Perth Voice Interactive

THE abandoned Russell Street Bunnings is holding back the Morley town centre according to Bayswater councillors who want the hardware giant to secure and spruce up the site.

Bunnings closed the site in 2020, save for the carpark which was briefly used as a drive-thru Covid testing point and later as a polling location in the 2022 federal election.

The block is opposite Morley Galleria and is a prime spot for redevelopment, being zoned for city centre uses such as offices, showrooms, retail shops, apartments or childcare centres.

Trespassing

Councillor Josh Eveson’s motion at the April 26 meeting called on mayor Filomena Piffaretti to write to the owner “to urgently request that they engage with the City, WA police force, department of communities, and other key stakeholders to determine a plan of action to address antisocial behaviour, trespassing, interim land use options and overall management of the site”.

“Morley is on the cusp of some very exciting things,” Cr Eveson said. “However the old Bunnings site continues to deteriorate.” 

Cr Eveson said it was “positioned in a key location to the Morley activity centre”.

He said they need to “ensure the landowners are active as we continue on the path to transform Morley”.

A couple of councillors queried whether there was actually much trouble going on, given a report by council staff only identified a small scattering of calls about trespassing.

Given the dearth of reports Cr Dan Bull said: “I don’t understand – other than grandstanding – what this motion is actually trying to achieve.”

Cr Eveson responded that not all crime was reported: “I have had business owners surrounding the old Bunnings site [who] have rung me and expressed concerns.

“There’s been some challenging times for a local business that’s directly adjacent,” with one complaint concerning a man loitering late one night with a machete. 

While acknowledging reported complaints were low, Cr Eveson said the area still needed a plan for the vacant site.

The site’s owner, Bunnings’ property arm BWP Trust, recently announced in January 2023 it had signed a three-year lease with the Australian Electoral Commission “which allows us time to plan a redevelopment of the site”.

Cr Eveson says that’d only liven up the site once every couple of years on election days.

by DAVID BELL

Vaping crackdown welcomed

THE federal government’s crackdown on vaping has been welcomed by a Bayswater councillor pushing to get vape shops away from schools.

Vapes containing nicotine currently require a prescription, but the law is poorly enforced.

Federal health minister Mark Butler announced a crackdown on the vape black market by stopping import of non-prescription vapes, restricting flavours, colours and other ingredients, further reducing the nicotine level, requiring pharmaceutical-like packaging, and banning disposable vapes.

Councillor Catherine Ehrhardt is also concerned about young people vaping, and lodged a notice of motion at the October 2022 meeting to investigate how they could prevent new vape, smoking, and shisha-focussed venues from opening up near schools, playgrounds, parks, or other places mainly used 

by young people (“Bayswater vape shop crackdown,” Voice, November 5, 2022).

Staff proposed defining any place selling “smoking-related implements” as a restricted premises requiring council approval, and the idea’s out for public comment.

Cr Ehrhardt said of the federal announcement: “I definitely welcome it,” noting a growing trend of youth vaping.

“My children’s high school sent out an information pack last year with an anti-vaping toolkit. They had to fit all of the toilets with a detector that detects if kids are vaping, because it is a serious problem in high schools.”

She said the plan to ban single-use vapes was an environmental win. Recently the local environmental group Transition Town Bayswater headed to The Rise in Maylands for Clean Up Australia Day and found empty single-use plastic vapes scattered everywhere.

Cr Ehrhardt says the council will still pursue its policy as it covers other smoke-products too. 

“Vape stores and shisha bars currently fall under the definitions of ‘shop’ and 

‘restaurant or cafe’, meaning they don’t require planning approval and are able to set up almost anywhere.

“We’ve got [a vape shop] within eyesight of a school. We’ve got a shisha lounge in Morley that’s literally metres from a playground.

“The amendment would see these premises restricted from operating next to areas our children and young adults frequent, such as schools, bus stops and playgrounds.”

Comments are open at engage. bayswater.wa.gov.au until June 12.

by DAVID BELL

A PROPOSED petrol station on Angove Street in North Perth has been unanimously rejected by a state assessment panel.

All local council members and state government representatives on the JDAP unanimously voted down the plan by petrol company On The Run, heeding advice from Vincent council planning staff who warned of “adverse impact” on local amenity.

Many locals who joined the Stop the Station campaign opposed the plans due to unaddressed health concerns from petrol vapours and the impact the station would have on the Angove Street alfresco strip.

On The Run’s application had argued “the amenity of the area will be improved with the new development” compared to the current fenced off, empty site. The applicant said the convenience store would also be good for locals to walk in and pick up supplies.

But both planning rules around amenity and the weight of public opinion was stacked high against the proposal. 

The most recent version of the advertised plans attracted 245 submissions opposed and only one in favour.

Perth MP John Carey, also a former Vincent mayor, welcomed the DAP’s decision, telling us “it was a good result. During my time as mayor we spent a lot of time trying to drive renewal of town centres, and I think Angove Street is an incredible caf√© and retail strip.

“People love it, and I think everyone agrees that putting a petrol station and a convenience store there didn’t make any sense and didn’t reflect the aspirations of the community.

“I want to recognise and pay tribute to the locals who ran the campaign, they did a brilliant job,” he said.

“The key issue now is [for] the City of Vincent to continue to pursue its scheme amendment to prohibit petrol stations in any of its town centres.

“It’s just not compatible with want we want to see, which is vibrant shops, retail, cafes, and residences.”

Vincent council’s due to vote on that policy at the upcoming May meeting.

by DAVID BELL

THE dreaded Queensland fruit fly has made an unwelcome return to WA, with a confirmed detection of the highly invasive pest in sticky traps in Bayswater.  

