Perth Voice Interactive

DISCONTENT over the Perth Festival taking fossil fuel funding is growing this year, with activists gathering outside events mirroring long-running protests at previous Fringe Festivals. 

Artists and activists from Extinction Rebellion WA and Drummers for Climate Action put on their own performance outside Perth Concert Hall on March 5 ahead of the Perth Festival’s Become Ocean event. 

The WA Symphony Orchestra performance is an orchestral ode to the seas based on composer John Luther Adams’ concerns over climate change, and it’s sponsored by offshore oil specialists Woodside Petroleum. 

XRWA’s Fiona Moran said of the night: “We wanted the public to know that they can join us to help put pressure on the government to listen to the science and do what they must to protect us,” particularly taking aim at Woodside’s plan for the Scarborough gas project which she says will be about as environmentally friendly as 15 coal-fired stations. 

TWO eye-pleasing patches of Mount Hawthorn may soon have their aesthetic preserved as “character areas”, with a workshop to discuss the details coming up on March 9.

Kalgoorlie Street’s block of homes between Ashby and Berryman Streets – along with all of Wilberforce Street’s residences – would be covered by the character areas if residents are supportive.

Character areas don’t prevent demolition but you have to at least make any new development or renovations fit in with what’s valued about the current “visual character” of the area.

Kalgoorlie Street has a lot of 100-year-old homes and some contemporary designs, while most of Wilberforce’s houses are original character homes dating back to 1900.

Mayor Emma Cole said: “We are lucky in Vincent to have beautiful leafy streets filled with character homes and history. 

Extensions

“Wilberforce Street and Kalgoorlie Street are unique streets and the residents have let us know they are keen to better define this,” Ms Cole said.

“We are seeking residents’ views on what characteristics they love about these streets and how the City of Vincent could encourage keeping the character and better manage house extensions and new developments to complement this.”

Wilberforce Street resident Ellie Savory lives in a house built in 1924 and is keen on the character area proposal.

“Wilberforce Street is so unique in that it is overwhelmingly intact in its original architecture,” Ms Savory said via a Vincent council release.

“I hope that more Vincent property owners take this opportunity to preserve the character and ambience of their street, block or suburb.

“The great cities of Europe, which travellers flock to, are ones that have preserved their architectural histories and we should too.”

The workshop’s in Mount Hawthorn Lesser Hall at 197 Scarborough Beach Road from 5.30pm on March 9, otherwise imagine.vincent.wa.gov.au has an online survey, and submissions close March 21.

The council’s only planning to go ahead if locals are supportive, as historically attempts to bring in character areas or heritage areas have been an uphill battle. 

Last year the council considered making a much wider area of Mount Hawthorn into a character retention area, but late in the process several residents staunchly objected. 

SENIORS living in Mertome Village are feeling “very hurt, unwanted, and disrespected” over a massive $250,000 rates bill they believe they were never supposed to pay. 

Bayswater council built Mertome on Winifred Road in 1972 and it was likely the first council-provided aged care service in WA. 

For most of its lifespan the village was run by either the council or a not-for-profit so rates weren’t payable, and when residents moved in they signed a contract which made it clear they wouldn’t have to pay rates. 

But in 2019 Bayswater council was looking to get out of the aged care game. Most Mertome residents were uneasy about the move but the council decided running and renovating retirement villages to a modern standard was getting costly and handed over management of the 100-unit village to Hall & Prior Aged Care Group.

“The decision was made with the best interests of residents in mind,” then-mayor Dan Bull said back in 2019 when the divestment was finalised. “Hall & Prior have an excellent reputation for providing quality aged cares services.”

One problem was that the handover to a private company meant the property was now rateable.

That means $250,000 in rates arrears is due, along with future yearly rates bill. 

Either Hall & Oates has to pay it, or it’ll be passed on to the seniors living there. Ongoing annual bills will be about $925, if they qualify for pensioners rebates. 

Mertome residents attended the February 22 Bayswater council meeting, angry and upset at the unexpected expense many would struggle to pay. 

One resident said he’d been told many times by Bayswater council “our contracts are concrete” and they were never supposed to pay rates.

