Perth Voice Interactive

A Development Assessment Panel member did not fall asleep at a crucial meeting on September 23 where the future face of Karrinyup was decided, the meeting’s chair has said.

Karrinyup resident Samara Kemp had raised the claim during question time at Stirling council’s September meeting, when she asked the council to pass on a request for the minutes of the DAP meeting to reflect that one of its five members was “asleep – or appeared to be”.

Ms Kemp also wanted the DAP member’s multiple disappearances during deputations to be noted.

The DAP ultimately approved three controversial apartment towers at the Karrinyup Shopping Centre, despite the opposition from Stirling council, which described the decision as “terrible”.

The minutes are now out and no naps or mid-meeting leavings are recorded.

The chair of the meeting, Francesca Lefante, is the only person authorised to give media comment and says her colleague had confirmed he did not fall asleep.

“He was sat next to me for the full meeting with the exception of a brief departure (of around two minutes) from the room,” Ms Lefante said.

“With the meeting running over more than four hours, with some 14 deputations, it is not unreasonable for members to depart the room for short periods of time to take a comfort break. 

“The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage has asked the City of Stirling to correct the minutes correctly indicating his departure.”

During Stirling’s meeting, planning director Stevan Rodich said the council admin prepared minutes for the DAP chair to confirm: “That includes when people leave the meeting. Not usually does it record their facial expressions or falling asleep at the table,” he said.

Ms Lefante said panel members were experienced in dealing with complex planning and development matters and often referred to their papers while deputations were being delivered.

“Panel members gave significant consideration to all elements of the proposal for Lots 7 and 12 Karrinyup Road, Karrinyup, resolving to approve the application subject to conditions. 

“The suggestion that any of the five panel members were less than fully engaged in what was an intense meeting to determine a complex application is offensive.”

A group of residents called on Stirling to mount a legal challenge over the DAP’s decision as it tramples over the council’s local planning rules, but the city’s declined to fight it.

By DAVID BELL

A WORLD-RECOGNISED odour expert with 20 years’ smelling experience has been brought in to conduct patrols and sniff out Vincent’s fried chicken odours. 

For 12 months residents around Lake Street just south of Hyde Park have been concerned by intense “greasy, rancid, burnt and garlic-like” fried chicken odours stemming from 7 Grams which advertises itself as serving up “irresistible fried chicken”.

A few months back council staff made the owners install a chimney, stack and ventilation system. But despite it meeting national standards it still wasn’t enough to diminish the smell, so in June residents petitioned Vincent council to take action. 

Vincent brought in the big guns: World-renowned odour expert Philippe Najean. Trained in France as a chemical engineer, he started an olfactometry lab in Paris in 2001, and led the French Standardisation Committee for dynamic olfactometry – a method of scientifically measuring odour concentration. He was one of the main odour policy advisers to France’s environment minister, and his olfactory sensitivity is tested according to AS/NZS standards.

Mr Najean’s furnished Vincent with a 26-page report detailing a series of odour patrols spent sniffing out the extent of Vincent’s fried chicken smells, detailing wind conditions and noting that when winds were high “an obvious odour from the restaurant could be recognised at a distance up to 100m from the restaurant’s stack, and a subtle odour at a distance up to 140m”. 

He concluded “the claims made by the residents about the odour impacts have been verified following six odour patrols performed in the vicinity of the restaurant under different wind conditions”.

The restaurant’s hood and grease captures and fume-extracting ducts appeared to be working efficiently, but the power of fried chicken is just too strong: “The air is still loaded with odorous compounds,” Mr Najean wrote. 

There’s no simple fix: Even boosting the stack by several metres won’t help since the odour will still get trapped by the Northbridge Hotel nearby. 

Mr Najean mentioned high tech solutions such as a “cold plasma/UV ionisation system or ozone injection technologies” that were designed for decontamination and antimicrobial measures, but noted the cost, power use, maintenance and space requirements made them a pretty unlikely solution for a chicken restaurant.

The only viable option left is to dilute the chicken plume at the ventilation stack before it’s emitted into the atmosphere.

Residents don’t think dilution is enough. Petitioner Lynley Coen told this week’s council briefing “once the odour’s inside my house, no amount of air freshener or oil burning can mask the smell that lingers for hours. The outcome being sought by residents is the cessation, not just the dilution of this polluting odour.”

Vincent staff have, for the first time in the council’s existence, issued the business a Health Act Notice requiring them to find some way to stop emitting odours. 

