THE multinational owner of Plaza Arcade in Perth’s CBD has offered to compensate small businesses suffering from a construction-related trade slump, but won’t say how much unless they sign confidentiality agreements. The traders, who revealed their frustration with Singapore-based Starhill Global and its local agents Colliers International in the Perth Voice recently (“Fair trade blocked,”…

ABOUT 350 people turned up to a snap rally on Saturday in support of marriage equality. One in a series of rallies hosted by Equal Love WA urging people to vote “yes” in the lead-up to the national plebiscite on marriage equality, the event caused some controversy when police ordered a gigantic blow-up penis to…

NEW Mt Lawley MP Simon Millman’s come through on the election commitment to deliver $10,000 funding to the Mount Lawley Society to help preserve historical documents. Mr Millman says; “Mt Lawley is a beautiful part of our city and it’s important that we respect, recognise and preserve its heritage. The Mount Lawley Society does a…

A VINNIE’S drop-in centre for young homeless people will relocate to 143 Edwards Street after being approved by Vincent council. St Vincent de Paul’s Passages drop-in centre has outgrown its site on Palmerston Street where it’s been running since 1999, offering homeless people aged 12 to 25 daytime services like a free kitchen and bathroom…

LITERARY organisations say a state government review threatens their existence and disadvantages local talent. Between them the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA, WA Poets Inc, Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre, the Peter Cowan Writers Centre and the Society of Women Writers WA have more than 200 years’ experience fostering writing talent. They are worried about…

NEARLY 500 protestors marched to parliament house on Tuesday demanding “Justice for Elijah” Doughty, the 14-year-old boy who was run over and killed by a male driver outside Kalgoorlie last year. The man, whose name has been suppressed by the courts, was cleared by a supreme court jury of manslaughter and sentenced to three years…

MAYLANDS Labor MP Lisa Baker says the McGowan government will spend $160,000 tackling anti-social behaviour in the suburb, following ongoing complaints from residents and business owners about violence, theft and drug use. The problems had gotten so bad that Bayswater police recently held a community meeting in Maylands. An Eighth Avenue resident told The Voice…

MORE than 120 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school girls gathered in Kings Park on Monday to highlight the education gap in WA. Research published by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre in June shows WA has the worst education gap in the country between Aboriginal and TSI, and non-Aboriginal students. Only 44.7 per cent…

EIGHT YEARS to the day after the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea, a new doco by East Freo journalist Jane Hammond shines a light on the “forgotten” disaster. Many Australians are unaware of the widespread devastation that occurred in 2009 when a wellhead blew out and spewed oil into Australian waters, halfway between…

HIGHGATE Primary School kids got a masterclass in creative writing when A Maze of Story popped in for book week. Gae Oaten founded the not-for-profit group three years ago and says teaching kids how to write creatively improves their confidence and school work. They often work with children who speak English as a second language…