“We don’t own the land, we don’t own the buildings, and yet they want rates from us,” the resident said. “If anyone should pay rates it should be Hall & Prior.”

Mertome resident Maxine Whitner asked: 

“What consideration has been given to the effects these unexpected expenses may have on elderly residents’ physical, mental and emotional health, given that many have no income other than their pension.

“It was a decision by Bayswater council which puts this impost on Hall & Prior which possibly makes it more difficult for them to be a more viable company, and obviously they were going to pass it on to us which must have been very obvious to the councillors.

“Many Mertome residents have spent most of their life in Bayswater. The City of Bayswater in the past had a record to be proud of in looking after its seniors. 

“These same seniors are now feeling very unhurt, unwanted, and disrespected.”

The city’s corporate director Lorraine Driscoll responded: “The city is very conscious of the impact on residents and 

is speaking with Hall & Prior about this. But unfortunately the fact remains that there is a rates bill outstanding and going into the future rates notices will be raised.”

Best interests

Bayswater CEO Andrew Brien said the decision to transfer Mertome to Hall & Prior was made in the best interests of residents, given the challenge for the council to upgrade or develop its aged care facilities.

“The city is confident that Hall & Prior is best placed to meet the needs of residents of Mertome Retirement Village now and into the future,” Mr Brien said.

“They have committed to refurbishing the facilities.

“As Hall & Prior are a profit-making business, they are required to pay rates in the City of Bayswater. It was Hall & Prior’s decision to pass the rates bill onto their residents.

“Mertome Retirement Village was formerly operated by Juniper (United Churches), a not-for-profit organisation, who were exempt from paying rates.

“The requirement to pay rates was outlined in the Business Sale Agreement signed by the city and Hall & Prior in 2019. 

“The city has not received any rates income since 2019. If rates are not paid this would have a significant impact on the city’s budget and its ability to provide services and facilities to the community. It is only fair that rates burden be shared by all businesses in the community.”

by DAVID BELL

FORMER Bayswater mayor Dan Bull says the council is trashing its “Garden City” motto by allowing too many healthy verge trees to be cut down. 

Bayswater used to make it near impossible for residents to remove a tree from the council-controlled verges; sometimes even getting a thorough pruning was tricky. 

At the October 2021 council elections the balance of power shifted as councillor Filomena Piffaretti became mayor and councillor Josh Eveson was elected. Their campaigns for a “common sense” approach to tree management were a response to residents unhappy with the strict regime. 

Now a majority of the council has heeded demands from residents in Mercury Place, Morley, to remove a healthy willow myrtle. 

Homeowners Christian and Giuseppina Torre say the tree’s roots hinder the lawn and damage the garden, and leaf fall means “we spend endless hours cleaning the gutters to stop them overflowing and getting blocked when it rains”.

Petition

Everyone on the street signed the petition to have it removed, and given the clear message from Mercury Street, Crs Piffaretti, Eveson, Catherine Ehrhardt, Assunta Meleca, Steven Ostaszewskyj and Michelle Sutherland agreed to let them cut it down. 

Mayor Piffaretti said: “I’ve been on council over four years now and this is unique in the fact that I don’t think we’ve ever received a petition… where the entire street ‘100 per cent of the street’ has signed the petition”. 

The myrtle provides 114sqm of canopy and was estimated as being worth $9,072 under the Helliwell tree amenity evaluation system. But councillors decided to only impose a $500 fee on the Torres to pay for two new trees at nearby Arbor Park.

Cr Dan Bull, who was mayor until October 2021, voted against the felling and said “if this council likes to wear the Garden City motto as a badge of honour as I know many councillors do, cutting down trees like this, I think, is really trashing that motto”.

Also opposed were Crs Lorna Clarke, Giorgia Johnson, Sally Palmer, and Elli Petersen-Pik.

“With all due respect, that magnificent tree… is not owned by the people who live along that street,” Cr Petersen-Pik said. “It is owned by all the ratepayers of the City of Bayswater.”

He said Bayswater currently has a tree canopy coverage of 14.2 per cent while they’re supposed to be aiming at 20 per cent by 2025. “Obviously at this pace, removing trees, we’ll never get to that target.”

