Perth Voice Interactive

CAROLYN ORR is a neurologist and clinical researcher who was arrested in 2021 as part of a protest calling for urgent action on climate change. Dr Orr, a Mount Lawley resident, was back protesting on April 17 as part of the “Perth Stops for Climate” protest where she compared fossil fuel companies to the tobacco industry, and she’s offered up her speech for this week’s Speaker’s Corner.

WELL, here we are at Woodside, Australia’s biggest oil and gas company. 

It’s a bit like standing at the entrance to Mordor, isn’t it? They really need a big fiery Eye of Sauron on top of the building. 

They could certainly afford it: They made nearly $8 billion in profit last year destroying our health and our future. 

And unfortunately that’s no joke. 

Fossil fuels are the biggest preventable cause of air pollution. 

We know that 1 in 5 premature deaths worldwide occur because of air pollution, which has been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, asthma, emphysema, kidney and liver disease, stroke, dementia, low IQ, infertility and miscarriage. 

When the last coal, oil and gas plant closes down, the average human will gain a year of life. 

The ill health that comes from fossil fuels is comparable to the ill health that comes from cigarettes, but at least there’s a degree of personal choice when it comes to smoking. 

Tobacco companies con people into poisoning themselves, but none of us has any choice but to breathe the air that fossil fuel companies like Woodside are poisoning.

And yet, sickness and death is only a fraction of the harm when it comes to fossil fuels. 

Fossil fuels are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, and hence the main cause of climate change, which is driving the unprecedented and unnatural heatwaves, bushfires, floods, droughts and cyclones Australia has been experiencing, and which we know are going to continue to get worse until we end the threat from fossil fuels. 

World scientists tell us the world has to slash greenhouse gas emissions by half by the end of this decade to avoid the worst of climate impacts. 

Yet we’re nearly a third of the way though that decade, and worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are still rising.

Yet fossil fuel companies are behaving just like the tobacco industry. 

The tobacco industry pretended for decades that cigarettes weren’t harmful, despite knowing that cigarettes kill more than half the people who smoke them. 

They funded junk science and misinformation about the health harms of smoking, and put ineffective filters on their cigarettes to pretend to people that this would somehow protect them from smoking harm – it didn’t.

And fossil fuel companies are behaving the same way – they’ve spent decades promoting misinformation that climate change wasn’t real, or that it wasn’t caused by humans. 

These days, with the evidence all around us of a changing climate and unnatural weather, they can’t get away with denial any more.

So they’ve switched to delusion – that technologies like carbon capture and storage can allow them to continue business as usual.

Carbon capture is like filters on cigarettes. 

It has been around for 50 years and simply doesn’t work at scale. It is however an excuse to keep taking public money, with the annual subsidy to fossil fuel companies like Woodside being about $12 billion a year from Australia.

Their other fossil fuel company strategy is delay.

Largely because of their outsize political influence at both state and federal level; although we are finally committed to decarbonisation, we’re going way too slow, and our targets are too low and too weak. Worst of all, we continue to open new gas and oil projects.

Why? Because each day the fossil fuel industry as a whole makes close to US$3 billion profit. 

That’s their 30 pieces of silver for selling out the human race. 

The profit motive has allowed them to ignore six increasingly frantic IPCC reports, the statement from the International Energy Agency that no more fossil fuel projects can be built after 2021 if we hope to keep the world safe, and reports from all over the world of record breaking temperatures and unprecedented weather events. 

And right now nearly 200 carbon bombs – oil and gas projects so polluting that each will result in at least a billion tonnes of GHG emissions, are being built around the world, including Woodside’s Burrup Hub/Scarborough facility.

The fossil fuel industry is showing reckless indifference to human suffering in the name of profit. They know that fossil fuels must end; but in pursuit of profit they’re not going to stop until we force them to do so. 

This industry corrodes our environment, our health, our politics and our society. 

But we don’t have to give up a safe future to profit these companies, who know they are on the wrong side of both morality and the future. 

And it will down come to us, the people.  

If we allow the climate emergency to unfold as it is doing, then as a species everything we have ever done, everything we are, and everything we might yet become will be lost. Our hopes and dreams, our stories, our healing, our arts and our science, our successes and our failures, our aspirations.

Humanity’s future now depends on the people like us all who cannot close their eyes and will not turn away. 

So here we are, the people who understand that for evil to triumph, all that is needed is for good people to stay quiet and do nothing. 

So to Woodside and Chevron, and Santos, and Inpex, and AGL, to Origin, to all the fossil fuel industries, understand that we will never give up, we will never go away, and we will not allow you to destroy our health, our environment, and our future.

AN unpopular traffic diversion trial that divided a North Perth neighbourhood has been called in for review early.

In February Vincent council installed a concrete barrier to diagonally block off Leak Street and Alma Road for a six-month trial. 

It was intended as a traffic calming measure that was only supported by a slim number of nearby residents, and a far larger majority wanted it gone (“Diversion disaster,” Voice, March 11, 2023).

The barrier’s made getting around that patch of North Perth so circuitous that some residents don’t even go to the North Perth Plaza shops anymore, instead just opting to get out of the tangled maze and drive up a straight road to Dog Swamp shopping centre.

Cars have been seen whizzing down laneways instead, or driving on the footpath to get through the diversion.

So far 470 have signed an online petition calling for the barrier’s removal, along with a 96-signature written petition.

Safety

Lead petitioner Leon Firios told the April council meeting: 

“There is some urgency to get the diversion resolved sooner, rather than later… there are safety issues at the site itself, and there are issues in the surrounding streets including around a primary school. 

“So standing here today, the risk of something going wrong is reasonably foreseeable and the longer the delay in sorting out the diversion, the more acute that risk becomes.”

The council was split 6-3 last August when it voted go ahead with the trial, estimated to cost $35,000 – $60,000. 

But last week they were unanimous in voting to call for an early review of the trial.

A motion from Cr Susan Gontaszewski requested the council staff present an early report on the trial at the next meeting to look at traffic data and consider addressing resident concerns about safety issues stemming from the diversion. 

Council staff had been against the diagonal diversion in the first place, recommending against it due to the likelihood that it’d just send traffic into smaller surrounding streets. 

A preliminary report says traffic data confirms nearby roads and laneways “have been negatively impacted upon”, and smaller roads are getting heavy vehicles that previously used Alma. 

The report will be back at the May meeting for councillors to decide whether to end the trial three months early. 

A lot of residents criticised the permanent-seeming nature of the trial barrier, being a whole concrete kerbing setup instead of something more temporary like planter boxes or water-filled barriers. It’ll probably cost about $15,000 to pull it all up.

by DAVID BELL

NUMBERED marbles, each representing a day of the year, placed in a barrel. 

A number randomly picked by hand corresponded to the days of the year, and if you were a 20-year-old man and your birthday came up, you’d be required to present yourself for national service.

For Bruce Wiltshire, marbles were drawn out for both he and his brother, which was almost unheard of. They faced being conscripted to join the fight in the Vietnam War.

“They weren’t allowed to pick on a family, take two,” Mr Wiltshire says. 

When his mother questioned the army about what to do, the response was every family’s nightmare. 

His parents were informed they had to choose which son would go to war. 

Bruce, describing himself as the “rough and tumble one”, was chosen. 

“Because I’m here I suppose, I’m definitely pleased that they did,” he says.

As Anzac Day approaches, Australia and New Zealand remember the sacrifice made by veterans and those in active duty, helping to continuing their legacy.

Mr Wiltshire grew up in Geraldton and recalls a wonderful childhood revolving around sports, in particular sailing and hockey. 

Conscripted

Once he was conscripted, however, he had to grow up quickly. Approaching his 21st birthday he had nearly completed an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner, which the army allowed him to complete. 

He was then sent for a 10-week training course at Puckapunyal in Victoria, describing it as “quite intense”.

“We changed from boys to men,” he says. 

His next destination was Sydney, to the School of Military Engineering where volunteers were requested for water transport. 

Mr Wiltshire, an avid sailor, shot his hand straight up and nudged his mate next to him to do the same. 

He thought the water would have to be better than crawling through tunnels and coming across mines.

His mate was not as convinced: “I get seasick,” he told him. 

Eighteen months later that same friend thanked Bruce as he ended up landing a job as a stevedore, organising and loading the ships. 

Once in Vietnam, Mr Wiltshire was assigned as an engineer on the ships, taking tanks and fuel trucks out and around a fight up the coast, instead of risking transportation on land. 

Based in Vũng Tàu, he and his comrades would also rebuild villages that had been bombed. 

Around the same time, he started studying the weather, and has done so ever since: “So now they call me the weatherman in our family,” he says. 

Mr Wiltshire said the Anzacs got along with the Americans.

The US Navy had bigger vessels, and often they’d get into mischief with each other in Saigon.

“We would quite often raid their sea containers and gear that we couldn’t get,” he adds. 

In Vũng Tàu they made friends on the US Navy’s food supply vessels.

“They use to swap food with us for beer because we had the large Fosters cans and they reckon the only thing they’d seen in cans like that was their automobile oil,” he says.

Christmas

“We would get real food, a real chicken or a turkey on Christmas.

“We had a lot of fun there, other times it wasn’t as fun when you were getting shot at.” 

By the end of his tour, Bruce had vowed never to return to Vietnam as he felt he’d had enough, but one particular building, he can still picture in his mind: “the Grand Hotel, which was a massive French building,” he marvels. 

Mr Wiltshire will be staying in the Grand with his wife  when they return to Vietnam in November for the Water Transport Association’s 50-year reunion.

A rough journey through the South China Sea allowed the soldiers to return home, eager to live normal lives. 

Mr Wiltshire, decided to enlist in the army permanently because there was no guarantee he wouldn’t be put back in the firing line.

Instead, he earnt his engineer’s ticket and began a career on ships of all sorts. 

Now retired, he continues his loves of boats, attends the gym, supports the West Coast Eagles and is proud of the family he has created. 

Anzac Day is about “remembering and supporting those who went before us,” Mr Wiltshire says. 

A day full of tradition, his grandfather, father, mother and now son have all been involved with the armed forces, a fact that makes him proud and helps him to remember why Anzac Day is celebrated.

by KEELIE PAATSCH

TODAY’S tale from Vincent’s local history librarians is about Horry’s Tree, planted as thousands of Aussies and New Zealanders left WA for the battlefields of Europe, and the young girl it inspired who’s off on the learning experience of a lifetime.

MT HAWTHORN student Elizaveta Fedotova is one of 10 student ambassadors selected to take part in the Premier’s Anzac Student Tour in 2023.  

The Bob Hawke College student has just departed for a historical study tour of Sydney and New Zealand with her co-ambassadors to explore key sites related to World War II.   

Since 2004, more than 200 WA students have been selected for tours to commemorate the service and sacrifice of service men and women. 

Students are selected from written submissions and interviews where they demonstrate their interest in Australian history and an understanding of the Anzac legacy.

For her application, Elizaveta was inspired by the local story of Horry’s Tree, a large Moreton Bay Fig tree which stands near the Mitchell Freeway entrance off Vincent Street.   

Promise

The tree was planted in 1915 by former Leederville resident and dairyman Horace ‘Horry’ Thompson. 

Mr Thompson planted the tree beside his home in Melrose Street as an arboreal promise to his family that he would return from the war. 

He never saw the sapling become a tree as he was killed on a French battlefield in 1917.

He left behind his three children and widow Lily, who died shortly after in 1921. 

