Perth Voice Interactive

A COALITION of animal protection organisations, led by WA-based not-for-profit Stop Live Exports, have unveiled a new campaign against live animal export leading up to the looming federal election, while claiming cruelty has continued to this week.

The Keep The Sheep Here campaign will feature a digital advertising and billboard blitz, and election discussion paper highlighting the ongoing suffering of Australian sheep in the live export trade.

The organisations say the Nationals’ pledge to overturn legislation phasing out the trade if the Opposition wins government placed animal suffering squarely on the ballot paper.

Stop Live Exports WA spokesperson Ruth Gourley says it defies common sense and decency.

“The live sheep export trade is cruel, outdated and unnecessary, and it’s not supported by the overwhelming majority of fair-minded Australians, and that includes Western Australians,” Ms Gourley said.

“A reversal of the phase out would cause outrage within the community and we’re going to make sure people across the country are fully aware of where all parties and candidates stand on this brutal and unnecessary trade.”

Tangney will be one of the electorates targeted by the campaign, with adverts featuring images of Australian sheep suffering from heat stress as well as cruel handling and slaughter practices in importing countries

Alliance for Animals policy director Jed Goodfellow said the phase-out made sense for both animal welfare and economic reasons which is why it resonated with most Australians.

“The trade is already on the way out, with or without the phase-out legislation, having shrunk by over 90 per cent in the past 20 years and hitting a record low of just 419,000 sheep in 2024 – that’s a 34 per cent drop from the previous year,” Dr Goodfellow said.

“It’s time to focus on the significant value-adding opportunities that come with keeping the sheep here, processing them in Australian supply chains, by Australian workers, to Australian standards.

“This is the future and there’s a $139.7 million transition package on the table to help the industry secure it.”

FREMANTLE’S community-backed independent candidate, Kate Hulett, has launched a suite of climate policies, citing overwhelming support for climate action as the community’s top concern. 

The announcement, made ahead of the March 8 WA state election, sets the tone for what Hulett describes as a “grassroots response to government inaction” and followed several months of interviews, surveys and holding stalls at markets to collate which issues were troubling the electorate.

“So all of the information that’s gathered is put into a program which divvies it all up into the right areas, and then it extracts the key issues that have come up,” Ms Hulett said.

“Of course, a community of 22,000 people, there’s all sorts of different concerns and issues and dreams and hopes, but the number one issue was climate change, environment and biodiversity, by an absolute country mile.

Ms Hulett’s platform includes a statewide ban on fracking, a halt to new and expanded fossil fuel projects—including the gradual winding down of operations on Murujuga—the permanent protection of Scott Reef, and reforms to prescribed burning practices in the South West. She also wants the Environmental Protection Authority “genuinely independent and well-funded.”

There’s a distinct similarity between her policies and many of the Greens , which has been a talking point around town all week, particularly after many of the party faithful attended last week’s campaign launch, but she doesn’t see it as a big problem.

“There’s a few things to say with that question. One is that we shouldn’t choose our political parties like our football teams. We should choose them on the policies that they release. So it’s fine to move around.

“Second part is that a good idea is a good idea, and I fully agree with many of the Greens policies,” she said.

“What this community, independent campaign movement offers is that it’s very specifically representing that community and not a party.

Party room

“So there may be people who have always voted greens, that may vote for me because they think ‘I want my voice and my neighbour’s voices and my street’s voices to be heard as a priority over what a party room might decide’.

“It’s not about blocking ideas or being opposite or fighting, it’s about working for the best outcomes for the community, while party politics is working for the outcomes of perhaps the national kind of party.

“And of course, all of our communities are very different. What we want in Fremantle differs enormously what people in Joondalup might care about,” she told the Herald.

The inclusion of Scott Reef—a biodiversity hotspot—in Hulett’s platform reflects both local awareness of broader environmental priorities. “We live by the ocean, and Fremantle has an affinity with the sea,” she said. “Why would we ever undertake industrial projects that threaten our incredible, pristine coastline?”

Hulett also highlighted the decline in Fremantle’s tree canopy as a pressing local issue. “We have such a low canopy cover in Fremantle,” she said, praising council efforts to plant more trees but calling for state-level action.

 “We need canopy targets for the state, and we don’t have them, and then they need to be more ambitious.

She says WA’s planning laws, which have been overhauled heavily during Labor’s last term, don’t have a point at which trees are prioritised.

“Living heritage is treated opposite from our built heritage, which isn’t right.

“In the Esplanade Park, there’s those clusters of pine trees that 112 years ago or something, a councillor planted for masts. 

