AFTER years of campaigning and a few attempts by local councils, lightweight single-use plastic bags will be banned in WA from July next year. Fremantle was the first council to attempt a local ban in 2013, but it was blocked by the former Liberal state government. In June Vincent councillors voted “in principal” for a…

PERTH’S Uniting Church in the City has put beehives on the roof of its William Street building as part of its ongoing green push. Over the last year the church has installed the largest solar panel in the CBD on its rooftop, three 2000-litre water tanks to flush toilets in their buildings, and a rooftop…

HAPPY birthday, Perth Voice! This week’s paper is our 1000th edition. It’s been a bumpy old ride for the media industry over the last decade, but despite the tumult, the Voice has continued to serve up its fiercely independent brand of journalism with aplomb. We may have turned 1000 but don’t worry, despite a few…

THE State Administrative Tribunal says lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi “learnt very little from her experience” and “continues to be careless in preparing documents”, when it handed down her 18-month disqualification from council on Monday. The lengthy ban was for 45 breaches of the Local Government Act, stemming from her failure to declare travel contributions and…

YOU’RE reading edition 1000 of the Perth Voice, still going strong after the first paper hit your letterbox 20 years ago on June 5, 1997. At that point the paper was still under the dual mastheads “Vincent Voice” and “Lawley Voice”, but a few years later it became The Perth Voice and adopted the iconic…

A CONTRACTOR “error” is behind the severe over-pruning of five iconic Mary Street trees in Vincent. Former councillor Ian Ker contacted the Voice after finding the Hill’s weeping figs had been “butchered”, despite them being on Vincent’s significant tree inventory. He said there was no evidence of the trees being diseased and removing nearly half…

THERE was a huge turnout for the opening of the Baysie Community Garden with about 120 people coming down to the Bayswater Bowling and Recreation Club last Thursday. The opening was a happy rebirth for the garden, founded by community elder Pat Lim, after a divided Bayswater council narrowly voted not to extend the lease…

A FREE parking trial in East Perth to help ailing businesses has been kyboshed by Perth councillors. Chief concern was the the loss of $45,000 revenue. Cr Reece Harley asked colleagues to support a half-hour free period on Royal Street when the city installs new parking machines early next year. He got support from councillors…

TEN DOGS, one pheasant and a goat were impounded by Vincent council in the first half of this year, according to the latest ranger report. Non-canine impounding is so rare that the bird and goat were lumped under the “Dog Impounding” section of the report. “The goat was returned to its owner but it could…

LONG-time Bayswater council watcher Tony Green says mayor Barry McKenna should resign over his role in the unsuccessful fight against a concrete batching plant that cost the city at least $282,000. Mr Green is president of the Bayswater City Residents and Ratepayers Association but stressed he wasn’t calling for the resignation in his official capacity,…