THE Mount Lawley Golf Club has scored an extra 15 years on its lease – but might face almost a doubling of its rent as a result.
The club has been based in the north-west corner of Inglewood between Alexander Drive, Central Avenue and Walter Road West, virtually since its inception in 1928.
And while it’s already considered one of WA’s premier golf courses, the club recently approached Stirling council with plans to upgrade its building, greens and links.
To ensure it had time to recuperate the outlay, the club asked for its existing lease to be extended beyond its 2029 deadline.
A council report couldn’t see any problem with that, but noted that while the club currently pays $13,640 a year in rent, the actual market value was closer to $25,000.
“Whilst it is not proposed to increase rent with immediate effect, a market rent review will be incorporated into the lease on July 1, 2029 (take up of the further term),” the report said.
“At this time the city will obtain further market rental advice to form the new rent payable at that date.”
Lord mayor Basil Zempilas wants more voters at council meetings.
PERTH council’s next meeting will be held at midday as part of an ongoing effort to get more people along.
The public gallery has historically been deserted compared to other councils’ rowdy arenas, and until the past couple of years the public weren’t allowed to speak (the CEO just read out written questions).
Lord mayor Basil Zempilas said they were running the noon meeting as an “experiment … so that members of the community have an opportunity to attend meetings held during the day, rather than only during the evening”.
The first nooner meeting is on May 25 at council house, level 9.
AS an experiment in psychogeography, I decided to wander around Northbridge on Tuesday afternoon and see what eatery tickled my fancy.
It’s been a while since I’ve visited the notorious inner-city suburb, and to be honest things haven’t improved much.
I ambled up William Street, going away from the city, and saw a few cafes that looked okay, but they gradually thinned out and gave way to mouldering shops and “CLOSED” signs.
I double-backed and ventured up James St, but that was even worse – seedy and smelly – and by the time I reached the deserted Northbridge Piazza – a futuristic ode to nothingness – I felt like an extra in a low-budget apocalypse movie.
I passed some tacky pubs on Lake St, including some risible putting and cocktail place, before walking down Francis Street and eventually settling on U&I Cafe.
Situated on the corner of William Square, it had a lovely alfresco set back from the road, with leafy trees and a soaring metal pergola that resembled modern art.
It was perfect for eating on your own as you could watch life unfold on William Street from afar, like some aloof scientist peering into a bell jar.
The Vietnamese cafe had a menu with a huge array of noodle soups, mains, salads and entrees.
It was slightly overwhelming and each page was a wall of text that wasn’t clearly divided into sections.
I eventually went for an Asian staple – Mee Goreng ($18).
A bit boring I hear you cry, but it’s a good test of any Asian restaurant’s mettle and probably a dish a visiting tourist might get.
A large bottle of sparkling water ($4.50) quenched my thirst after my Northbridge incursion, and it was served in a quality tumbler with a slice of lemon and plenty of ice.
This was the quickest service I’ve ever experienced – my meal was nearly on my table before I had returned from ordering at the counter.
The hokkien noodles were piled high with chicken and thick chunks of spring and red onions.
The tender chook was good quality and had been nicely cooked in the wok, hitting that sweet spot between under and over.
The dish had that trademark Mee Goreng sweetness courtesy of the thinly sliced carrot and a genteel sauce, which wasn’t too sickly or intrusive.
The serve was big, but not rapacious, and it justified its $18 price tag with fresh, good-quality ingredients.
Looking around the cafe there was a mix of office workers (most had that tell-tale look of ennui with lunch being the highlight of their Groundhog Day), tourists and couples who had time off during the week.
The cafe is licensed and open 24/7 with a night menu from 10pm – 10am, so I imagine it’s a well-oiled machine.
To round off the meal I got a mug of cappuccino ($4.80) which was piping hot and kept its heat while I ate my Mee Goreng.
The coffee was nice and creamy, not too strong and very enjoyable.
In a nice artistic touch, it looked like the chocolate was sprinkled on top in the shape of a butterfly, or maybe I’ve been looking at too many Rorschach inkblots lately.
