Basil Zempilas to depart 6PR if elected as Lord Mayor of Perth

Basil Zempilas / 6PR

Basil Zempilas is running for Lord Mayor of Perth, and has now announced that if successful he’ll step back from his role on 6PR Breakfast.

Zempilas, who hosts Breakfast with Steve Mills, has responded to questioning from rivals over whether his current media commitments would allow him to take on the role of mayor.

The West Australian now reports that he’s been in discussions with Nine Radio managing director Tom Malone, and they agreed he wouldn’t be able to handle both roles at once.

As a result, he’d depart 6PR Breakfast the end of the year if he wins office. Zempilas will continue to work for 7NEWS, except when it clashes with council obligations.

“…we’ve reached a decision that in 2021, if I’m successful, I won’t continue on,” he said.

“[Nine] was certainly right up front about feeling that it was probably incompatible being the lord mayor and being a host on talkback radio and I accepted that.”

Listen below to Zempilas’ announcement that he’ll be running for Perth Lord Mayor: