Perth Voice Interactive

Waste of space

I HAVE gotten used to the ideological stances of the City of Vincent. 

Hatred for motor vehicles when even used by local ratepayers (read speed bumps that drive residents crazy, chicanes that are difficult to see at night and lowered car speed norms to the speed of a walking pedestrian), smoking and vaping bans in local areas (did anyone in council realise that water vaping vapour is not smoke by definition and scientific fact) and other various issues that seem opportunistic politics when they pop up from time to time. 

Meanwhile, it seems OK to have licenced premises for the sale of alcohol spring up like weeds in winter (the scientific fact here shows alcohol to be our biggest problem of all in society).

The one, though, that drives me to the brink is the council position on waste. 

We have all just received our rates notices and the bigger your house, the bigger your rates. 

A four-bedroom house with two bathrooms and a family of five residing there gets a bigger rate that a two-bedroom house with one bathroom with a couple residingthere. 

Why then does the bigger house have the same size red lid ‘general waste’ bin as the smaller house? 

The red-lidded bin is half the size of what it used to be combined with half the collection schedule. 

A family of five would be struggling to cope with only once per fortnight collection in such a small bin. 

The ideological stance of the City about forcing people to reduce their waste just will not work in that case scenario. 

Sure, the couple living in the two-bedroom may just be OK with the waste bin size and collection schedule but the bigger family must surely be stressed. 

And the bigger family pays more for their waste service through their rates. 

Not much value there thanks to council. 

Meanwhile, I know elderly people who do not fill a red bin at all for the fortnight.

It could be argued they are paying for something they don’t use. 

This all tells me that the council position of waste collection needs a rethink. 

It’s all contrary and useless. 

Telling people what to do is only going to make people angry. 

Mix this in with exposed facts like recycling going straight to landfill, FOGO compost being contaminated and not fit for purpose and an ever increasing rates notice and the City of Vincent needs to have a long hard think. 

It’s not our local council’s position to try and save the world and spend our rates contribution in the process.

Colin Scott
North Perth

Save our golf course

AS a Bayswater ratepayer and long-time resident I firmly protest against the closure of Embleton golf course (“Could Baysie have too much golf?,” Voice, July 29, 2023).

The closure will highly impact the health and wellbeing of many citizens who play golf for the exercise and friendships. 

There has been far too many closures of courses in recent times causing unnecessary pressure and high numbers of bookings.

Tony Pirozzi
via perthvoiceinteractive.com

Editor’s clarification: The Embleton golf course hasn’t closed yet, with options for “alternative” uses for the site due to be voted on by Bayswater council in December.