BAYSWATER council is set to appoint an independent investigator to look into minor complaints against councillors.
Earlier this week the council voted on a complaints policy to go with its new Code of Conduct, with the investigator to report to full council on whether a breach has occurred and if any recalcitrant councillor needs to undertake training.
The policy also opens the way for mediation between a complainant and a councillor.
But the council barely has the budget to cover the two complaints already lodged under the new code (a third was deemed not to meet the criteria).
A report to this week’s council meeting said it would cost between $5000 and $10,000 to investigate a single complaint, but the council’s legal expenses budget for councillors is just $20,000. The council item recommends that be topped up at an upcoming budget review.
Taking a leaf out of WA’s Corruption and Crime Commission, any complaint is to be kept confidential until the council decides a breach has occurred.
Ambulance Wish WA scored two retired (but spruced up) ambulances to get their noble charity up and running.
A NEW charity which was due to launch at City Farm Thursday (October 27) aims to give terminally ill people the chance to fulfil their dying wish.
Ambulance Wish Western Australia is part of an international movement which had its genesis in the Netherlands, and while Covid put a hold on its local launch last year, the recent donation of two retired ambulances has got things back on track.
AMWA board chair Susie Wilson said it was usually the little things that meant the most to people nearing the end of their life.
People often wanted to admire their own garden , feel the breeze of the ocean or simply be surrounded by loved ones and pets.
Honouring
“That is where Ambulance Wish can make such a difference, customising and honouring wishes to celebrate a person’s life and bring comfort to those closest to them – acknowledging that great care includes physical, mental and spiritual, and extends beyond the individual,” Ms Wilson said.
“Fulfulling wishes for those who have little time left will leave a lasting and memorable impact on all those involved.”
AMWA is fully funded by donors and run by volunteers, including qualified medical professionals who accompany the recipients to their wish.
For more information(and particularly to help out with a donation), head to ambulancewishwa.org.au or search for them on Facebook.
OVER 55s learning how to blow up Creepers with TNT is one of the quirky events held in the lead up to WA Seniors Week from November 7 – 14.
Melville council hosted the Minecraft tutorials for the over 55s so they could bond with their grandkids in the virtual gaming world, where you build things using blocks and fend off giant spiders and zombies.
There will be lots of events held across Greater Perth as part of WA Senior’s Week, but the showpiece is Have a Go Day on November 10 at Burswood Park.
Now in its 29th year, the free event for over 50s will have 190 stalls and acts like the WA Police Pipe Band performing throughout the day.
“This year there will be activities, clubs/groups displays, not-for-profit agencies and commercial agencies, as well as free tea, coffee and bottled water, and food vendors,” says Dawn Yates, Seniors Recreation Council of WA CEO.
“Covid is especially challenging for seniors, especially in the technology field and one of the exhibitors at the event addresses these challenges with information and the opportunity to talk face-to-face with people who can assist with technology questions and advice.
“In 2020, in excess of 14,000 seniors attended Have a Go Day”
As part of WA Senior’s Week, there will also be a series of events held across the city including a tour of Channel Nine with a morning tea with presenter Monika Kos.
Film buffs will love the special screenings of movies like Julia,a doco about the life of famous cookbook author Julia Child, at Palace Cinemas Raine Square.
There will also be $10 seniors tickets at Luna Palace Windsor Cinema and Lunx on SX in Fremantle.
For those wanting to update their will or concerned about inheritance, a free wills information session will be held by the Public Trustee at 553 Hay Street in Perth. For dates and times see trybooking. com/BSYIT.
If music is more your thing, you will enjoy the backstage tour of the Perth Concert Hall, which includes a walk-through of the orchestra pit, used by the likes of the London Symphony Orchestra and Ray Charles. It’s gold coin donation. Book at info@perthconcerthall.com.au.
Vincent Council’s On the Move Fitness Session is specifically for seniors and a good opportunity to socialise. It’s at the Vincent Community Centre on Loftus Street. To register call 6112 5808.
Over at the Bayswater Community Centre you can even make a kokedama (Japanese moss planting). Phone 9271 5198 for info.
For more info on WA Seniors Week and Have a go Day see srcwa.asn.au/have-a-go-day/
• The Underground is a steamy mix of melodrama, Latin dance and song.
A FIRE breathing dragqueen, flamenco and waacking feature in the breathless and highly entertaining dance-meets-cabaret show The Underground.
Set in an underground Latindance club, we follow the upheaval as a bunch of new performers join the stage show, causing rifts, affairs and all manner of steamy melodrama.
The ‘telenovela’ narrative – based on the overwroughtsoap operas of South America – unfolds through high energy dance and song, with the odd bit of narration from the fire breathing drag queen.