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has now declared a quarantine area covering a 15 kilometre radius around the suburbs of Bayswater and Belmont.

The “Qfly” is 6 to 8mm long, distinguished by its reddish-brown torso with yellow patches, dark brown abdomen, and clear wings. 

DPIRP warns if the fly gets properly loose it could endanger the tradition of growing fruit and veggies in the backyard, and if it spreads more widely it could prevent WA fruit from being exported, with the large Japanese avocado and Thailand strawberry markets at risk. 

Fruit trees

The fly infests dozens of common backyard fruit trees, including citrus trees, chilies, berries, apples, apricots, and mulberries. Recently suspicions have grown that Moreton Bay figs might be susceptible. 

The quarantine zone covers the entirety of Vincent, Perth and Bayswater councils and almost all of Stirling, and stretches inland as far as Swan View. 

Any fruit susceptible to Qfly that’s grown in the quarantine zone can’t be moved outside of it without DPIRD approval. 

Smaller, stricter “corrective action zones” have also been declared in a 1.5km area surrounding each detection point and residents have been mailboxed an alert. 

Any fresh fruit that can host a Qfly can’t be moved outside the corrective zones, all ripe fruit must be picked and all fallen fruit must be removed every three days.

If you don’t eat the fruit it has to be bagged up and stuck in rubbish bins, not green waste or compost bins. 

The battle to keep Qfly out has been longrunning: The species was first eradicated from Perth in 1989, and has returned and been wiped out seven times since. 

THIS week’s history corner from the City of Vincent Local History Centre looks at milk bars, drawing on a new book by Professor Graham Seal. Great Australian Places takes readers on a storytelling tour from iconic destinations to tiny settlements, remote landmarks and little-known corners of Australia.

THE terms for the local shop that sold bread, milk, soft drinks, newspapers, lollies and, originally, sodas and milkshakes, tend to be quite interchangeable from state to state. 

These basic, usually family-run businesses are almost all gone in the present day due to the growth of grocery and fast-food chains.   

Milk bars proper are like an Australian hybrid.  

British oyster parlours and American soda or ice-cream stores are partial predecessors to milk bars.

But the first local enterprise of this type is said to have been a shop at number 24 in Sydney’s Martin Place, which was established by Mick Adams in 1932. 

He was inspired by the classic American diner where sodas could be purchased and served at a bar. 

Other businesses of this type quickly popped up around Australia.  

It is estimated that in the 1930s, there were about 4000 milk bars in cities, suburbs and country towns. 

Many of these places evolved into what were effectively restaurants available to workers who were unable or unwilling to eat out at more expensive establishments.  

As time went on, the humbler local convenience outlets offering basic items of everyday needs, children’s confectionery and the like began to install the minimum equipment needed to whip up milkshakes, malted milk and related drinks.

Tiled palaces

Unlike the tiled palaces of the cities and larger country towns, these places were often just a room built on the front of a house where the family running the business lived.

Many of these more basic shops were also run by immigrant families. 

Greeks and Italians often took up the milk bar trade, as did Vietnamese immigrants years later.  

Owning a milk bar allowed an immigrant family to live in the attached house and everyone could help with stocking and operating a corner shop. 

In the 1950s and 1960s, some milk bars became youth hangouts with pinball machines and jukeboxes, usually with an emphasis on American pop music and fashion. 

Pop

“This was pretty much the high point of the local corner shops, whatever name they were known by.” [Excerpt from Graham Seal’s Great Australian Places (Allen & Unwin, 2023)]

Prof Seal will be giving a talk about his latest book at the City of Vincent Library and Local History Centre on May 24, 10am to 11.30am. 

To book a seat for this free event, contact the Library on 9273 6090 or book online at Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/mw57ze9v

A FOOTY team established to provide Perth LGBTQIA+ players with a safe place to enjoy their love of kicking around a Sherrin says they can’t wait for the AFL to adopt a “pride” round.

The Perth Hornets’ call follows a speech by AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan at a lunch in Perth last month where he acknowledged there were gay AFL players who might have come out to teammates but hadn’t gone public to avoid the pressure of being first.

“What they are choosing is to not be the first person”, McLachlan said.

Hornets president Ian Odlum said statistically there were likely to be many gay players throughout the AFL.

“Being the ‘first’ could add considerable pressure to what is already a highly scrutinised job where everyone has their opinion on how well you are doing,” Mr Odlum said.

He said the Hornets, who formed in 2018, had collaborated with the West Coast Eagles to provide the “guard of honour” during the AFLW Pride game at Mineral Resources Park in 2022. The Eagles also provided guest coaches to some of their training sessions in the last couple of seasons and supported the club at fundraising events.

“We would welcome and be excited to collaborate with all WAFL and AFL Clubs in some way shape or form to build more acceptance and understanding around the LGBTQIA+ community and look forward to the day that the AFL Men’s competition have their own Pride round,” Mr Odlum said.

Mr McLachlan said going public hadn’t been an issue when the AFLW started in 2017, as many of the female players were able to open up in a group situation. 

“They had safety in numbers, there was no first,” Mr McLachlan said.

The AFLW introduced a pride round in 2021, with the support of a majority of players and fans.

The men’s competition has said a pride round had been discussed, but there were no short-term plans to add it to the season.

South Fremantle Football Club CEO Cameron Britt believes his club has created an environment “that all athletes, fans, staff, stakeholders in our football club feel that they are free and safe to express themselves however they wish. 

“I would like to think that we would be entirely supportive and encouraging of gay footballers, male or female to participate for South,” Mr Britt said.