Vote weighting? Don’t you worry about that! PREMIER Colin Barnett is refusing to rule out vote-weighting as part of his decision to merge the cities of Perth and Vincent. The move—likened to a “Bjelke-Petersen Queensland-style gerrymander”—would effectively give voters in the existing City of Perth more voting power than people now in Vincent. “Vincent residents…

LIBERAL MP Michael Sutherland is in the sights of local party members aghast at confirmation that some of Mt Lawley is to shift from Stirling to Bayswater city council. Former Liberal Party branch president Paul Collins claims Mr Sutherland didn’t fight the move hard enough because his wife Michelle is a Bayswater councillor, and that…

FIRST it took St Patrick, now it’s stolen St Nick: Fremantle’s Santa Fun Run has shifted to Leederville. Having already stolen the annual St Patrick’s Day festival from Freo, the Santa Fun Run to raise cash for Variety will be held during the Light Up Leederville carnival this year. Vincent council approved it this week…

DOZENS of dog walkers breaking the law every day can now walk their pooches on Charles Veryard Reserve in North Perth, without worrying about ending up in the slammer. A dog walker who fronted the Vincent council meeting imploring it to make the practise legal said “we are good people [but] what we do at…

COLIN BARNETT’S controversial local development assessment panels racked up $405,500 in members’ sitting fees last financial year. The DAPs are unpopular with many WA councils, which view them as an expensive layer of bureaucracy that strips elected councillors of decision-making power on major planning decisions. The panels consist of five members: two are drawn from…

YOUNG architects, urban planners and hobby historians are banding together to campaign for the old Savoy Hotel to be reopened. Now 100 years old, the federation free classical building was designed by famed architect John Talbot Hobbs, a Great War officer known for anachronistic kindness towards his men in an era of callous commanders. On…

TWO steps forward for the Brookman/Moir Street heritage precinct: two owners in the endangered area have been awarded big grants to help restore their places. The almost-intact number 16 Brookman scored $21,030 for restorations from the WA government’s heritage grants program, while number 28 gets $100,000 to restore the original facade and remove “intrusive render”.…

FEES for juniors playing sports on Vincent ovals are likely to be reinstated. Back when communist Jack Marks was mayor, Vincent council slashed juniors’ fees and then abolished them altogether. But now clubs are growing, the ovals are getting overused and it’s costly to maintain them. The effects of 314 pairs of junior soccer boots…

BAYSWATER city council wants Main Roads to cough up $190,000 to compensate for land it took to construct the new Seventh Avenue bridge. Councillors authorised the city’s CEO to make a claim for 215sqm of land lost during road widening. The council also voted not to give up a 357sqm parcel on Garratt Road to…