PERTH city council will take a more comprehensive approach to homelessness under a new 18-month plan adopted by councillors on Tuesday. Previously the council’s approach to homelessness has been a little ad hoc, and often focused on stopping homeless people from begging, attracting criticism from support agencies. Under the new plan the city will have…

TOURISTS, after-work drinkers and restaurants look set to benefit from new liquor reforms proposed by the McGowan government. Under the existing legislation, when someone applies for a liquor licence, the Chief Health Officer and the Commissioner of Police’s representative have input. Previously they have often recommended harm-reduction measures be attached to licences (like a “no…

“GOOD intentions” will be turned into “real actions” under Perth city council’s Reconciliation Action Plan. It aims to improve the council’s relationship with Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. The council’s had shaky relations with parts of the Aboriginal community at times, including a long-running and sometimes heavy-handed crackdown on people camping at Heirisson Island/Matagarup, which…

EN ROUTE to a Fringe show, Voice journo MOLLY SCHMIDT got sidetracked by a mate and found herself helping hundreds of strangers to launch a dance boogie through Northbridge. The infectious rave was part of a social experiment by Liberators International, a group aiming to spread love around the world by encouraging others to get…

The first of four Leederville car-free days was held last Sunday. It coincided with Leedypalooza’s Unfair Day, which is like a carnival in an alternate-universe, with unlucky dips, bad family portraits and misfortune cookies. The event was run by Vincent council, Leederville Connect and Fringeworld. The streets are closed off for LeedyPalooza’s Dancin in the…

IN an Australian first, Bayswater locals can now plant their own food on council parks. “No local government has ventured into this realm before,” says councillor Chris Cornish about the council’s new edible pocket garden policy. In March 2015 he floated the idea of letting residents grow veggies on their verges and to expand the…

A CREEK, a young adult playground, and basketball and tennis courts are all on the cards for an upgraded Wellington Square. The huge chunk of land in East Perth is sorely under-utilised—aside from a few people sleeping in the park or the occasional game of lunch-time soccer—and for decades the park’s been plagued by rowdiness…

IN the wake of Perth council announcing it will upgrade Wellington Square, two people have been hospitalised after a fight in the East Perth park on Tuesday afternoon. Witnesses on the scene described an alleged “stabbing”. Police report they were called to Wellington Square around 2.05pm, after reports of two women fighting. “Police located the…

THE Australian Medical Association says it’s “bitterly disappointed” WA’s health department has let smoking outside Royal Perth and Sir Charles Gairdner hospitals get out of control. Each day dozens of smokers haunt the public areas just outside the main entrances, putting the health of other patients and staff at risk. “The issue has been brought…

A LARGE chunk of Wellington Street’s Army Surplus Stores was demolished this week, but the section that was once an infamous 19th century brothel remains. History buffs will be relieved that most of the Surplus’ corner building—heritage listed by Perth council—will not be pulled down when the site is re-developed into a 30-storey, student housing…