I enjoyed my lunch at U&I Cafe, and it’s perfect for a midweek pitstop in Northbridge, before the sun goes down and you take your chances…
By STEPHEN POLLOCK
U&I Cafe William Square 45 Francis St, Northbridge
• The Truck is one of the great movies showing at the 10th Iranian Film Festival Australia in Perth.
IN recent years Iran has become a hot-bed of Middle Eastern cinema, scooping up oscars and critical praise for its thought-provoking and entertaining movies.
If this year’s Iranian Film Festival in Perth is anything to go by, the hot-streak is set to continue with nine excellent flicks for festivalgoers to enjoy.
“This year, despite the covid pandemic, we have had a very strong year for Iranian cinema, enabling us to present a fantastic and diverse range of films for our audiences in Australia,” festival director Armin Miladi says.
“We are delighted to present Titi, one of three Iranian films directed by female filmmakers for our opening night film.
“It was written, produced and directed by Ida Panahandeh.”
A left-field highlight of the festival is Chicheka Lullaby, a music and anthropological documentary about the influential musician Ebrahim Monsefi from the south of Iran.
An alternative artist who challenged the norms of society, he lived a creative life with a strong sense of humour, despite being saddled with depression.
Sadly he died 20 years ago in the throes of poverty and drug addiction, but he left behind a powerful legacy of more than 200 songs recorded on a small cassette player.
If you like political dramas, then Careless Crime will be right up your clandestine alley.
Forty years ago, during the uprising to overthrow the Shah’s regime in Iran, protestors set fire to movie theatres as a way of showing opposition to Western culture.
Many cinemas were burned down and in one tragic case, a theatre was set on fire with 400 people inside, most of whom were burned alive.
Careless Crime is set in contemporary Iran, where four individuals decide to torch a cinema.
Their intended target is a theatre showing a film about an unearthed, unexploded missile. Will history repeat itself?
A powerful film which won awards at the Venice Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival, Careless Crime is sure to be a hit with festivalgoers.
A more intimate affair is The Truck, a riveting movie about a Yazidi woman and her two children who escape from an ISIS killing.
The family are helped by a truck driver, who drives them to Tehran to search for her husband who is currently in Iran looking for a job.
The Truck was directed by Kambuzia Partovi, who sadly died from coronavirus in November last year, so the film has extra poignancy.
It won best screenplay at the 2018 Fajr Film Festival and is well worth a watch.
The 10th Iranian Film Festival Australia is on at Luna Leederville on Oxford Street until Wednesday (May 26).
Well, it’s on Puntie Crescent after all, so it would be rude not to.
Let’s cut to the chase – if you are single or a young couple looking to get on the property ladder then this two bedroom one bathroom home could be the one.
With expressions of interest at $279,000, even in today’s crazy market it represents a chance to get your foot in the real estate door.
The highlight of this home is the large open plan living and dining area, which has a lovely light wooden-style floor, enhancing the sense of space, and plenty of natural light.
Keeping cool won’t be a problem with the wall mounted air con.
The small kitchen is off to the side and it’s well, dated, with a glorious 1970s splash back that may actually be back in fashion with the retro brigade.
The bones are good though and it’s completely functional and move-in ready.
Both bedrooms are a decent size with the main including a built-in robe, and they share a well-maintained family bathroom, again a bit dated, and a seperate laundry.
There’s a nice strip out the back with a covered pergola, where you could put a balcony setting to read the papers.
I imagine this outdoor area would become an over-spill at any parties you hosted.
This home is situated in a pretty gated-complex that is a short walk from the locals shops, public transport, the Swan river parklands and Berringa Park.
You are also close to the Maylands cafe strip and all the restaurants and shops in Mt Lawley.
With a few cosmetic changes to the bathroom and kitchen, this cute property could be a winner and a solid investment long-term.
It’s also a great rental opportunity with a tenant already in place.
AN author researching the colourful life of his great-grandfather has unearthed a previously unpublished poem by famed Australian poet, journalist and author Banjo Paterson.
