Perth Voice Interactive

THE thorny question of ‘what is a female’ has been posed to Perth council by a determined elector with a growing range of disagreements with council policies. 

Stuart Chapman is a frequent sight in public question time, where he poses many questions to the council over issues such as his right to protest against Covid vaccines in public spaces (“A blaring sign of over-reach?,” Voice, November 2, 2024).

This week amid his list of 23 questions, Mr Chapman interspersed his usual queries about protestors’ rights with a couple of non-sequential diversions into what constitutes a female.

“Question number two,” Mr Chapman began. “In the city of Perth car parks, the lowest level is reserved for female parking. What is the definition of a female according to the City of Perth?”

Perth council’s GM for commercial services Steve Holden answered out of the council’s own LGBTI+ plans glossary, which reads: “The City of Perth supports the right of people to identify their sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status as they choose.”

That’s in-line with recent state government reforms to abolish the Gender Reassignment Board: Previously people had to apply to the board to change their gender, but WA Labor’s changes allow adults to decide for themselves. 

After several questions about his right to protest in public places, Mr Chapman revisited the issue: “Question 18: What authoritative source does a city use to keep up to date with the latest gender classifications?”

The council’s GM for corporate services Wendy Attenborough fielded this one, advising “the City is guided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics standard for sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics, and sexual orientation variables,” and directing Mr Chapman to the ABS website.

Mr Chapman’s queries were a variation on the popular question “what is a woman?” often posed by those critical of transgender women using women’s spaces. It is a question that many interviewees struggled to answer in a 2022 film titled “What is a Woman?” by conservative activist Matt Walsh. 

However critics of the film have pointed out that defining the necessary and sufficient qualities of most concepts are surprisingly difficult: Many people struggle to define a chair in conclusive and exclusive terms, as simple answers like “something you sit on” could describe a chair, a horse, or the floor.

If Mr Chapman was building to a point, he never got time to make it at this meeting: Lord mayor Basil Zempilas had noted he’d already used up the time allocated to questions and allowed him one final query. 

Rather than persist down the sex/gender rabbit hole, Mr Chapman decided to use his final question to revisit his protest-related queries. Mr Zempilas advised that the remaining queries among his initial list of 23 questions would be answered in writing. 

While the questions had been lengthy, highly detailed, and sometimes unusual for a municipal setting, Mr Zempilas said: “I also want to take the opportunity to thank you for being involved in our process. We welcome everybody, every member of our community coming into this chamber and asking questions.

by DAVID BELL

THE Society of Women Writers WA is holding a series of Wednesday writing classes at the Citiplace Community Centre next February, with one of the themes being to “write fearlessly”.

The sessions kick off with tutor Aileen Boyer on February 5 and 12, who’ll look at helping budding Rowlings find their voice along a “journey of self-discovery and creative exploration”.

“By experimenting with different forms and styles, drawing inspiration from others, engaging in writing exercises, and overcoming obstacles, you can uncover the authentic voice that is uniquely yours,” says Boyer, a finalist in Writing WA’s Flash Fiction competition.

Award-winning author, poet and publisher Helen Iles picks up the reins on February 19 and 26, helping aspiring writers to get their career kickstarted. “Part open forum, part writing activities, this short course will shape the mindset of those stepping into the world of wild imaginings and creativity,” the blurb reads.

Iles has been president of the society for some 15 years.

Bookings are essential at swwwabookingofficer@gmail.com and for costs and more info head to the society’s website at swwofwa.com.au

A BAYSWATER councillor has called on other local governments to step up and make their public property publicly known, listing council-owned assets on an online register.

Many councils possess vast holdings of land and buildings, but have traditionally been sheepish about letting the public know the extent of what they own.

Register

Bayswater councillor Elli Petersen-Pik was able to get colleagues to unanimously agree to upload an online register of the city’s assets in a vote last August 2023. But it was a long time coming: His first attempt in 2020 had zero supporters.

Back in August 2023 he told councillors: “Our ratepayers deserve to know what they own.

“And I would like to know that one day that I will not be a councillor, I will have the ability to know what councillors know, and that drives me a lot, when how I move things thinking about the day after.”

Cr Petersen-Pik said the asset register provided “basic information about the assets that each ratepayer owns and they might be able to question some things, and that’s good – it’s part of the discussion: why [do] we own that? Is it really maintained well?