The Underground producer Natalie Oakes is also a dancer in the show and by the closing curtain is ready for a good lie down.
“The show is very demanding on the cast; it’s an hour and 25 minutes of almost non-stop high energy latin and r&b dance numbers, partnering and acrobatics (especially for the girls doing the whole thing in heels) -but it’s worth every gruellingsecond once we get out there,” she says.
“I play one of these new performers, a character called Rosalia, who develops feelings for one of the existing cast members – despite Angelita already being in a long term relationship with Carlito – and the rest you’ll have to come along to find out!
“This narrative is one of five smaller stories explored throughout the show, so there’s a lot of drama.”
Oakes says covid has forced some of WA’s best dancers and performers, normally touring the world in stage productions, to come home to roost.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have such a diverse pool of talent in Perth at the moment,” she says.
“The use of live percussion in the show creates a whole new layer to the performance, elevating the latin themed music. As dancers we thrive off performing to live percussion.
“Our show is themed around ‘heat’ and the fiery drama between the characters at the club, so it made sense to add fire performance to this season as a natural next step.”
The fire breathing drag queen/MC Regina Slay is played by well-known comic Dave Callan (Melbourne Comedy Roadshow, Spicks and Specks, Hey Hey It’s Saturday).
They’ll also be singing and waacking – a form of dance that originated in the gay clubs of Los Angeles during the 1970s disco era – which features flamboyant arm movements, posing and improvisation.
Back then, gay men waacking took inspiration from icons like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe, channelling their inner diva and breaking free from the social restraints of the day.
The Underground was very well-received by critics and audiences during its original run during the Perth Fringe, and Oakes says this time around they have amped up the steamy melodrama to fever pitch.
“From the live music and soundtrack that begs you to jump out of your seat and join the party, to the impressive lifts, acrobatics and fire tricks – it’s hard to not have a good night out,” she says.
“Last season the show didn’t have as much of a focus on the behind the scenes drama, but we’ve turned up the heat this time around and audiences are in for something special.”
The Underground is at the Royale Theatre at Planet Royale on Lake Street in Northbridge from November 5-7.
Situated on an elevated block in Dianella, the two “turrets” flanking the stylish balcony certainly have the air of a suburban castle; perhaps a remnant of when architecture took chances and everything wasn’t a cookie-cutter 4×2.
I imagine the owners enjoyed sitting on the balcony, gazing at the Eastern hills in the distance, while the soft clouds rolled across the horizon.
It’s the first time this four bedroom two bathroom home has been on the market and there’s plenty of surprises and highlights to enjoy.
With it’s parquetry flooring, decadent red drapes, Chesterfield couch and dark wooden furniture, the formal sunken lounge has tons of personality, perhaps hinting the owners lived up to the “Castle on Capri” moniker.
The kitchen has been renovated in a U-shape design, with granite-style benchtops contrasting with white cupboards and drawers.
The gas fire in the family room is a bit dated, but it has a lovely mantle and could easily be turned into a real talking point.
Likewise the curtains and pelmet is a bit old fashioned, but the glass sliding doors and windows let in plenty of natural light.
Out the back there is a large sheltered alfresco with neat brickwork, and the roof looks in top condition.
This area is huge with plenty of scope for putting in a pizza oven or an outdoor setting for relaxing and socialising with friends.
Surrounding the alfresco is a pretty raised garden bed with flowers and trees, softening the garden fence and shed.
There’s an ensuite bedroom with walk-in robe on the ground floor, as well as a formal dining room and lounge.
The three upstairs bedrooms are a decent size, have built-in robes and are well maintained, with two having access via French doors to the balcony.
Again some bits and pieces in the bedrooms are a bit dated, but the bones are good and it’s all cosmetic changes the buyer could do after moving in.
There’s also a bathroom and WC on the second level.
You won’t be tripping over each other in this home, which has a variety of living areas and plenty of space for the modern family, as well as a garage and room for four cars.
The house includes a seperate laundry, evaporative AC throughout and easy-care gardens.
Situated on a whopping 802sqm block on Capri Place, you are close to lots of cafes and shops including the Plaza and IGA Noranda, as well as schools like North Morley and Dianella Heights Primary Schools.
This family home has tons of character with a striking facade and glorious views.
‘Gypsy Goddess’ Margarita Leon’s unique headdresses are in hot demand as there’s a resurgence of Wiccan and Pagan beliefs across the country. She’s heading to the Sistahood Rising Festival in Fairbridge come November.
ARTIST Margarita Leon, or The Gypsy Goddess as she is known professionally, has had a very busy year.
She has dressed performers for festivals, created custom headpieces for weddings, hostedher first solo exhibition‘Goddess Rising’ inMay, and had four of her headdresses included in an exhibition raising funds for mental health.
