Perth Voice Interactive

Inglewood losing its heart
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN is quite right to criticise the construction of a five-storey block of flats to replace the Inglewood IGA—and the issue is much broader than simply the greenery.
Stirling council has always regarded Beaufort Street as an arterial highway to the city, and has always been half-hearted about developing an Inglewood town hub.
The IGA in Inglewood has become the centre of the “urban village” which is Inglewood despite the council’s inaction. Now the IGA is to close, and be replaced by a concrete block of flats, offices and a coffee shop.
The single greatest opportunity to develop Inglewood as an inner-city hub has been lost by a council more interested in fighting amalgamations than getting on and doing something for the Inglewood community.
Stirling and the WA government should stop this development and come up with a proper plan for the Inglewood town centre which promotes more modern principles of development, rather than a development  twice as tall and 50 per cent more intensive than guidelines demand.
It is such a fantastic lost opportunity to build something for the future rather than the short-term gain represented by flogging 84 apartments to absentee investors.
Graeme Cocks
Ninth Ave, Inglewood

Audit the amalgamation
DEAR WA Auditor-General, I read with interest reports of your criticism of the WA government’s management of the Royalties for Regions program—in particular the lack of proper assessment of costs and benefits before committing to specific projects.
One media report states you found “the Department of Regional Development didn’t have stringent project selection criteria and did not know if funded projects would achieve long-term benefits”.
I wonder whether your remit as Auditor-General, “to scrutinise the public sector for potential instances of wastage, inefficiency or ineffectiveness”, might extend as far as to cover the current local government (so-called) reform process, where the WA local government minister has admitted his proposals were made with no prior development of a business case and, worse, that the WA local government advisory board would investigate the costs and advantages after the decision is made.
In other words, a commitment would be made to spend WA taxpayers’ and local government ratepayers’ money on projects (forced amalgamations) without stated selection/assessment criteria and without knowing if the funded projects would achieve long-term benefits.
If the minister might be beyond your scrutiny, I respectfully suggest his department and the LGAB should not be. I look forward to your response. As I am sure you will appreciate, this is a matter of some urgency, given the current stage of the so-called reform process.
Ian Ker
Vincent St, Mt Lawley

Chummy trio
ARE they at it again? They being Stirling council and Perth College. The it? Mystery.
For a chummy trio let’s also include a conundrum within an enigma, Mount Lawley MP Michael Sutherland.
A prowling drone over Mount Lawley the other day prompts this alert. A light aircraft did the droning, shattering for some the peace needed for meaningful progress. We are reminded of the grim time when an aircraft with a similar drone was said to be noting traffic flow in the neighbourhood.
The college, bent on extending its campus, then bludgeoned a stretch of Queens Crescent. Protests were ignored. Pointless this time, one feels, in approaching Mr Sutherland for plausible explanation. His penchant for socialising explains to an extent his popularity. Significance of this latest ominous droning prowl will likely be cobbled together somewhere for our convenience, or inconvenience.
Otto Mustard
Queens Cresc, Mt Lawley

Winter discontent
ALAS, the Voice’s winter solstice issue (June 21, 2014) failed—unless I’m blind—to acknowledge the event. I could have remedied the oversight had I been aware of it sooner.
Let’s blame my distraction on a search for perhaps my specs, my watch, my keys or, more recently, a gifted walking stick.
I hate winter, love our summer. English winters drove me from there. My dream, once: to follow England’s cricketers around the world. Life’s diversions, however, had other ideas. Yet hope persists.
Aloysius Pepper (Sgt, ret.)
Kingston St, Nedlands

Sticking in the Budget boot
KICK the battlers! Last month, Joe Hockey said, “everyone will engage in the budget heavy-lifting”. Last week this Barnett Liberal government slashed 50 per cent from the seniors cost of living bonus/rebate, reducing to $82 for singles and $13 for couples. This week under the Abbott Coalition government all federal politicians receive a salary increase of $5585. Isn’t democracy wonderful?
William Booth
Queen St, Bentley