“I think it’s good to remove that confidentiality, and currently this list is confidential and so I think it should be revealed and we should signal to ratepayers that are no secrets here, we’re not hiding anything 

About a year on without the sky falling, he notes there’s been no downsides to the list going public.

“The first time around, no councillor wanted to second it. It was decided that it was too controversial at the time,” Cr Petersen-Pik tells us. But with no ill-effects a year into the list going public, he says the asset register’s worked well and called on other local governments to take the same step.

As far as we can tell, Bayswater is the first state in WA to have a central register of all council-owned assets (some list public holdings like parkland on their map software, but it requires a lot of tedious clicking and manual searching).

by DAVID BELL

THERE’S nothing like a Christmas singalong to get you in the festive mood, so here’s a rundown of all the carol services in Voiceland.

Bayswater will be holding CAROLS BY THE RIVER at Riverside Gardens from 5pm-9pm today (Saturday December 14).

Accompanied by the WA Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Providence Bayswater Choir will sing yuletide songs, and party band The Christmas Special will have the crowd rocking around the Christmas tree with jazzy renditions of festive classics.

The free event includes market stalls, rides, craft activities, face painting and a visit from the big man himself – Santa.

“Pack your very own picnic to enjoy under the stars or purchase a delicious dinner from one of the onsite food vendors,” says Baysy mayor Filomena Piffaretti.

In Stirling, CAROLS AT SCARBOROUGH will be held tomorrow (Sunday December 15) at the Scarborough Amphitheatre on The Esplanade from 6pm-8:30pm.

The sunset carol service will include a special visit from Santa (this bloke gets about) and a stunning fireworks display over the beach.

So pack a picnic, grab a candle and carols book, and enjoy the event, which supports Neuromuscular WA.

In Vincent, CAROLS IN THE PARK will be held at Hyde Park tomorrow (Sunday December 15) from 5pm-7:30pm.

Organised by The Salvation Army, the free event will feature carols by the Perth Fortress Brass Band with kids activities and a coffee van (bring your own your picnic).

The biggest event will no doubt be CAROLS IN THE CITY at Supreme Court Gardens from 6:30pm-9:30pm on December 21.

Grab a picnic spot on the grass and watch a variety of performers belt out Xmas classics on the huge stage.

There’s fun activities for the family and a wide range of food trucks on-site.

The concert will end with a fireworks display and you guessed it – a visit from Santa.

If you live in Maylands, there will be CHRISTMAS CAROLS at St Luke’s Anglican Church tomorrow (Sunday December 15) from 5pm-7pm, and Morley Baptist Church will be holding their service from 5pm-9pm at 33 Hanwell Way in Bassendean.

If you fancy something a bit more quiet and atmospheric, CANDLELIGHT: A NIGHT OF CHRISTMAS CLASSICS is on at Perth Town Hall from December 20-27.

With the stage adorned with hundreds of lit candles, creating an intimate atmosphere, the classical Dolce Ensemble will perform a series of festive classics including Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Frosty The Snowman, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, O Holy Night, White Christmas and All I Want For Christmas Is You.

The little ones will love ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS at Perth Town Hall today (Saturday December 14), a Christmas fairytale featuring the music of Disney and carols.

If you get your Voice early, then check out the CAROLS BY THE SEA at City Beach Amphitheatre on Friday December 13 at 18:30pm.

And this weekend there will be EXPERIENCE CHRISTMAS at Government House on St Georges Terrace in Perth.

The Joondalup Symphony Orchestra will perform a range of classic Christmas carols including Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Jingle Bells from 5:30pm on the lower lawns.

There will be kids activities and a massive range of cuisine at the Consular Corps World of Food festival, or bring your own picnic. You can also do a tour of the historic Government House. The event is on from 3pm-7pm on Saturday and Sunday.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

PERTH lord mayor Basil Zempilas has declared his council has succeeded where others have failed in bringing crowds to Elizabeth Quay.

At the December council meeting, an animated lord mayor could’ve been mistaken for Churchill declaring victory over the Axis powers: “The City of Perth, between now and Australia Day, has fireworks in the city every Saturday night. That in fact started last Saturday night, but continues now through all the way to January.

“What a city this is!”

He said inquiring minds might ask: “Have they always done that? When they all took over four years ago, was that the program they had,” he said in reference to elections where the current councillors replaced state-appointed commissioners.

