Perth Voice Interactive

FIVE conservation groups will be holding a “black umbrella” protest and presenting thousands of postcards to WA environment minister Reece Whitby this coming week calling on him to help save black cockatoos.

Paddy Cullen from Save the Black Cockatoos said the black umbrellas would be used to construct a giant cockatoo for the protest.

He said the cockatoos were an umbrella species, which meant protecting them would benefit all threatened forests and woodlands “but numbers are falling drastically and they could all be extinct within a few decades.

“The state govenrment has a vegetation policy that has promised to be nature-positive and the federal government has promised to protect 30 per cent of the land and sea in natural habitat, but these policies are currently being buried under a layer of bulldozer dust.”

The groups are calling on the McGowan government to step back from a decision to clear the Gnangara pine plantation to protect the water mound below, saying it’s become critical to provide the cockatoos with a food source.

Mr Cullen also called for the recently released 10-year Forest Management Plan to be sent to the Environmental Protection Authority for assessment.

He says the amount of land proposed for national parks has dropped by some 300,000 hectares under the plan, while almost none of the areas set aside for conservation were in the most vulnerable and diverse areas.

The protest will be outside Parliament House this Tuesday May 23 at 11.30am.

A WA government MP has urged Bayswater councillors not to accept a parliamentary committee’s rejection of a draft policy to ban cats from bush and wetlands.

Bassendean MP Dave Kelly, whose electorate covers part of Bayswater, said “I don’t often make deputations to local government,” having done so just once before. 

He made a second exception when he headed to Bayswater’s May 16 briefing, saying “this issue, which is really the protection of native wildlife, is of such importance that I really felt compelled to come down here”.

Like a number of councils, Bayswater has been grappling with the issue of domestic cats killing wildlife and has tried to come up with its own local laws to control them.

Last year it drafted new rules saying “a cat shall not be in a public place unless the cat is, in the opinion of an authorised person [ranger], under effective control”. 

But Bayswater’s draft suffered the same fate as other councils’ efforts when it was stymied by WA Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation which decides whether local laws are allowed under state law.

A common sticking point is that WA doesn’t have the same kind of state legislation to control cats as it does to control dogs, so the JSCDL is concerned a cat control policy might be in breach of state rules. 

A new Cat Act allowing more control has been on the state government’s to-do list for a few years now.

The JSCDL has told Bayswater to remove that rule if it wants the overall cat policy approved, but Mr Kelly urged them to keep fighting. 

Extra mile

“You have done an amazing job so far in supporting local groups and ratepayers who really want to protect native wildlife,” Mr Kelly said.

“It makes sense that we go this extra mile to really put cats in a situation where they’re not killing wildlife every night, which is what currently happens.”

He pointed out Bayswater’s rules were modelled on the Shire of Northam’s policy, which was successfully approved by the JSCDL.

“It’s unfortunate that the joint standing committee has, for some reason, taken a different view to the City of Bayswater’s proposal.”

Mr Kelly pointed out the council now has legal advice that its cat law is allowable given it’s based on Northam’s version.

“Given the amount of feeling that’s come from my constituents – your ratepayers – on this issue, and the apparent and obvious contradiction in the way the joint standing committee has dealt with this issue, it is appropriate in my view that you push ahead” and ask the JSCDL to reconsider.

Councillors are due to make the call at their May 23 meeting.

Resident David Dyke, a dedicated cat control campaigner and advocate of frogs and other native wildlife, urged councillors to keep their children and grandkids in mind when they made the decision so that future generations wouldn’t miss out on seeing some of the state’s unique wildlife.

“I would hate to see my grandson Hamish say, in 20 years time, ‘I wish my pop had done better than what he did’,” Mr Dyke said.

“It’s clear our community want protection for wildlife, to keep biodiversity, healthy ecosystems, and also safety of cats.”

by DAVID BELL

A PERTH bike shop filled with high-end gear has been told to remove security shutters installed to prevent thefts.

