PROTESTORS were planning a big demonstration alongside the Eliza statue in Crawley yesterday (Friday August 3) to highlight risks to internationally important Aboriginal rock art on the Burrup Peninsula. This time around Eliza’s sculptors Tony and Ben Jones are driving the demonstration and dress-up, which coincides with a forum on the Burrup that will bring…

VINCENT deputy mayor Susan Gontaszewski wants more women kicking a ball around the city’s parks and ovals. Cr Gontaszewski has called for an audit of the city’s sports facilities after a recent report found women made up less than a third of all local club memberships. City officers noted that few of Vincent’s sports facilities…

BAYSWATER town centre will be a 40kmh zone after the local council voted for slower speed limits this week. It’s been a long and windy road to get here: more than a year ago people showed up to a place making forum lobbying for a 40 kmh zone. Main Roads surveyed the area and agreed…

WHAT do you reckon? This is the new public artwork for a service station planned for Walter Road, Embleton Costing about $38,000 and paid for by the developer, Bayswater councillors (mostly) gave it a thumbs up at their last planning meeting, with just Sally Palmer lodging a no vote. Designed by artists Luke Davey and…

A NEW housing block is set be built next to Bayswater wetlands, after the council reluctantly approved a 23-lot subdivision. The development application will now go to the state government’s WA Planning Commission for rubber-stamping. The private block is owned by the family of late Bayswater mayor John D’Orazio. It’s opposite the Eric Singleton Wetlands,…

UGLY empty blocks are in the sights of Vincent mayor Emma Cole. She wants to stop the demolition of houses that leaves some streets looking like broken-toothed smiles. Up until 2015 developers needed planning approval before councils would let them knock down an existing house. The state government scrapped that rule and houses that might…

PERTH lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi has been suspended for seven months over her travel and gift declaration scandal. SAT originally found her to have committed 45 breaches by not properly declaring gifts and travel contributions, but she appealed and the supreme court knocked out 26. Her original punishment of 18 months disqualification was tossed out…

AMIDST the hurley-burley of a protest against a visiting Canadian urging Australia to stronger action against refugee boats, Aboriginal activist Caroline Kirk noticed a tide turning in her own world. The Koori Ngemba woman says she’s noticed a thawing of relations with the police who helped keep the peace between her United Against Bigotry and…

A PERTH payroll manager is concerned a lot of businesses are breaching new legislation that requires companies with 20 or more staff to report payroll and superannuation data every time employees are paid. The Single Touch Payroll legislation came into effect on July 1 this year, and easigroup CEO Ross Elford says many businesses are…

THE relationship between environments and identities is the overarching theme of Cool Change Contemporary’s inaugural exhibition in Perth. CCC is a new artist-run-initiative by seven locals who have experience in “creating visible spaces for early career artists to be exhibiting,” says group member Melissa McGrath. Despite the “cyclical” nature of artist-run-initiatives around Perth and Australia,…