“Well, no! They didn’t have this program, they had no program like this, in fact no one went to Elizabeth Quay! It was barely, or rarely, activated,” he said while praising councillors, staff and CEO Michelle Reynolds for building an event “from scratch”.

The speech comes as Mr Zempilas prepares to start his full time campaign as a Liberal state candidate for Churchlands in January. 

FEDERAL Perth Labor MP Patrick Gorman has called on WA’s Public Transport Authority’s to reconsider its decision to leave Claisebrook and Maylands out of an expanded Perth ferry system.

Premier Roger Cook announced the ferry expansion at a Property Council lunch in February, but last week the Public Transport Authority released a tender document showing the first stops to be built will be at Applecross and Matilda Bay.

Mr Gorman said Perth would benefit from the expanded network and welcomed the two new stops.

“It is terrific to see premier Cook put his personal support behind a new, expanded, modern ferry network for Perth,” Mr Gorman said.

“Ferries are cost-effective, environmentally friendly and can be built right here in WA.

Think big

“The Perth electorate is ferry disappointed that Claisebrook and Maylands have been left out of current plans.

“I urge the Public Transport Authority to think big and reconsider this decision.

“Metronet wasn’t built with just two new stations. We need vision,” he said in references to Mr Cook’s description of the service as the “Metronet of the Swan”.

“A ferry network that connects Claisebrook, Optus Stadium and the beautiful Maylands Peninsula is what Perth needs,” Mr Gorman said. It is time to make this happen.”

THE rollout of electric vehicles has hit a curious hitch in the inner-city, where a lack of driveways and garages has left many without a means to charge a car at home.

Many of the residential homes across the City of Vincent were built in an era when driveways and garages weren’t common, meaning if they want to charge their electric car they have to roll out a hazardous and highly trippable extension cord across the footpath.

Vincent mayor Alison Xamon has called for coordination across inner-city councils for a plan to solve the problem, and wants the state government to plan and fund electric grid infrastructure to support more EV charge points in the inner city. 

At the November council meeting Ms Xamon said: “I personally believe that in an ideal world we wouldn’t need private vehicles… unfortunately at the moment the design of broader Perth is such that it can be quite difficult to get out into wider Perth if you don’t have a private vehicle.

Private car

“But if you do need a private car, we do want to encourage people to have a greater uptake of e-vehicles, and that is a particular challenge for a number of people who live in Vincent, particularly those properties that don’t have off-road parking.

“So what it means is people will either choose not to buy an e-vehicle, or they’re making do by putting extension cords across their verges and across their pathways. 

“That’s a huge problem. It’s a trip Hazard particularly for people with a disability, but it’s also an

electrical hazard, it’s not something that we want to be encouraging at all.

“Now Vincent has of course been investing in installing fast chargers and that’s at key parking sites, and that’s good and we are going to be continuing to do.

“But I think that it’s an opportunity for us to look at investigating whether there’s an option for individual households at their own expense to install individual chargers on the verges – and there’s some technologies that potentially facilitate that – or whether individual streets can have chargers as public infrastructure with some dedicated parking spots to enable that charging to occur.”

She said with underground power being rolled out, the time is right to bundle in some measures to allow for more charge points. 

Along with beefier infrastructure to feed enough power to the chargers, it might require some state-initiated rule changes. Currently Western Power does not allow EV chargers to be mounted on existing power poles or street lights, unlike some other states. 

Ms Xamon’s motion at November’s meeting to seek out options for more residential charge was unanimously endorsed by councillors, and they’ll also advocate for e-vehicle action from the state government and relevant ministers in the lead-up to the 2025 state election.

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER council has appointed four new Age Friendly Ambassadors to its team to help other older residents connect with the city’s services and activities.

Mayor Filomena Piffaretti said being an ambassador empowered people to become leaders.

“Our Age Friendly Ambassadors are a volunteer group of passionate locals, from diverse backgrounds and varying ages, who contribute to making Bayswater a better place to live for our older residents,” Ms Pifaretti said.

“Our dedicated ambassadors work together to ensure people over 50 are active and engages, and have their voices heard on issues that affect them.

“With one in six people in the city aged 65 or older, our ambassadors connect older residents to activities, programs, events and services across our suburbs.

To connecting with an ambassador call 9272 0622 or email agefriendly.ambassador@bayswater.wa.gov.au.