Evolution Bikes is at the corner of Beaufort and Bulwer Streets, and owner Anthony Hart says he’s had his windows broken several times since opening five years ago, but Vincent council has told him his shutters are in breach of a ban introduced to make streetscapes seem less hostile.

The rollers are up during the day and only rolled down at night, and the windows make up about 5 per cent of the total facade.

Mr Hart estimated the shop has about $850,000 worth of stock in it, including high-end bikes worth up to $15,000 awaiting a service, and they also need the extra security as they have a contract to supply and service WA Police patrol bikes.

Mr Hart’s now planning to appeal the decision to the State Administrative Tribunal.

The roller shutters were installed in late 2021 but a single complaint in April 2022 led to council compliance officers showing up and saying Mr Hart had to either take the shutters down or put in a retrospective application and hope for approval.

Vincent council policy says solid facades aren’t allowed in town centres, and any security measures must be “transparent and visually permeable to allow views inside the building”.

A report from planning staff to councillors says “the appearance of the roller shutters as a security measure adversely impacts on and does not reflect the character of the local area or complement the existing building”.

Mr Hart pointed out that under the council’s policy, recessed steel bars would be fine. 

“We would contend that bars/metal grids/other ‘visually permeable’ solutions create 

far more of a ‘high security/high risk impression’ than the elegantly and seamlessly integrated fixed roller shutters,” Mr Hart wrote to council ahead of the meeting. “The roller shutters we have implemented look a lot better than many of the other security solutions present in the Beaufort Street streetscape, such as bars on windows.” 

He said at the May 16 meeting: “We had five break-ins in the three-plus years prior to the installation, zero in the almost-two years since.”

And before they’d moved in the store’s windows had been completely boarded up at all times.

Store manager Michael Hernan told councillors at the May 16 meeting: “If there was indeed a better way for us to be more active and interactive, while still maintaining our security obligations regarding WA Police Force and our customers assets, we would have done so without hesitation.”

He also pointed out that the shop was in a busy, car-heavy “transport corridor” rather than a pedestrian town centre, yet the council was applying the same rules to both. Nearby pubs, parks, and a fast food outlet have made for some smash-happy passers-by. 

Cr Ron Alexander agreed a transport corridor probably needed different consideration than a town centre: “I’m supportive of roller shutters being there, because [in] that part of the city, that business faces Birdwood Square, which is a park, so it’s not facing other businesses… I have some sympathy to the view that this is one of those exceptions that should be made.”

Two other councillors agreed – Ross Ioppolo and Suzanne Worner – but majority voted for the rollers to be removed.

Mayor Emma Cole said there’d been many other cases where the council had ordered businesses to remove shutters or full-window decals (some of which were still outstanding).

“I don’t think we can treat one business differently to the way we’ve treated many others in similar circumstances,” she said.

Mr Hernan pointed out that this was a unique case given their need to secure WA Police bikes, and not many other businesses would qualify on those grounds. 

Ms Cole also penned a successful motion giving the store six months to remove the window shutters, rather than the usual 28 days, and allowed the store to keep the roller shutter over the main door. 

The council previously ordered nearby gun shop Tony Yozzi & Sons to remove roller shutters, even though the police had asked him to install them. That shop’s now got a steel grill over the windows.

by DAVID BELL

GERRY WESTENBERG has been hand-crafting scale model ships for more than half a century, and now has 120 in his exquisitely detailed fleet.

Mr Westenberg’s models are now on display at the WA Shipwrecks Museum on Cliff Street, Fremantle.

The Naval Sea Power in Miniature exhibition was opened by WA defence industry minister Paul Papalia earlier this month.

The exhibit is one of Australia’s largest collections of hand-crafted naval ship models on display in one venue. 

Mr Westenberg’s passion for miniatures began when he was 16 years old when he puchased his first plastic model, a 1/600 scale model of the Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Ajax. 

“I bought a model set of HMS Ajax and kind of butchered it and it came out looking more like HMAS Perth. From then on I bought more and more kits and started changing the materials that I liked to use and scale that works for me.”