Ms Coen said: “I note the business has been given notice requiring cooking odours to be abated by November 23… by November 23 it will be 12 months that the neighbourhood has endured this odour, which I have stated here previously impacts on both the mental and physical wellbeing of residents.”

By DAVID BELL

A BUNCH of do-gooders are holding a concert later this month to raise money for refugees fleeing Afghanistan.

The Western Suburbs Do Gooders’ concert will be at the Wesley Church on the corner of William and Hay Streets on Sunday October 31 from 2pm and feature West Coast Charity Orchestra’s flagship ensembles.

WSDGers spokesperson Betty McGeever urged people to turn their compassion for refugees into action by buying tickets, with money raised going to the Centre for Asylum Seekers Refugees and Detainees.

“The work by CARAD is critical, as the instability in Afghanistan has visibly shown,” Ms McGeever said.

“When people fear for their lives they desperately seek to flee their homes with nothing much on their backs and significant support is required as they settle into their new homes and lives.”

Musos will also include West Coast Philharmonic, WA Wind Symphony, Perth Male Voice Choir, Jimjam and singer/songwriter Dawn Barrington.

Tickets ($35) include light refreshment and can be purchased from www. trybooking.com/BTWLE

LORD mayor Basil Zempilas wants Perth to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the AFL Grand Final stress test went down a treat, but the McGowan government isn’t getting on board til Covid’s disqualified. 

During grand final celebrations from September 19 to 26 there was about 70 per cent more pedestrian traffic in the city compared to the same week in 2020. 

“It is my belief we can be a city of big events and a city of big opportunities,” Mr Zempilas said in a statement.

“That’s why I am suggesting the City of Perth along with the state and federal governments make a serious bid for the Commonwealth Games 2026.”

Too costly

Back in 2018 the state government was considering nominating Perth as host for the 2026 games, but the bid was abandoned as too costly when the bill estimate came in at $1 billion.

That included $550m just to build a village for the competing athletes.

Three years on the state’s even less keen, countering with a statement pouring cold water on Mr Zempilas’s plan saying it’ll still cost a billion dollars, plus they have Covid and hospital funding to focus on. 

Likely bidders to host in 2026 are Sydney, the city of Victoria in Canada, and Shah Alam in Malaysia, and India and Sri Lanka are both pondering nominating a city. 

The last time Perth had a Commonwealth Games was in 1962 and we got a Beatty Park Leisure Centre out of it.

NESTING season has started for Hyde Park’s oblong turtles, and UWA researcher Aliza Khatun is calling on parkgoers to report any turtle nesting movements so next years’ hatchlings can be monitored.

“We need people’s help especially in the nesting season from October to February…to let us know if they see any turtles laying eggs,” Ms Khatun says.

“It’s not an easy task to find nests” if the laying turtles aren’t spotted and reported, as the turtles cover them over and they are nearly invisible.

Sex imbalance

Vincent council is funding UWA’s ongoing research into the lake’s turtles supervised by Roberta Bencini and Gerald Kuchling. It started in 2015 after reports of fewer hatchlings being sighted, and in previous years studies looked at whether the hatchling shortage could’ve stemmed a sex ratio imbalance among the adult turtles, or from fertility problems. But trapping and examining the adults showed a pretty even ratio and the females appeared fertile, and they were found to still be nesting. 

Ms Khatun is undertaking this new study for her PhD and says “my main objective is to determine the factors that affect survival and recruitment”–the hatchlings joining the rest of the population. Some eggs may not be hatching, and the ones that do could be being eaten by dogs or birds. 

She will also investigate the huge variation in egg incubation times. Usually these turtles’ eggs hatch in 60 to 230 days. But some of the nests that were laid last November didn’t hatch until September, around 300 days after they were laid. 

“It may depend on air temperature and soil temperature, humidity, and rainfall,” Ms Khatun says.

She has also found nests with no viable eggs: Some may have been eaten by ants, others appeared to be unfertilised. 

Once the nests are located they can be carefully monitored next hatching season when the babies emerge. 

This season Ms Khatun monitored 26 hatchlings that came from three nests. 

“We weigh them, measure them, and release them to observe the movement of the hatchlings and monitor if any predators attack them.”

Ms Khatun is from Bangladesh and hopes to use the findings here to help the endangered turtle population back home. 

“In our country, we need to take action and find management strategies to protect our turtles,” she says. The Bangladesh turtles are shorter necked but otherwise very similar, so it’s likely the same factors are affecting both populations.