The Spanish-born artist has been praised for her unique art form; crafting intricate headpieces from an array of materials often recycled, thrifted or even sometimes just picked up off the ground.
Unable to travel due to Covid, she also has friends from other countries send her materials unavailable in Australia.
What is more unorthodox, however, is her creative process.
Her consultations start with a chat about the customer’s expectations and materials they prefer, but all the while she is reading their “energy”.
“After the interview, I channel what they want the piece for, how they gonna wear it and how they want to feel. And then I create a piece,” she said.
For her own creations, the process is even more extraordinary.
“When I’m sleeping, I have these visions – like I had that headpiece coming into my dream and I had to find it. I had to find material. I had to make it happen. Sometimes I feel like the goddesses are coming to me so I create them so they can find a body to be human.”
The former flight attendant and theatre performer draws her inspiration from a wide range of cultures, often blending several into one piece.
It has only been this past year she has turned her art into a full-time job, and despite the success, it hasn’t come without challenges.
Some, especially online, have taken umbrage at the business name Gypsy Goddess, accusing her of cultural appropriation; she has even been refused entry to Facebook groups for artists unless she changes the name.
Gitanos
Leon, who is descended from Spanish gypsies, or ‘gitanos’ finds it rude and short-sighted.
“They were saying to me that I was racist … but I call myself Gypsy because I am proud of being a gypsy.”
Her grandmother was also a traditional witch, and despite being hesitant to apply the label to herself, Leon has certainly inherited some of these traits.
She has an altar, reads her own tarot every morning and channels goddesses – gods have recently been included as she works on more masculine pieces.
Deities are a strong theme of her work, but there are some witchy rituals.
“I just know that through my creativity I channel and heal women, so I don’t know how we call it … maybe witches do more rituals, but I have my rituals.”
“So, it’s more like I would say some mix between witch, visionary art and creativity.”
A former doyenne of WA’s witchcraft scene says Leon is part of a growing sisterhood around the country.
Tamara von Forslun was known as the Fremantle Witch Doctor when she opened up WA’s first Wiccan shop The Alchemist in the port city in the 80s, and while she’s now grounded in Queensland, before Covid struck had travelled the world as one of the pre-eminent experts on all things witchy.
Ms Forslun says uncertainty in the modern world draws people towards new beliefs.
“The thing with the culture or in witchcraft and things like that is that people are wanting to go back to nature,” she says.
Frank about the lure of witchcraft and paganism, she says people often mistakenly think it will allow them to escape rules.
“There’s always rules, whether it’s the rules of nature, rules of the gods, rules of the place or whatever.
Wish
“To be a witch is like a university degree; it takes years and years of training to understand the concepts of what it is.”
Ms Forslun, who was the face of witchcraft in Australia from the 1970s and led the charge to have Wicca recognised as an official religion, said few modern witches really knew where the name came from.
“The actual pronunciation of the word is ‘wish’,” she said, saying early Christian missionaries had mistakenly written down witch, where the ancient spelling had been ‘wicche’.
Witches, goddesses and more will be gathering from November 5 – 7 at the Fairbridge Festival in Pinjarra for the Sistahood Rising Festivals, where The Gypsy Goddess will be running a workshop.
The festivalwill have more than 60 workshops on everything from craft, dance and yoga to spiritual crystals and drumming.
ONE vote saw candidate Ross Ioppolo elected in Vincent’s south ward, with a formal challenge of the results now underway from nearest contender Joshua O’Keefe.
There were two spots going in south wardand incumbent Jonathan Hallett eased back in with 1,437 votes, followed by Cr Ioppolo with 979 and Joshua O’Keefe with 978.
Two weeks before the election Mr O’Keefe had implored supporters to vote, saying in a social media post: “Seats on council have been won by one vote before.”
After Saturday night’s count was tallied, returning officer Jennifer van den Hoek phoned the WA Electoral Commission for advice given how close the count was, before announcing the result that Crs Hallett and Ioppolo had won. Mr O’Keefe wasn’t at the count and no one lodged an objection before the result was announced.
The day after the count Mr O’Keefe publicly announced he wanted a recount, but has since stated a fresh election may be necessary as he’s not satisfied ballots were kept secure after the first count.
“Although I am not taking anything away from the top two candidates I am taking formal action to have the south ward recounted immediately,” he said.
“It is unacceptable for that not to be an automatic step. It should have been ordered to happen today and it wasn’t.
“I’ve asked for urgent advice from the CEO of Vincent and the returning officer what the options are given how tight the margin is.”
