A LONG-TERM plan has been implemented to save the Berringa Park Wetlands from decades of exotic weed infestation. The Berringa Park Friends Group formed 18 months ago and its volunteers have been working hard during regular busy bees pulling out the choking creep of bamboo, Brazilian peppers strangling paperbarks, and couch and kikuyu grass that’s…

SMALL cabals of councillors should not be given the power to pick a council’s CEO, the Power report into the City of Perth has recommended. Released this week, commissioner Tony Power’s report has laid bear a conflict at the heart of every council: The person responsible for making sure councillors follow the law is beholden…

A FULLY booked Future Bayswater forum met on Tuesday night over concerns the latest designs for Bayswater’s new train station is heavy on concrete and Roman-aquaduct aesthetic.  The train station’s being upgraded as part of the Metronet project and will be a junction for the new airport line. FB chair Paul Shanahan hosted the forum…

IF you’re particularly attached to the verge junk about Vincent right now, or you’d like this to be the last collection, the council’s now consulting on it. About 85 per cent (700 tonnes) of what gets put out for the annual verge collection goes to landfill and the council’s weighing up replacement options. Mayor Emma…

AN Aboriginal cultural centre for Perth’s a step closer with $2 million of WA government money pledged for the planning.  It was announced as part of the McGowan government’s $76m culture and arts recovery package, which includes a $30m upgrade of Perth Concert Hall, $15m for more work on His Majesty’s Theatre to reinstate the original…

AN explosion of tweens has prompted plans for a skate park for younger kids in Mount Hawthorn. State Perth Labor MP John Carey says he’ll soon start a survey on the best spot and what people want in a skate park.  Leederville has a big skate park at HQ but he reckons there’s a need…

A NEW Holocaust education centre is on the way for Yokine, with $6 million of WA government funding announced as part of the arts and culture recovery package. It matches $6m of federal money announced last year and the local Jewish community is aiming to raise $3m of its own for the redevelopment of the…

THE Conservation Council of WA has called on the McGowan government to adopt its ‘Clean State’ recovery plan and build 15,000 new energy-efficient social housing homes. The plan would “solve three problems in one” suggests CCWA director Piers Verstegen, by meeting WA’s social housing shortage, reduce WA’s carbon footprint by 360,000 tonnes of CO2 a year,…

A MENTAL health campaign launched by the WA Association for Mental Health claims the McGowan government has muddled its funding priorities, dooming any attempts to reform the sector to failure. The association is hoping its Prevent Support Heal campaign will gain traction in the lead-up to next year’s state election, particularly as Covid-19 continues to…