His models are now in the scale of 1/192 based on the Empirical scale of 1 inch to every 16 feet. 

He uses balsa wood to build the hull of the ships, with the rest made from plastic tubing, copper wire and cardboard. 

Feared battleship

The exhibition includes a replica of one England’s most famous battleships, the HMS Hood which was sunk in 1941 by the feared German battleship Bismarck. 

There are also models of HMAS Perth which was sunk in 1942 by a Japanese torpedo at the battle of Sunda Straight, and the HMAS Sydney which sank off the coast of Geraldton following a battle with the German Kormoran. It was the largest loss of life in the history of the Australian Navy and the largest Allied warship lost with all hands during World War II. 

“If there is a class of ship that served during the war and if it sank, I’ll build that one. It’s my way of saying thank you to the sacrifices that our soldiers made.”

Most of the models are based on ships from the Australian and British naval forces, however there are some from the Age of Sail.  Of particular interest will be the HMS Hood, Great Eastern and the sail training ship Leeuwin II.

“I’ve got about 30 warships that the Australian Navy used. I’m missing about four or five that I am currently building and I am also building the support ships such as the oil tankers and the tenders.”

On Thursdays and Saturdays from 9:30am – 5pm Mr Westenberg will be available at the exhibition space to answer questions about the miniatures on display and their history of service.

This will be the third exhibition of models held at WA Shipwrecks Museum and will be on display until July 30.  Entry to WA Shipwrecks Museum is by gold coin donation.

by DANIEL SPENCE

FIRST-time voters and other young people wanting to know more about the Voice to Parliament are invited to ask hard questions and have honest conversations in a safe space hosted by Reconciliation WA.

On May 27 they’re holding an afternoon of “yarning” with WA Uluru Youth Dialogue members Sophie Coffin who’s a Nyangumarta Yindjibarndi woman, Ngarluma 

and Bardi man Tyson McEwan. They’re joined by Uluru Dialogue head of engagement Nolan Hunter, a Bardi and Yawuru man.

“It is really important for young people in WA to have a space to learn about The Voice to Parliament and the referendum,” Ms Coffin says. 

Candid

“It’s important they feel comfortable to ask questions freely so that we can have frank and candid conversations – not only to connect, but to convey the significance of the Voice to Parliament for Aboriginal people, and the role of young people in WA generally in shaping the future of our country through the referendum.”

Mr McEwan said this would be the first referendum many young people had participated in, and “as part of this referendum process, young people need a space to convey their perspectives on what the Voice means to them, as the referendum outcome will impact us all”.

Reconciliation WA CEO Jody Nunn says it’s important for the next generation to be informed ahead of the Voice to Parliament vote.

“It’s a really powerful moment in a nation’s history. 

“We know we’ve had 44 referendums and only eight have been successful, so the importance of the next generation understanding this opportunity and this moment in time is crucial. We wanted to bring Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal voices together to have this really important conversation.”

Uluru Youth Yarns (plus music and performances with Wardandi Bibbulmun singer Boox Kid) is at The Constitutional Centre in West Perth from 5pm on May 27, and it’s free but register at http://www.recwa.org.au

FENCES have gone up around a chunk of Hyde Park to cordon off trees affected by the invasive polyphagous shothole borer as a new emergency chemical trial aims to eradicate the pest. 

Several trees have already had limbs removed as they were compromised by the tiny beetles. The borer excavates extensive tunnels through trees to cultivate fungus as a food source. 

Their farming disrupts the flow of water and nutrients and leaves branches withered, and can kill whole trees. Infested trees are also a constant source of more beetles.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is now starting trials of a chemical treatment to try to stop the borer. 

There are no registered chemical treatments to target the borer in Australia, but DPIRD obtained an emergency permit from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to trial an injectable chemical derived from a type of soil bacteria that kills bugs.

It gets injected into the trunk and the tree’s own vascular system distributes the chemical to, hopefully, kill the borer. 

