and care of our community parks and reserves to attract tourism.
WHY ARE YOUR RATES AT 9% AND INCREASING?
2012 King’s Square Business Plan approved $45M to build a new Civic Centre, financed by the sale of City assets: Queensgate Carpark, Queensgate Centre, the Spicer site for $30M, plus a State government loan of $15M.
2021 OAG Audit confirmed the total cost of the unfinished Civic Centre at $63M, the sale of 3 additional income performing carparks was actioned and the loan increased to $20M over 20 years, with a repayment of $1.2M per annum paid by the City.
The opportunity cost of the overspend on this single project is increased rates, the loss of our CAT Bus, the sale of 5 revenue earning assets and a lack of maintenance on our roads, parks & heritage buildings.
Until Council addresses this overspend our reliance on increased rates and parking fees is bound to continue, as the sold-off income performing assets have not been replaced. Fremantle's low ratepayer base is often used as a justification for our financial challenges.
In my view, this is a deflection from the impact of the additional millions spent on the Civic Centre/Walyalup Koort and the lack of capacity to provide basic service delivery without rate increases to ratepayers and residents.

This was her pitch in 2021:
Marija lives in South Fremantle and is a Human Resource Consultant working with small businesses. Marija was elected as an independent South Ward Councillor in 2019; she stands by her oath to, “Duly, honestly and with integrity, fulfil the duties of the office for the people.” Marija does not support rate increases that are greater than CPI, and her strong financial scrutiny revealed an $8.5m loss FY19/20. She advocates for complete transparency, good governance, and improved community services. As a Councillor, Marija's dedication to the mayoral position does not conflict with politics, ideology or a career move to State Parliament. As your next Mayor, Marija has a vision for a future as strong as our past. She has Freo’s Back! Marija Vujcic - Independent for Change
Mobile: 0408 950 446
Email: m.vujcic@bigpond.net.au
Social Network Address: freosback.com/Marija Vujcic for Mayor of Fremantle

References and Links

as above

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 18 August, 2023 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/vujcicmarija.html (it was last updated on 16 March, 2024
), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.