PERTH council is going to have another crack at trying to get on top of anti-social behaviour in Wellington Square, East Perth. It’s organising an open community forum this morning, Saturday May 20, from 9.30am on the Wellington Street side of the square. The park attracts up to 100 homeless people a night during the…

SIMON MILLMAN and JOHN CAREY had their maiden Parliamentary speeches this week. DAVID BELL takes a look at what they had to say. John Carey IN his debut speech in parliament, Perth Labor MP John Carey warned against the “cheap, populist” politics of fear, called for a better standard of leadership, and quoted Yoda from…

BAYSWATER and Maylands residents have been quick off the mark to secure a tranche of $29,000 “quick win” funds to help activate their town centres. Bayswater council’s two new place managers recently held workshops with residents from Baysy, Maylands, Noranda and Morley, who helped develop a clear vision for their centres. At the well-attended workshops,…

A FIFTEEN storey building planned for Frame Court in Leederville is three times higher than council regulations permit. The site’s owned by Bankwest and developer TPG has prepared a “Local Development Plan,” hoping it will persuade council that its five storey limit for the area is outdated. TPG’s report says the 4,306sqm block is a…

STIRLING council adverts for the Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre give the veteran councillor an unfair advantage at election time, says Cr Stephanie Proud. The city spends $38,500 a year advertising the aquatic centre, named after the former Stirling mayor who is still a councillor and up for re-election this year. Cr Proud wanted a moratorium…

KINGS PARK’S guides are in the process of training up the next crop of volunteers, with Linley (they don’t like using last names apparently) trying out her new skills on South African traveller Brenda Raubenheimer and pal Joanne Grant. The guides are also busy preparing to host the 2019 Australasian Botanic Gardens Volunteer Guides Conference,…

A REPLACEMENT for Bayswater Tennis Club’s dinky clubhouse has taken another step forward, with the local council approving the new designs. In March Bayswater council approved a $450,000 top-up to the $150,000 it had already reserved for the new clubhouse, with an additional $750,000 coming from the federal government and $50,000 from the club. Although…

FOLLOWING a wave of community opposition Bayswater councillors have voted not to support the Meltham station precinct structure plan which allows bigger and denser buildings in the area. However the council’s vote is only a recommendation and final approval rests with the WA Planning Commission. The proposal was put forward by consultants WA Planning Solutions,…

SHIRLEY MORT, who spent 26 years collecting for charity on the Perth train station footbridge, has died aged 92. Ms Mort raised more than $1.7million for the Salvation Army, rattling her tin into her 90s when she retired last year. Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi issued a public statement farewelling Ms Mort, however the council’s…

THE legendary organ builders of the early colony will be celebrated by St Mary’s cathedral in the first show of their 2017 concert series. The cathedral houses two pipe organs, one built by famed organman Josiah Eustace Dodd (our first Australia-born organ builder, 1856-1952) and another built by Arthur Hobday (1851-1912). Both men were trained…