PADDY CULLEN is a long-time environmental activist who’s doing some work with The Wilderness Society to save our northern jarrah forest. THE northern jarrah forest is one of the world’s great natural wonders. Encompassing over a third of the South West forests in WA, it is incredibly beautiful and diverse. Tiny quokkas, woylies and numbats…

PATRICK GORMAN is the federal assistant minister to the prime minister, assistant minister for the public service, and the federal member for Perth. HOUSING matters to Perth. I hear it everywhere I go in our community.  The people of Perth want to see their suburbs thrive. They care about their neighbours, and want the next…

AS Perth commuters grapple with the surge of vaping on public transport, it feels like a déjà vu, says JENS KIRSCH. Do you remember when smoking was anywhere and everywhere? The battle has shifted, but the strategies remain eerily similar. ON Perth’s public transport, a lifeline for thousands, the battle against vaping is being fought…

PAUL GAMBLIN is a spokesperson for the Leighton Action Coalition. Like many of Perth’s coastal areas, Leighton is under pressure from developers, who probably wouldn’t be satisfied until Perth’s coast resembled the mess of Surfers Paradise. Recently the Coalition had a win – of sorts. PLANNING minister John Carey has just made a major decision…

IN this week’s Speaker’s Corner we hear from environmental scientist MARY GRAY, who was awarded an OAM in 2022 for her tireless conservation work. Here she writes of a new “CCC” – the Climate Crisis Christmas, marked by hotter summers, fires and floods, and gifts us with some practical local measures to turn the tide.…

TAHLIA CRAWFORD is a year 12 student from the Perth Waldorf School, where students’ big assessment for the year is to dive deep into a topic of their own choice. Tahlia picked the emerging science around gut health, which is creating a bit of a buzz because of its implications for so many aspects of…

IN this week’s Speaker’s Corner Coolbinia resident Jan Ravet shares some thoughts about high density housing, prompted by the ongoing proposal for five-storey apartments and shops at the corner of Walcott and Adair Parade.  READING about Buddhism and emotions, the message comes across that emotions are more potent than rational thought. Have you ever tried…

AFTER reading our opinion piece by Jan Ravet on “The hidden cost” of infill development (Voice, April 15, 2023), reader Bruce Taylor pens this counterpoint he titles “The hidden cost of low density”. He points to a 2020 study in the Journal of Urban Design by lead author Julian Bolleter about Perth’s “missing” medium-density housing stock, which…

WITH the Development Assessment Panel soon to decide on a five-storey block of units opposed by neighbours and the local council, Coolbinia resident JAN RAVET argues there are little-considered social costs to these projects. IN regard to the proposed development on the corner of Adair and Walcott street, I need to express my concerns about…

   Dr MIKE BAMFORD’S principle area of work is in population ecology of vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) and he has been an environmental consultant since 1987. Dr Bamford was chairman of Birdlife Australia WA and on its national council. IN Australia, there are only three domestic animals that owners are not required by…