Simon Doyle’s ancestral biography Soldier Sailor Surgeon: The Life of George Barber, includes Paterson’s poem The Wail of the Horse-Poet, in which Australia’s first unofficial poet laureate bemoans the fact people won’t shut up about horses when speaking with him.
“Horse horse horse; In country as well as town; Till I wish that the whole of the equine race; Were left in the sea to drown,” wrote the author who had previously introduced Australia to its iconic colt from old Regret in The Man From Snowy River.
Doyle said Paterson chaperoned his great-grandmother Jess Barber to a bush dance, and was so grateful she didn’t talk about horses that he penned the poem in the front of her diary. It remained hidden there until he discovered it while researching his great-grandfather’s life.
George Barber ran a medical practice on Milligan Street in the heart of Perth from 1912 until 1917 when he enlisted in World War I and was sent to Egypt.
There he had the unfortunate job of running the Anzac venereal disease hospital; a particularly busy task given the Anzacs were camped right beside the Egyptian red light district.
For more about Doyle’s book and how to get a copy click here.
“THERE’S not a lot for us in it,” was Perth federal Labor MP Patrick Gorman’s review of the latest Morrison budget.
Mr Gorman said there was a notable lack of spending on social housing and no funding to get quarantine out of CBD hotels.
“In terms of infrastructure, there’s ongoing funding for things that are already happening but there’s nothing new in the Perth electorate,” Mr Gorman says.
“The obvious thing that was missed in this budget is getting quarantine out of the CBD.
“If you look at what’s happening in South Australia at the moment, at what Perth’s been through twice this year, we can’t have all our quarantine in the CBD.
He says every time there’s an outbreak, it’s CBD businesses that suffer from lockdown.
“It’s unfair that the Perth CBD bears the brunt of the quarantine in WA,” Mr Gorman said.
Given the delayed vaccine rollout and uncertainty over how long Covid might linger, Mr Gorman wants funding for custom-built facilities outside of the city to also bring home more Australians who are on long waiting lists due to restrictions on repatriation numbers.
“Until we can get our neighbours home you can’t go out and declare mission accomplished.”
He says social housing also deserved more funding: “There’s been a lot of investment in the homebuilder program, but there’s nothing new in terms of social housing.”
The homebuilder program grants up to $25,000 for new houses or renovations, but the minimum spend is $150,000 to be eligible. The budget extended the program for another 12 months for existing applicants.
Federal spending on housing’s been recommended by Treasury during previous tough times like the Global Financial Crisis, and Mr Gorman says it gives a short term boost of jobs and longer term boost from having people in secure housing.
He points out the Stirling Towers site, a delayed state government project, as a prime spot that could use federal funding.
“[Sites] like Stirling Towers, big development sites could be turned into homes for hundreds of essential workers and low income families.”
A lot of money’s instead been kept in stasis for the Roe 8 and 9 project, with $1.2 billion of federal money ready but the controversial road works standing no chance of going ahead under a Labor state government.
The budget also had funding for 40 new Headspace youth mental health centres and Head-to-Head centres for older adults, but the locations are unknown.
Mr Gorman says he’ll continue advocating for a Headspace in the city.
“We know the demand’s there, we know it’s ridiculous for people to have to trek out to Midland to get services from Headspace. It’s an essential thing.
“We know that the biggest cause of death for young people… is suicide. So anything we can do to make sure that we literally save the lives of young Australians is so important. It’s about putting those services near where people already congregate. If you’re already facing mental health challenges, we should make it as easy
as possible to access those services.”
WA federal Liberal MPs have talked up the budget:
• Stirling’s Vince Connelly praised the tax cuts for low-and-middle income earners;
• Tangney’s Ben Morton supported the Roe 8 and 9 cash staying in the budget, imploring the McGowan state government to leave it an open option;
• Hasluck’s Ken Wyatt praised the investment into “helping Indigenous Australians into quality and long-lasting jobs, strengthening Indigenous businesses and community organisations, and backing its commitment to transform the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.