The turtle is an important component for the ecosystem, both for its role in controlling insects through its diet, and because of what they can say about the ecosystem’s health: If there are no turtles, there may be a problem. 

The turtles will be regularly making their way out of the lake to nest, preferring to come out in the afternoon. If you see any, give them plenty of space but note where they’re headed and call 6488 2521.

by DAVID BELL

HOT cross buns, Easter eggs and Christmas jingles all seem to come earlier each year, now Perth federal Labor MP Patrick Gorman has joined in by officially launching his campaign for the next federal election before it’s even been called. 

Prime minister Scott Morrison can call an election any time between now and May with five weeks’ notice.  Mr Gorman believes the call is “imminent”.

“I am ready for an election to be called any day,” he says, launching his campaign on October 4. 

“It is possible an election could be held as early as November 20. But the Liberal Party is still yet to find a candidate for Perth.”

Last election the Liberals didn’t field anyone in federal Perth, figuring it’d be a forlorn hope. Mr Gorman reckons the lack of a candidate announcement suggests Perth’s not a part of their plan, but either way he’ll still run a community campaign doorknocking and holding mobile offices.

And he’s still preparing for Clive Palmer to loom over the vote.

“I am expecting Clive Palmer to spend millions in the Perth electorate. He hates our state and will be out for revenge at the election.”

While Mr Gorman’s taken aim at the TBD Liberal candidate for Perth, both parties have a few gaps in their candidate lineup at this stage. 

By DAVID BELL

PERTH’S booming real estate market will be safe from any jitters being felt in China’s housing market, says one of its most successful estate agents.

Harcourts Applecross principal and licensee Eric Hartanto, who recently ticked over $1 billion worth of sales and was awarded the REIWA grand master award for the ninth year in a row, said the Perth property sector was far from suffering.

“Anyone who has sold since Covid-19 hit has sold well, thanks to high demand and low supply,” Mr Hartanto said.

He said the demand from international buyers had already increased during Covid-19 as Perth was viewed as a “safe haven” due to its limited cases.

Once Western Australian’s borders reopen “we will be flooded by international buyers who want to move and live in Perth”, he said.

But looming is a potential shock to China’s economy caused by one of the world’s most indebted property developers, which some analysts warn could ripple outwards and cause the “next GFC”. 

The country’s second biggest property developer Evergrande Real Estate is struggling to repay a $400 billion debt and a trading halt was put on its shares this week after it missed a crucial interest payment. 

The company’s liquidity has been hammered by the 65 million empty apartments across China.

But Mr Hartanto doesn’t think the shockwaves will reach our shores.

“I don’t think the Chinese property market will directly affect our local Perth property market,” he said.

“The Perth property market does not have a large volume of Chinese buyers like in Melbourne and Sydney, we have a good combination of international and local buyers. 

“Buyers’ confidence is now very high, and they are investing their money back into the Perth property market,” he said.

He said Attadale and surrounding areas were still undervalued for the kind of lifestyle and amenities they offered and would keep growing stronger together with rising sales activity in the area.

Evergrande’s potential collapse has ramifications for other parts of WA’s economy though, as China’s demand for our iron ore is largely fuelled by residential construction.

by LILLI SCOTT

A WOMEN’S community dance against violence is seeking dancers for the Chorus 2022 project – and you don’t need to know how to dance already. 

Chorus 2020 is the second incarnation of choreographer Annette Carmichael’s project, which first united 200 women to dance in solidarity against violence in Denmark in 2020.

This new iteration is a collaboration with Community Arts Network, and they’re especially seeking women from First Nations or culturally diverse backgrounds. It’s also open to non-binary people, and the dance will be choreographed to suit participants’ abilities so women in wheelchairs or using other mobility aids are welcome.

Ms Carmichael says: “This project is a call to end violence against all women and so it’s important that women from different cultures, ages and life experiences come together to create this dance.”

Workshops are being held around Perth ahead of a planned performance at Koorliny Arts Centre in Kwinana in May 2022.

“These taster workshops are for people to join us in a safe space and connect,” Ms Carmichael says.

“We will do some dancing and we’ll do some talking — it’s all about getting a sense of the project. There is no pressure and I really want to emphasise that people can come along to see if the project is right for them with no expectations.”

There’s workshops at King Street Arts Centre in Perth on October 9 at 10am and October 12 at 7pm.

Register at http://www.can.org.au/chorus-registration