COMMISSIONERS at the City of Perth made a big call setting a goal of 90,000 people within their borders by 2050, so we invited former Perth council planning director Max Hipkins to take a look over the new Strategic Community Plan. Mr Hipkins was director of planning at Perth from 2000 to 2005, and mayor…

AFTER our first pass of the SCP last week we got back in touch with Perth council to ask how it arrived at a figure of 90,000 residents. We’ve now learned the target was “approved by the commissioners using advice from the administration”.  Chair commissioner Andrew Hammond elaborated: “Based on a ‘moderate’ growth rate of…

POVERTY can sneak up on any family at Christmas – just ask Catherine and Dean and their four kids. While Dean worked steady hours, Catherine stayed at home raising their children.  They were good budgeters and had everything they valued in life; most importantly a home full of love. Then everything started to unravel: the…

A NATIONAL Indigenous “massacres” map will be reviewed after the Voice spotted errors in sites listed around Perth. A fortnight ago the University of Newcastle launched stage three of its Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia 1788-1930, adding 41 sites in Western Australia to the online map for the first time. But of three sites listed…

A NEW fun fair at Yagan Square means you’ll no longer need to drag the kids screaming and shouting into the city. The fair is crammed with all your favourite rides and sideshow games, and of course there’s stalls selling candy floss and doughnuts. Traditionalists will enjoy the dodgems, the mini-ferris wheel and the cups and…

Perth to aim for 90,000 residents PERTH’S inner city population would triple to 90,000 by 2050 under a new Strategic Community Plan released by the city’s commissioners. The new plan calls for an inner-city population on par with Melbourne by 2035 and Sydney by 2050, well beyond the currently projected 58,000 residents. Chair commissioner Andrew…

“JUST move it, please,” Maylands Labor MP Lisa Baker called from the speaker’s chair as the 11th of 55 amendments to WA’s voluntary assisted dying bill was read out in parliament. The bill was passed into law just before 6pm on the final sitting day of the year, December 10. In his closing remarks premier…

THE week-long Beaufort Street Christmas Festival wraps up today (Saturday December 14) with a pageant and twilight markets. The strip’s had a bit of a bounceback in recent weeks: New business Greenhaus Yoga opened up at 580 Beaufort, the first to take advantage of Vincent council’s amnesty on “change of use” rules and convert offices…

Fine threat for ticket hoarders CLEAR out your dashboard daily: Under a new Vincent council bylaw, drivers who leave old parking tickets on their dashes will now face a $70 fine. The council’s rejigging its parking laws to bring the language up-to-date for mobile phone parking apps, but another amendment bans expired tickets “visible from…

THIS is the third time the Strategic Community Plan’s undergone a major revision in the past three years as each new regime at the City of Perth releases its own version. The plans are designed to look 10 years in the future, but should be reviewed after every lord mayoral election to check they’re not…