The Thompson children were raised by their grandmother and helped by neighbours.  

Over the years, neighbour Dorothy Jenkins stood vigil over Horry’s Tree, staving off attempts to cut it down during construction of the Mitchell Freeway.  

Mr Thompson’s grandniece Fay Maughan compiled a history piece about the tree in 2014: 

“Dorothy was the keeper of that tree…Dorothy used to go down there every day and make sure they didn’t bulldoze it,” she wrote. 

Dorothy died in 2014 aged 94, just before Ms Maughan’s history was completed and received a City of Vincent local history award. 

The tree was heritage listed by Vincent in 2016 in recognition of its contribution to the community’s sense of place. 

It sits beside the freeway and has inspired a new generation of locals like Elizaveta to understand and appreciate the impacts of war on families and communities.

“The story of Horry’s Tree offers an opportunity to reflect not only on the sacrifices of the Anzac heroes, but also on the generosity, compassion and a true patriotic spirit of all Australians who helped during the Great War on the home front,” she said.

“Horry died defending our country, but his tree even today serves as a reminder of the terrible cost of war and, at the same time, of the love and compassion that existed between Australian families and our communities.  

Not forgotten

“I hope that none of these people are ever forgotten, and that Horry’s Tree lives on to tell the story for many generations to come.”

Ms Maughan’s story of Horry’s Tree is available at the Vincent Local History Centre.  

To commemorate Anzac Day, local history legend Anne Chapple OAM and filmmaker and writer Dawn Farnham will be holding a behind-the-scenes talk on the making of 

a documentary film about the women of Anzac Cottage at the centre. 

Budding filmmakers and local history enthusiasts are welcome to attend the talk on 26 April, 10am. To book a place, email local.history@vincent.wa.gov.au or call 9273 6090.  

LIKE the sugar hits nutritionists warned were being encouraged, the huge hype that saw Perth supermarkets mobbed by teens trying to get their hands on Prime drinks seems to have disappeared. “Parents back ban on Prime,” Voice, Saturday April 1, 2023).

Launched as a collaboration between popular media figures Logan Paul and KSI, Prime caused a frenzy when it was released in Woolworths stores across Perth on March 26. 

“We sold out in the first three hours,” one Woolies staffer told the Voice, describing the teens’ desire as “insane”. 

“We were ravaged with people asking for Prime … at least 10 people per shift.”

But health experts were quick to raise concerns about the energy and hydration varieties of the drink. While Prime Energy’s 56mg of caffeine per 100ml far exceeds Australian food standards regulation and it’s banned from sale, it is readily accessible for purchase on eBay and similar platforms.

Prime Hydration’s use of preservatives and synthetic sweeteners such as sucralose also concerned health experts, who warned it could push kids towards a habit of sipping on sweet drinks.

This triggered widespread bans by WA schools including Mt Hawthorn Primary. 

But by last week sales of Prime seemed to have slumped, with a Woolies staffer telling the Voice they’d only managed to move one crate of the drink from their store in over a week.

And despite the hyper-inflated price people were prepared to pay to get their hands on one at the end of March, the store was unable to sell more Prime despite offering it on discount.

The Root Cause founder Belinda Smith says it’s possible parents were responding to the health concerns and school bans and stopping their kids buying Prime, while kids might have also been getting the message.

“The media and schools are part of our surroundings, so… what they’re role modelling influences not just parents, but also children.”

“Having no added sugar does not make any drink healthier,” Ms Smith said.

Instead Prime Hydration relied on “sweeteners which are yet to be proven to be safe over the long term”.

The Root Cause recently released an article supporting the schools which banned Prime, but also partnered with the Obesity Policy Coalition’s Jane Martin.

“The government needs to take a more proactive role when it comes to advertising foods and drinks to children,” Dr Martin said, noting the use of social media celebrities such as Paul and KSI had fuelled Prime’s initial frenzy.

by LAUREN CAMPBELL