“I think, ‘what an incredible legacy a copse of stuff trees is to give’.

Imagine if our leaders were thinking about positive legacies that they can give to generations which they’ll never meet; that is the sort of leadership we want

Hulett also criticised the role of big money in WA’s politics, particularly donations from fossil fuel companies. 

“They’re not donating money because they’re philanthropic or because they’re supportive through the good of their own hearts, they’re donating money because they want something.”

by STEVE GRANT

I HAVE experienced many journeys in my 72 years of life.

A current one is the Parkrun adventure, incorporating community, outdoor activity and visiting beautiful sites at various Park Runs in metropolitan Perth.

A growing movement, there are now 34 parkrun sites around the city, 21 of which I have made my way around with thousands of others. 

Check out the Parkrun map for their easy access – you’ll no doubt find one close to you.

Parkrun began 20 years ago in England and has since grown to approximately 2,500 sites worldwide, including 500 in Australia.

These numbers are increasing all the time, recent additions including Lake Monger (Galup) and South Perth, due I think to providing a community space where there are no divisions, only support and fun. 

Run fast, slow, walk, push a pram, lead your dog (not at all runs), it’s up to you.

By the way it’s free, FREE!!, that’s correct and as all runs are managed by volunteers, you can also participate and contribute at that level and learn new skills.

The courses are 5km and you will never be last, as all events have a tail walker who is there to fill that position, also a volunteer.

To join, simply register at the website, https://www.parkrun.com.au/, copy your barcode number and remember to always take it with you to all runs for your results to be acknowledged and registered.

Also I recommend registering in the 5k app, free also and all your results will be available, including great statistical information and maps.

Sounds simple; it is, so I’ll see you there!”

by CHRIS O’CONNOR

ARTISTIC swimming is back in Melville as the SupaNova club returns to its home at Booragoon LeisureFit. 

Founded in 2015, SupaNova had called Booragoon home until the centre’s year-long renovations, having to relocate to the Perth High Performance Centre in Mount Claremont. 

SupaNova vice president Lesley Enzor says the “combination of athleticism and endurance” of artistic swimming makes the sport “incredibly unique” in WA. 

“The athletes have to have the endurance of a marathon swimmer, and combine that with the grace of a ballet dancer and the flexibility of a gymnast, whilst being upside down,” Ms Enzor said. 

“It requires an awful lot of skill… it’s probably one of the only sports where you have to work exactly in unison with the person right next to you.”

The completed renovations also signalled a name change for the sport once known as synchronised swimming, to “better reflect the difficulty”. 

WA, and SupaNova itself, have their fair share of representation even at Olympic level, including Amie Thompson, Alessandra Ho, and Hannah Burkhill, who all represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics. 

The national team also trains at the Perth High Performance Centre. 

It’s a growing sport in WA, according to Ms Enzor, and despite the high skill level required, it’s not as inaccessible as it may seem. 

“It’s a much smaller sport than say football and cricket, but nevertheless, WA has a large representation [of athletes] at a national level,” Ms Enzor said.

“We’ve got everything from complete beginners to Olympians, including over 60s classes too.

“We go from all ages and all levels, right up to our junior squad, five athletes of which are on national teams.”  

SupaNova head coach Ana Mendigutxia Balil says it is “everything” to be back at the pool in Booragoon because the renovations, although necessary, had an impact on the number of people at the club. 

“We lost a lot of athletes when the pool shut down, because families need to work around their schedules to get their children to training,” Ms Mendigutxia Balil said. 

“The places that we moved to ended up being up to an hour for the families to get to, and because artistic swimming is a very competitive sport that you need to train a lot for, it was very challenging. 

“It’s pretty important for us to be back at Booragoon, because it’s a very good location, it’s easy for all of the families to get to, and this is where we started.” 

One of the key aims in relaunching the club is to get more men and boys into the sport, according to Ms Enzor, so they will be running male-only come-and-try sessions. 

Last year’s Paris Olympics were the first in which men were allowed to compete in the artistic swimming events. 

“The gender barrier has just been there for so long,” Ms Enzor said.

“We’re trying to raise awareness of the fact that it’s a combination of swimming, gym work, and strength, it’s not all makeup and jewels on your swimming costume.” 

SupaNova will be relaunching on Saturday, February 9, which will include free classes and demonstrations. 

Paris Olympic team members Margo Joseph-Kuo, Zoe Poulis, and Georgia Courage-Gardiner, alongside coach and two-time Olympian Amie Thompson, will be in attendance. 

More information is available on the SupaNova Artistic Swimming Club website.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER