AUSTRALIA’S auditor-general is investigating a $50 million crime prevention fund overseen by federal justice minister Michael Keenan, which allocated $550,000 to Mr Keenan’s own seat of Stirling. The Stirling grant—which paid for 33 CCTV cameras—was one of the biggest single allocations in the country from the “Safer Streets” fund. Ninety per cent of grants approved…

RARELY seen chambers and off-limits corridors in WA’s parliament house will be opened to the public for this year’s Perth Heritage Days. Just as Canberra’s parliament is arming guards with semi-automatic weapons and restricting visitors’ privileges, WA’s parliament is preparing to let people into prestigious surrounds of the members’ library (built as a grand ballroom…

IT’S the last thing the residents of Barlee Street ever wanted to see again—a sheet-pile driver rolling onto the site at the corner of Beaufort Street to start hammering. Five years ago reverberations from the same kind of machinery were blamed for destroying Lyndon Rodgers’ office next door. With earth-shattering power, sheet-pile drivers smash steel…

A LOCAL community group wants the Barnett government to consult with the public over the sale of the East Perth power station. The 8.5 hectare site, located on the banks of the Swan River, is one of 20 assets to be sold by the government to reduce WA’s staggering $21 billion debt. The Banks Precinct…

THREE alleged car thieves were apprehended while chowing down on takeaway chicken in Inglewood. The trio was arrested in the Chicken Treat carpark on Beaufort Street, following a call to police about suspicious behaviour. The Toyota Corolla they were in had been stolen the previous night. The three were charged with stealing a motor vehicle,…

THE sight of an elephant chained and suffering in a stark Egyptian zoo seven years ago sparked North Perth teacher Janet Thomas’ entry into animal activism. The asian elephant had been locked to a short chain and had stood on concrete with no shade for 35 years. With its big 5kg brain—elephants are one of…

IN a rare event the owner of 16 Queen Street in the CBD has volunteered the building for heritage listing with Perth city council. The Chicagoesque building started life as a flour mill but restorations in the 1960s covered up much of the original material. When Venn gallery and cafe moved in back in 2010…

VINCENT mayor John Carey has hit back at critics who’d accused his council of “raiding” the seniors reserve of $740,000 to cover an unanticipated budget deficit. Just back from an American roadtrip, he arrived to former council candidate Mark Rossi’s “disgust” with the council for using money that had been set aside for seniors. Mr…