VINCENT council hopes to fix its communication issues with a new engagement framework.
Following some notable recent instances where locals felt projects were roaring ahead without them, the council has decided on a review.
From the Beatty Park toilet block being demolished without a word, to unannounced works replacing Hyde Park’s grass with gravel, meagre or missing consultation has continued to be a complaint at public question time.
Guidance
At the last meeting when councillors approved going out to the public about this, deputy mayor Susan Gontaszewski said: “I would love to hear the comments on the document from the people in the community who have raised with me, or in this chamber, concerns around the city’s engagement practice.
“I think the city does engage well and has good intention in the vast majority of cases but this document, I’m hoping, will allow for us to have some guidance in the way we should be improving our engagement.
“If you’ve had any issues with engagement at Vincent, this is your opportunity.”
Mayor Emma Cole said since their big Imagine Vincent consultation project in 2017.“we have had some highs and lows along the way and I think we’ve lost some of that great engagement that we actually really did well” and she hoped the framework would make for consistent highs.
It’s open for comment until June 4, either imagine.vincent. wa.gov.au or in person, and there’s a drop-in day on May 29 at the admin centre 9am to noon.
COVID has made for a tough year for charities and has also seen a surge in domestic violence, so charity Friends with Dignity is calling for donations to raise critical funds to assist people affected by family or domestic violence.
They’re holding a high tea fundraiser and writer Constance Hall has volunteered as keynote speaker, having been a survivor of domestic violence in an abusive relationship.
Despite the serious subject matter FwD is aiming for an afternoon of “inspiration, friendship and fun”.
This year FwD’s funds are being raised for the FriendSafe program, funding personal safety devices that contact emergency services when triggered.
Phones are sometimes controlled or confiscated by coercive partners. This device resembles a smartwatch but doesn’t need to be hooked up to a phone to operate like most of the watches.
The high tea is on Saturday May 15 at 2pm at Rendezvous Hotel Scarborough, tickets via events.humanitix.com/high-tea-with-friends-perth
THE WA education department is under pressure to ban the Commonwealth Bank’s Dollarmites program from schools following a damning national report which found it had no educational value.
Consumer group Choice has come out swinging after Queensland education minister Grace Grace banned Dollarmites late April. Choice banking expert Patrick Veyret says: “West Australian kids deserve better than banks using their schools to sign them up for a life of debt. Sue Ellery and the West Australian government should follow the other states and ban school banking programs.”
School banking programs claim to help children develop long-term savings habits, however, an Australian Securities and Investments Commission review, released in December 2020, found school banking providers could not show that children had learnt anything about saving. Victoria and the ACT have also vowed to ban the programs.
The Chook covered the issue in 2012, (“Corporations Engage in Classroom Marketing to our Kids,” June 16) outlining the techniques corporations used to get in the door.
Companies slap their logo over all promotional material, and gain a foothold in school newsletters and posters displayed around the school.
To suck schools in the Commonwealth Bank offers payments. In 2018, the ABC reported it paid almost $400,000 to Queensland state schools the year before.
East Fremantle financial educator Lacey Filipich said she supports banning school banking: “Banks are businesses that sell debt.”
She said banks earn income through interest charges against debts – their main product – which is what they sell to customers through loans which adds interest.
Banks also pay interest on savings to entice customers to keep their cash in the bank allowing them to “lend more money while complying with capital adequacy requirements… so, even the promotion of saving by banks is self-serving…
“School banking programs are an excellent deal for the banks alone.
One parent, who did not want to be named, said that they chose not to enrol their child into Dollarmites for reasons such as negative publicity, low-interest rates, limited educational outcomes, poor rewards, and lack of trust in banks.
The Voice contacted Ms Ellery and the education department for comment.
Maylands Peninsula primary principal Paul Andrijich said the program ran at the school but he didn’t have an informed opinion on its efficacy.
“Our P&C run the program in the school, and it is well supported,” Mr Andrijich said.
“I am aware of the proposal to ban the programme in the Eastern states, but there has been little commentary about the program in our school community.”
Perth Voice Interactive 