Thousand cuts

Cr Clarke warned approving too many tree removal requests could lead to “death by a thousand cuts”.

Mercury Place only has two verge trees. 

The same night councillors approved the felling of the willow myrtle they received another petition from Mercury Place residents asking for the other one a few houses down to be removed, to be considered at a future meeting. 

by DAVID BELL

PERTH council house was lit up with the depiction of a sunflower this week in support of Ukraine as the former Soviet state faces Russian invasion. 

The sunflower is Ukraine’s national flower and it became a prominent symbol of peace in 1996: When Ukraine completed nuclear disarmament, sunflowers were planted in fields atop dismantled nuclear silos. 

Ukranian sunflowers gained a special link to Australia after the Malaysian airways flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Russia separatists and crashed near a Ukrainian sunflower field in 2014. Journalists Paul McGeough and Kate Geraghty collected seeds from the field and brought them back to families of the 38 Australian victims.

Last week the flowers of peace became a symbol of resistance with footage of a Ukrainian woman handing Russian soldiers seeds to keep in their pockets, “so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here”. 

Along with council house, lights in Kings Park, Matagarup Bridge, and the Adelaide Terrace overpass also lit up in the blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag, joining global landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and London’s Nelson’s Column.

EAST PERTH residents have had a long-running wish granted with more lighting coming to their suburb, kicking off with a blinged out pedestrian bridge over Adelaide Terrace.

More light’s been a main request from locals for years, and in February 2021 East Perth Community Group treasurer Lesley Warren told councillors the bridge is meant to be a landmark and gateway, but its surrounds have “very little lighting” and are “unsafe and uninviting” (“Into the light”, Voice, March 6, 2021).

Perth council’s currently in the midst of a multi-million renewal of the street pole lights, and adding artistic lighting on Adelaide Terrace stemmed from a motion by Cr Sandy Anghie.

The bridge switch was flicked on this week, and lord mayor Basil Zempilas said “it is fantastic that the City of Perth has an entry statement and the timing is perfect as we begin welcoming returning West Australians and visitors back to Perth.

“This bridge is a great example of community and council working together on projects.”

The bridge lights can be set to match illumination on Council House, and on Tuesday night both were lit up yellow and blue – the colours of Ukraine’s flag.

by DAVID BELL

PLANS for East Perth’s Common Ground homeless support accommodation have been approved despite some lingering concerns from nearby locals.

On March 1 the joint state government/Perth council Development Assessment Panel approved the 112-unit tower, which is based on a 1990s New York model of providing high-support housing to chronically homeless people. 

There are some conditions to the approval that’ll have to be met before the state can start building:  They’ll have to prove the design is liveable, because the current plan doesn’t include air conditioners in the units.

Air-con

Perth council planning staff have “raised concerns about the ability to provide a comfortable internal environment for future occupants of the building” the DAP report says. 

The state’s designers reckon the building is so energy efficient it’ll be fine with just fans, but the DAP required they “undertake Dynamic Thermal Modelling to demonstrate the dwellings can accommodate a comfortable internal environment without air conditioning”.

While the complex will have round-the-clock security and services on site, some nearby residents are still uneasy. 

Nine objections from nearby landowners were lodged, with the bulk coming from the Wellington Place apartments at 125 Wellington Street. 

The new building’s 17-storey height and overshadowing were among concerns, but most objections focussed on it being located there at all. 

“I believe that this is not the right location to house the homeless, as, amongst other things, there is a busy children’s playground almost directly opposite,” one objector wrote. “The social issues that are inevitable when there is a high concentration of people with mental problems will make the playground, and indeed the entire surrounding area, unsafe.”

Back when the plans were lodged in November 2021 Mr Carey told the Voice: “I do get some feedback from people saying ‘push these services outside of the city’.

“You find rough sleepers in the city because there is activity, there are people, they feel safer, there is a hospital – you need to have services in the city.” 

He said it’ll provide safe and secure accommodation, with wrap-around supports on site to help get people off the streets permanently.

It’s currently pegged for a 2024 opening.

by DAVID BELL