INGLEWOOD’S Peteris Ciemitis is one of four WA artists representing Australia at this year’s Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh. Mr Ciemitis, a Black Swan Portrait prize winner, says the biennale is like the art world’s Commonwealth Games and is a fantastic platform for Aussie talent. Traditional world He’ll be displaying his painting Shock of the…

CROSSING Charles Street can be like a deadly game of Frogger, so Perth MP John Carey is holding a public forum to improve pedestrian safety there. During last year’s election Mr Carey pledged $250,000 towards a permanent crossing or other safety improvements on Charles Street near Kyilla primary school, but he says he wants to…

STATE-appointed commissioners in charge of Perth council want a further clampdown on councillors’ allowances and expenses. Under a draft policy the three commissioners have released for consultation, councillors would get a phone and IT allowance, and childcare expenses up to $25 per hour while attending authorised functions. They would only be allow to travel business…

LABOR’S Patrick Gorman won the federal seat of Perth on Saturday with just under 40 per cent of the primary vote as apathetic voters failed to get enthused about a Liberal-free election. The Greens’ Caroline Perks came second with 18.76 per cent of the primary vote and independent Paul Collins was third with 9.53 per…

IN the wake of a dismal turn-out for the Perth and Fremantle by-elections, the by-election to replace retiring Bayswater councillor Brent Fleeton will be held on September 14 – and voting is not even compulsory. The North Ward election will be a postal vote and cost the council between $35,000-$70,000.  It’s a tight window for…

A TREASURE trove of artefacts found under the floorboards of the old Perth Girls’ Orphanage on Adelaide Street will provide a rare insight into the life of the young city’s underprivileged children, says the WA Museum. On Tuesday the artefacts were handed over to the museum by the department of communities’ housing authority which occupies…

JUST one month after the state government banned single-use plastic bags, Coles has announced they’ll give away reusable ones instead. Perth MP John Carey spent years advocating for a plastic bag ban and says the Coles giveaway undermines the intention of the law. “I’m calling on Coles to change their position. It is high farce…

PERTH council has lowered parking fees at Point Fraser car park by one dollar, acknowledging the $4 per hour charge was deterring customers. But Anne Bontempo, a one-time contender for lord mayor in 2011, wants the lower parking fees extended throughout the city. “If the decision is made to reduce parking fees at this location…

AFTER three years, a 52-page Corruption and Crime Commission report, 45 alleged breaches and an 18-month tussle with the State Administrative Tribunal, how did lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi end up with a punishment a colleague describes as a “joke”? Ms Scaffidi said she’s very pleased the SAT “rejected the state’s case that I should be…

A REFUGEE rights group has staged a touching tribute to Fazel Chegeni Nejad on the first day of an inquest into his tragic death on Christmas Island in 2015. The Kurd asylum seeker had been detained on the island for four years but was facing a lifetime in detention after being involved in a minor…