Perth Voice Interactive

Hard questions are not bias
IN his letter (Voice Mail, May 17, 2014) Michael Sutherland makes some interesting claims.
1. That GetUp is an activist organisation of the political left.
2. That there is not a single conservative anchorperson on any ABC current affairs program.
How does he know? As a long-time member of the staff of the national broadcaster and as a listener and viewer I am unaware of the political leanings of my erstwhile colleagues.
The fact hard questions are asked of members of all major parties shows even-handedness is the order of the day. As has been observed, bias and prejudice like beauty are in the eye of  the beholder.
Before Mr Sutherland arrived on our sunny shores Paul Keating made one of his memorable comments about the ABC; perhaps the Hon. Speaker would care to check it out.
As for GetUp my knowledge of it tells me of a group of people battling injustices.
David Hawkes
Longroyd St, Mt Lawley

Taco’s wings clipped
IT is with equal parts sadness and excitement that I write to inform you that Saturday 31 May 2014 will be our last day. We will be closing up shop and flying away onto new projects and adventures!
After nearly 6.5 years, it has been a pleasure and an honour to cook and serve the most delicious food we could to the fantastic North Perth community.
Thank you for your continued support and presence over the years. Please pop in for an “hasta la vista” bite and/or chuckle 🙂
Feel free to bring a beer or 24. We will be cooking up the tasty tastes and cranking tunes over the next couple weeks as we celebrate the end of a fantastic chapter!
Anna Heifetz
Chef, owner and chief Instigator @ The Flying Taco 

Drunk in Perth? Nothing to see here
WELL, surprise surprise, your photographer snapped a drunk at a bus stop after a drunken night on the town doing who knows what to all and sundry (Voice, May 17, 2014).
The only reason he decided to bed down and sleep there was he knew no-one (including police, rangers and council) would take responsibility to move him on or take him home before he would make himself a real nuisance to others.
I wonder what would have happened if a poor member of the public had asked him to move on.
The photographer seemed to be surprised this could happen. I suggest to him that if he went to Fremantle, Scarborough or Northbridge about 2am then followed these drunks for two or three minutes, he would get more of the same, if not much worse.
Larry Arrigoni
Loftus St, North Perth

Saffioti’s double standards
LABOR’S accountability spokesperson Rita Saffioti says $27,000 was an extraordinary amount to spend on a table and chairs for the Speaker’s suite.
Western Australians would be angry their taxes were spent on such indulgences, she said.
I can remember when Rita Saffioti, then a staffer, took a $170,000 taxpayer-funded payout when Labor lost government but she dipped straight back into the public purse, landing a base salary of $123,780 as an MP.
Though legal the stench of double-dipping is front and centre because both positions are taxpayer-funded.
Rita, I wouldn’t be too worried about the $27,000 for furniture.
Shaun M Livingston
David St, Yokine

Keep it up
THANK you John Carey for your explanation regarding the street trees (Voice, May 17, 2014).
It’s nice to know what the City of Vincent is doing with our (the ratepayers’) money. More explanations would be greatly appreciated.
Donelle Phillips
Barlee St, Mount Lawley

ABC cuts will kill TV
MR SUTHERLAND (Voice Mail, May 17, 2014), do away with the ABC and we might as well throw away our TV sets, because there would be no intelligent, informative programs.
Or as Speaker of the House, does your span of concentration extend to kitchen shows, repeat adverts and football?
Robert Hart
Anderson St, Mt Hawthorn