Promise · Council divided
Cut councillor travel costs
Council has voted on this 9 times, between Dec 2020 and Jun 2026. 4 of the 9 decisions went the promise's way. Members split on 7 of them. Viktor Ko, who made this promise, voted in line 5 of 7 times. Adam Pacan, who made this promise, voted in line 3 of 3 times.
if travel is needed to perform my duties, I pledge to ALWAYS travel the most economical and responsible route
Viktor Ko · Additional statement, 2025
flying business class overseas, costing you hundreds of thousands
Adam Pacan · Candidate profile, 2025
Each member's record
- Voted generally against2 of 7
split 2 of 6 - Voted generally against2 of 6
split 2 of 5 - Voted a mixture of for and against4 of 8
split 3 of 6 - Voted a mixture of for and against3 of 7
split 3 of 6 - Voted generally against3 of 9
split 2 of 7 - Voted both ways on it so farEarly record: 2 votes1 of 2
split 1 of 2 - Voted generally for5 of 7
split 5 of 6 - Voted generally against1 of 4
split 1 of 4 - Voted consistently for3 of 3
split 3 of 3
Every vote
30 JUN 2026
Suspension of Travel During State of EmergencyCarried 4–2. In line with the promise: a No vote.
Why
Resolves not to support suspending all Elected Member international and interstate travel during the state of emergency. A vote for it keeps travel going.
YREYBruce Reynolds voted Yes, not in lineYGONDavid Goncalves voted Yes, not in lineNLEZCatherine Lezer voted No, in lineNDOSRaj Doshi voted No, in lineYGOBLiam Gobbert voted Yes, not in line·MA·KOYPATChris Patton voted Yes, not in line·PACYes: Reynolds, Goncalves, Gobbert, Patton
No (in line): Lezer, Doshi
Did not vote: Ma, Ko, Pacan
26 MAY 2026
Review of Council Policies relating to Elected MembersCarried 5–1. In line with the promise: a Yes vote.
Why
The adopted policy cut international accommodation from two nights before a function to one and barred City help with private travel extensions, rejecting the committee's more generous version (2026-05-26 OCM Minutes pp886-897; 19 May ABS Agenda Attachment J).
Note. The policy adopted here still names Business Class as the default for air travel; that clause was the same in both versions before Council. Business-class travel had already been suspended until October 2027 by a separate resolution in February 2026 (minutes p897; OCM-26/02-008).
YREYBruce Reynolds voted Yes, in line·GON·LEZNDOSRaj Doshi voted No, not in lineYGOBLiam Gobbert voted Yes, in line·MAYKOViktor Ko voted Yes, in lineYPATChris Patton voted Yes, in lineYPACAdam Pacan voted Yes, in lineYes (in line): Reynolds, Gobbert, Ko, Patton, Pacan
No: Doshi
Did not vote: Goncalves, Lezer, Ma
24 FEB 2026
Notice of Motion: Putting Ratepayers First: Suspension of Council TravelMember’s motionCarried 5–4. In line with the promise: a Yes vote.
Why
Suspends City-funded business class interstate and international travel by Elected Members until the October 2027 election.
NREYBruce Reynolds voted No, not in lineNGONDavid Goncalves voted No, not in lineYLEZCatherine Lezer voted Yes, in lineYDOSRaj Doshi voted Yes, in lineNGOBLiam Gobbert voted No, not in lineYMALisa Ma voted Yes, in lineYKOViktor Ko voted Yes, in lineNPATChris Patton voted No, not in lineYPACAdam Pacan voted Yes, in lineYes (in line): Lezer, Doshi, Ma, Ko, Pacan
No: Reynolds, Goncalves, Gobbert, Patton
24 FEB 2026
Notice of Motion: Putting Ratepayers First: Suspension of Council TravelMember’s motionLost 3–6. In line with the promise: a Yes vote.
Why
Decided after the votes were known. The first vote on suspending all City-funded interstate and international travel by elected members: the amendment kept the full suspension from the motion and added only a narrow exception for Lord Mayor travel approved by the CEO on a business case (minutes 24 Feb 2026, p147). It was lost 3 to 6. A Yes backed the suspension.
NREYBruce Reynolds voted No, not in lineNGONDavid Goncalves voted No, not in lineYLEZCatherine Lezer voted Yes, in lineYDOSRaj Doshi voted Yes, in lineNGOBLiam Gobbert voted No, not in lineNMALisa Ma voted No, not in lineNKOViktor Ko voted No, not in lineNPATChris Patton voted No, not in lineYPACAdam Pacan voted Yes, in lineYes (in line): Lezer, Doshi, Pacan
No: Reynolds, Goncalves, Gobbert, Ma, Ko, Patton
10 DEC 2024
Review of Council Policy 4.5: National and International Engagement PolicyUnanimousCarried 9–0. In line with the promise: a No vote.
Why
Approves the revised National and International Engagement policy with a report-back to members within six weeks of a delegation's return, and adds approved delegations to the functions in Policy 1.6 for which the CEO can reimburse members' personal costs, which widens member entitlements (10 Dec 2024 OCM Minutes pp967, 970).