It’s been used on London plane trees by spraying the leaves before, and now an Australian company’s made an injectable form. 

The treatments take place across late May.

Since the borer was first spotted in East Fremantle in August 2021, it has spread rapidly to other Perth parks and backyard trees. 

In March the quarantine zone was expanded to cover almost all of Perth, from Hillarys to Wattleup. 

THE unpopular diagonal diversion cutting a North Perth neighbourhood in half will be removed early after it pushed traffic into quiet streets and nearby laneways.

Vincent council installed the road block in February for a six-month trial to stop traffic diagonally at the Alma Road and Leake Street intersection, following requests from nearby residents to reduce traffic speeds on their street.

But the stats are now in and have vindicated fears from the wider neighbourhood that it’d just divert drivers into even smaller streets, including sending trucks into laneways which are ill-equipped to handle heavy loads.

Increased traffic

A Vincent staff report says “the trial has negatively impacted on adjoining and adjacent roads and laneways with: increased traffic volumes, increased speeds, increased heavy vehicles”.

Along with local drivers having to make lengthy detours to get to their shops, it’s been rough for walkers and riders too: the refuge islands were removed from Alma and Leake Street to make room for the diversion. 

Resident Leon Firios, who’d organised the Save North Perth Streets Action Group, told councillors at the May 16 meeting that while the exercise was useful in providing data, “that trial has revealed serious safety issues that were just not anticipated when the decision was taken by the council to proceed with the trial. 

“These issues are concentrated not only at the site of the diversion itself, but they fill into the surrounding streets, into the laneways, and even into Charles Street itself.

“Alongside these safety issues we’ve seen widespread community opposition to the diagonal diversion; it’s got no serious support among the large majority of the constituents.”

Councillors voted to replace the diagonal diversion with a raised traffic-slowing plateau like those installed at other nearby intersections, and the council has state road safety funding to pay for it.

Mayor Emma Cole said at the May 16 meeting: “The plateaux have proven, through data, to slow traffic in the area, and to be frank, it’s free, Main Roads are paying for it.”

Ms Cole along with councillors Alex Castle and Ashley Wallace were against the diagonal diversion, but were outvoted last year.

“My view is consistent,” Ms Cole said, “As it has always been, I fully support the removal of this diagonal diversion. I do regret the cost.”  

The trial was initially estimated to $35,000 to $60,000, and it’ll cost $10,000 to $20,000 to remove which will come out of that original project budget.

“We should grab with both hands the offer from Main Roads to reinstate the idea of having the plateau there to provide that consistent road treatment throughout this particular precinct of North Perth,” Ms Cole said.

THIRTEEN WA-based game developers have been given a financial leg up through Screenwest’s new Digital Games Production Fund.

Screenwest’s digital games manager Mark Smith said the fund, which was launched in December last year, aimed to help smaller developers and studios turn their dreams into a reality.

Since the last funding available for game developers was announced in 2019, the sector in WA has been growing and Mr Smtih said there were more than double the number of applicants this time around.

The multi-staged scheme supports developers in all stages of production as well as “after their game has released, through marketing, localisation and porting to new consoles to reach a larger audience”.

“Perth isn’t short of talent in the games industry, but that talent has traditionally moved out of the state or the country to secure work.

“By giving some of these small, talented studios a leg up with developing and releasing their games, the plan is that these studios will be able to be self-sustaining,” Mr Smith said.

Tinyware Games lead developer Michael Pearce received a production grant and believes the game development scene 

in Perth is growing and “funds from Screenwest and other bodies are the stepping stone we need to really show the government and other countries that there’s something here.

“The seeds have been placed for studios to start growing to become sustainable businesses,” Mr Pearce said.

“If those seeds keep growing and support continues, I think we’ll be looking at a really great place to be a developer. 

“The next few years will really define what happens and what studios can help lead the success of Perth as a developers’ hub.”

by RACHEL JENNINGS