On Monday Mr O’Keefe lodged an “invalidity complaint”, which goes to a Court of Disputed Returns and he has a hearing date next month. The court has the power to call for a fresh election, or to declare a different candidate should have been elected. That declaration then goes out in a public notice and the local government minister decides what to do next.
North ward race was more decisive with new candidates nabbing two of the three available seats: Ron Alexander, a former footballer who was CEO of the WA sport and recreation department for 19 years, and Suzanne Worner, GM of Revelation Perth International Film Festival who runs UpBeat Events.
Cr Worner had campaigned along with incumbents Alex Castle and Joanne Fotakis.
Cr Castle was returned with 1,821 votes, Cr Alexander got 1,755, Cr Worner got 1,564, and Ms Fotakis missed out on getting back in with 1,380 votes. There were three spots because Sally Smith retired two years into a four-year term, so Cr Worner gets a mini two-year term.
Councillors were sworn in on Tuesday October 19 and councillors voted Cr Susan Gontaszewski deputy mayor for another term.
Bayswater’s first female mayor Filomena Piffaretti (right) and her deputy Catherine Ehrhardt.
BAYSWATER has a new mayor following a significant upheaval that saw Dan Bull replaced by his former deputy mayor Filomena Piffaretti, the first female mayor in the council’s history.
Bayswater is one of thefew remaining city councils where the mayor is chosen by councillors after the election, rather than being directly elected by voters.
On Monday October 18a slightly reshuffled council lineup met to appoint the mayor, and Crs Bull and Piffaretti nominated.
Cr Piffaretti said the community was looking for a new direction and the council ought to set a new course with new leadership, and after a 6/5 vote she was mayor.
The ballot is secret but Cr Bull was likely one supporter down after north ward incumbent Stephanie Gray lost a spot to Waterlands and skate park campaigner Josh Eveson, who Cr Piffaretti had supported.
Progressive
Both south ward councillors Catherine Ehrhardt and Elli Petersen-Pik nominated for deputy mayor. Cr Ehrhardt said “as our city and its community continues to evolve it is time to appoint a progressive, competent, and courageous leadership team that will reinstate our position as a positive and forward-thinking council”. Cr Petersen-Pik said he was independent, dedicated to working with everyone, said he didn’t drag arguments outside the chamber, and noted he had a track record of collaboration.
A 6/5 vote saw Cr Ehrhardt become deputy.
Also joining the Bayswater lineup is longtime resident Assunta Meleca, who works in education, founded a charity for motor neurone disease research, and who wants to restore Bayswater’s “Garden City” concept architected by her late father Frank Drago. She won the central ward seat, vacated by Barry McKenna who retired after 30 years in the job.
Cr Petersen-Pik handily won a three-candidate race in his south ward, and incumbents Lorna Clarke and Giorgia Johnson both solidly kept their West Ward seats.
The special council meeting was the first to be live-streamed, the final leg of a transparency motion from former councillor Chris Cornish in 2016.
VETERANS of the war in Afghanistan and the Gulf War are being sought by the Friends of Anzac Cottage to be included in this year’s Remembrance Day commemorations.
The cottage has strong links to Anzacs from Australia’s other major conflicts: The community built the cottage for wounded veteran John Cuthbert Porter. His daughter Marjorie Williams was born there and went on to serve in World War II.
Vietnam veterans restored the house and still meet there. Now FOAC is seeking younger veterans from the Vincent area to continue the story.
FoAC chair Anne Chapple, granddaughter of Private Porter, says “we are seeking to include the younger veterans in all of our operations and believe that the community needs to hear from veterans of the more recent conflicts”.
She says the Friends group recognises “younger veterans from the more recent conflicts such as the Gulf War and Afghanistan have stories of their experience in very different environments to the familiar landscape in Australia.
“We would like to give these young men and women the chance to work with usto continue to add to our knowledge of the war front and of the issues faced when they returned home,” Ms Chapple said.
Veterans from the Vincent catchment are invited to contact Ms Chapple on 0411 44 55 82 or chapan@highway1.com.au
Workzone East has become the first commercial building in WA to get carbon neutral accreditation.
THE CBD’s Workzone Eastbuilding has become the first carbon neutral commercial building in the state.
Building owners RF Corval and Cundall got experts from property consulting giants Knight Frank to fine-tune the operations over the past fewyears to run as energy-efficiently as possible.
Changes in light schedules, adding sensor lighting, upgrading to LEDs, and keeping tight controls on air-cons helped keep the power bill down.
Knight Frank’s Janitha Kaushal said the changes“reduced greenhouse gas emissions from 535,355 kg CO2 in 2017 to 349,960kg CO2 in 2021”. The remaining juice usedwas offset by buying carbon credits from the UN which uses the funds for renewable energy projects.
Perth Voice Interactive 