YREYBruce Reynolds voted Yes, not in lineYGONDavid Goncalves voted Yes, not in lineYLEZCatherine Lezer voted Yes, not in lineYDOSRaj Doshi voted Yes, not in lineYGOBLiam Gobbert voted Yes, not in line–MAYKOViktor Ko voted Yes, not in line–PAT–PACYes: Reynolds, Goncalves, Lezer, Doshi, Gobbert, Ko and 3 former councillors
Not yet on Council: Ma, Patton, Pacan
27 FEB 2024
Review of Council Policies relating to Elected MembersCarried 5–4. In line with the promise: a No vote.
Why
Adopts amended Council Policies 1.1, 1.2 and 1.6. The new 'Support for attendance' clause in CP 1.6 makes Business Class the default air travel for all Council Members unless they choose Economy; the old clause allowed it for the Lord Mayor only (minutes pp603, 626, 637-638). A vote for it is a vote for business class travel.
Note. Council adopted the policies as shown in the attachments, red text removed and green text inserted, without amendment (minutes 27 Feb 2024, page 603). The inserted clause 35a of Council Policy 1.6 reads: "All air travel will be by Business Class unless the Council Member nominates Economy Class as their preferred option." The struck clause had allowed business class for the Lord Mayor only (Attachment E, page 626).
NREYBruce Reynolds voted No, in lineNGONDavid Goncalves voted No, in lineYLEZCatherine Lezer voted Yes, not in lineYDOSRaj Doshi voted Yes, not in lineYGOBLiam Gobbert voted Yes, not in line–MANKOViktor Ko voted No, in line–PAT–PACYes: Lezer, Doshi, Gobbert and 2 former councillors
No (in line): Reynolds, Goncalves, Ko and 1 former councillor
Not yet on Council: Ma, Patton, Pacan
12 DEC 2023
World Energy Cities Partnership Closing ReportCarried 6–3. In line with the promise: a No vote.
Why
CERAWeek is still travel; a vote for funding the City delegation ($113,000) is a vote against restraint on travel spending.
Note. The $113,000 was unspent money from the City's 2023 energy-cities event. It paid all costs for one councillor and support for up to seven industry delegates. Before the final vote, Cr Ko voted for an amendment that kept the $113,000 and let further councillors join at their own expense (minutes pp334, 349-350).
YREYBruce Reynolds voted Yes, not in lineNGONDavid Goncalves voted No, in lineYLEZCatherine Lezer voted Yes, not in lineYDOSRaj Doshi voted Yes, not in lineYGOBLiam Gobbert voted Yes, not in line–MANKOViktor Ko voted No, in line–PAT–PACYes: Reynolds, Lezer, Doshi, Gobbert and 2 former councillors
No (in line): Goncalves, Ko and 1 former councillor
Not yet on Council: Ma, Patton, Pacan
6 JUL 2021
Review of Policies 11.3 Sister City Relationships and 3.5 Sending Delegations to External Bodies 129 Review of Policies 1.10 Freeman of the City, 1.11 Freedom of Entry, 1.12 Keys to the City and 1.13 Honorary CitizenshipUnanimousCarried 8–0. In line with the promise: a Yes vote.
Why
Revokes the Sister City policy that entitled the Lord Mayor to two visits with up to three Councillors at City expense, and the Sending Delegations policy; the replacement drops those travel entitlements (pp130, 134, 137).
–REY–GONYLEZCatherine Lezer voted Yes, in line–DOSYGOBLiam Gobbert voted Yes, in line–MA·KO–PAT–PACYes (in line): Lezer, Gobbert and 6 former councillors
Did not vote: Ko
Not yet on Council: Reynolds, Goncalves, Doshi, Ma, Patton, Pacan
15 DEC 2020
Proposed Council Policy: Professional DevelopmentCarried 8–1. In line with the promise: a Yes vote.
Why
Adopts the Professional Development policy with a new clause excluding Councillors from domestic and international travel and requiring travel spending to come to Council (minutes p191).
What it changed. Alternate to the Policy Committee's version: deletes clauses 6b, 6d and 6e, makes clause 6c approval by the Lord Mayor, and adds 'Councillors are excluded from domestic and international travel'.
Reasons given in the minutes. Amending the Council Policy: Elected Members: Interstate and Overseas Travel and Expenses is due to the absence of need for Councillors to travel outside of Perth. Representation of the City outside of the district can be undertaken by the Lord Mayor, Chief Executive Officer, and General Managers. Additionally, to ensure proper financial oversight, spending on travel and conferences should come to Council first for approval, with a report which details the reasons why the travel is necessary and valuable for ratepayers. Any findings following travel should also be reported.
–REY–GONNLEZCatherine Lezer voted No, not in line–DOSYGOBLiam Gobbert voted Yes, in line–MAYKOViktor Ko voted Yes, in line–PAT–PACYes (in line): Gobbert, Ko and 6 former councillors
No: Lezer
Not yet on Council: Reynolds, Goncalves, Doshi, Ma, Patton, Pacan