Perth Voice Interactive

STIRLING council has been derided for inaction over the menace of roaming cats hunting wildlife, but council staff are resolute that they have no power to keep cats contained on owners’ properties.

In recent years many councils have tried to enact laws to keep cats at home, with varying levels of success. In most cases, council’s have seen their proposals rejected by WA Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation which decides whether local laws are compatible with state law.

But there’s fierce legal debate over whether the JSC is in the right, and some wildlife advocates are urging councils to challenge the JSC and make a fresh attempt at a local law to keep cats at home.

Stirling council was considering minor updates to its local cat policy this week, and many residents spoke at public question time disappointed their council wasn’t taking firmer steps. 

Resident Simon Wheeler said the report that staff had prepared for councillors, which recommended only small changes and did not advocate for cat containment, had downplayed the community’s desire for action.

Mr Wheeler told mayor Mark Irwin “in a strong field, Mr Irwin, this is one of the most blinkered and one-sided reports I’ve ever read”.

“This report, and internal advice, condemns consultation as irrelevant in the City of Stirling. Just another waste of ratepayer funds. ‘Have your say’, just don’t expect to be heard or acknowledged.”

Mr Wheeler asked “what internal advice was given to councillors as to why the results of community consultation on the local cat laws were considered irrelevant enough to be withheld from tonight’s agenda?”

Stirling’s director of community development Michael Quirk was adamant the council had no power to keep cats at home. 

“The key outcome of our review of the community consultation was that yes, there were a number of residents seeking cat containment,” Mr Quirk acknowledged. 

“Our position based on consultation with the Department of Local Government, with WALGA, with advice from the Joint Standing Committee, our own legal advice, is that cat containment is not possible under the current Cat Act. 

“I understand that you disagree with that point of view, but that is the City’s perspective.”

As to Mr Wheeler’s commentary about the report ignoring community consultation results, Mr Quirk said “it doesn’t matter how we slice and dice and present the community consultation through this report, cat containment is not possible under the Act.”

Mr Wheeler still contends that “cat containment, through responsible control of cats in public places, is absolutely possible, it already has occurred in several local governments”.

But for now, councillors went ahead with publicly advertising their proposed mild updates to the cat policy, and it’ll be out for comment shortly. 

Mr Wheeler had also satirically suggested that the staff report to councillors had included an answer to resident concerns that surely must have been inserted in error: In a summary of community concerns, the report noted that during consultation residents had asked “can we report cat nuisance outside of cat prohibited areas?”

The roundabout answer suggested first talking to the cat’s owner (“if known”), and then a long list of alleged cat deterrent substances.

Mr Wheeler said: “An answer to how one might report a nuisance cat has been replaced instead with remedies for male pattern baldness that one may have found in certain gentlemen’s magazines of the past, advertising application of a little citrus peel, coffee grounds, cinnamon, lemongrass, and of course garlic, though I honestly thought that garlic was for vampires.

“And whilst I have zero doubt that oil of lavender and vinegar sprayed in specific areas will keep pussy away, what on earth, mayor Irwin, does that have to do with the response to City-initiated public consultation that overwhelmingly asked, not for recipes – eye of newt and hair of bat – but for solutions.”

Mr Wheeler said that along with protecting wildlife, many are also concerned with cat welfare too, and he said cats are happier and safer at home where they’re away from traffic and other threats.

“Some 40 or so fur babies won’t come home each and every week in metro WA,” Mr Wheeler said. “They haven’t run off to join the Liberal party, or a cult, they have not won the lottery and retired to a fish market in Italy… they’re dead.”  

by DAVID BELL

ANYONE passing Perth Arena last week would think a pop star was in town, but the lines of adoring fans were there to see a singer who doesn’t actually exist: Virtual pop star Hatsune Miku.

“When Hatsune came out and began singing, a girl near me [started] sobbing,” long-time friend of the Voice Jennifer Motherway told us.

It was the first Australian “tour” of the virtual star, who is rendered in an animation on stage either via hologram or LED screen. Hatsune Miku doesn’t have a voice actor like older animated pop star characters: she’s a “vocaloid” with an artificially generated voice.

“I paid $196 for one ticket,” Ms Motherway says. “I’m shocked she came here, I just never imagined that the creators of Hatsune Miku would consider coming to Australia… she’s played in Tokyo, she’s played in LA, she’s played at Coachella. 

“Seeing Hatsune Miku in concert has always been on my bucket list. 

“I always imagined I would have to go to Japan, so I was going to pay whatever it took to see her, simply just to be there for the experience.”

Virtual characters like Hatsune Miku can be extremely profitable, making money for their creators through their music, sales of vocal software, merchandise and product endorsements. 

In Japan, where Hatsune Miku first rose to prominence after a Tokyo concert in 2010, much of her male fandom is characterised as being attracted to the character’s visual appeal. 

But the virtual singer is popular with women too, and many fans are into other elements of Japanese pop culture like anime and manga.

“Her songs are very catchy. 

“Her music is very fun,” Ms Motherway says. 

“She represents a happiness and a carefree sort of vibe that a lot of people enjoy.” 

Real pop stars can be messy. They can get depressed, or addicted to drugs, or make offensive statements. They also have relationships, and it’s been common for managers to try to hide their celebrity client’s dating habits for fear fans will be less interested if their idol is ‘off the market’.

“People like their pop stars, especially the female ones, to remain single,” Ms Motherway says. But as for Hatsune Miku, “she’ll never have a boyfriend. She can be anyone’s girlfriend.”

Fans also don’t seem to treat her much different just because she doesn’t exist. 

Ms Motherway says celebrities’ stage personas are also something of a created character: “[If] I see someone like Ariana Grande or Lady Gaga, in terms of a pop star, Hatsune Miku is just as real as those people to me.”

Hatsune Miku’s Japanese owners, Crypton Future Media, seemed to have some problems translating the Voice’s questions, so we’re not sure what prompted her Aussie ‘tour’ and whether she’d be back again.

If she does ever return, Ms Motherway reckons her fans will only have grown in number after word spreads of Tuesday’s show.

“The atmosphere at the concert was amazing. 

“Everyone was really lovely to each other, because we all have this shared interest that’s a bit niche.”

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER council will phase out its commercial waste collection over the next four years, despite a warning it will drive up costs for small businesses.

The move followed the first review into the City’s commercial waste services in 20 years, which found that some businesses had been rorting the system for years, and staff trying to pull them into line had been threatened.

Some of the tricks business tried to avoid paying for their bin collection were ripping off the council’s logo to design their own stickers or stealing their neighbours’.

Councillor Georgia Johnson tried to get the council to adopt a “moderate” withdrawal from commercial waste collection with a residential-style system for small businesses, but even she reckoned some of the shady dealings were unacceptable.

Scrap metal

“We heard stories about businesses requesting, for example, a FOGO bin, and then filling it with scrap metal parts; I mean that’s just not on,” Cr Johnson said.

The report found the council was losing more than $62,000 each year collecting bins that hadn’t been paid for, equating to $1.2m over the 20 years its commercial waste collection had been running.

Cr Johnson said the report showed the diversity of commercial businesses, particularly with industrial areas, made it difficult for the council to tailor its collection to their needs, but didn’t favour a complete phase-out.

“If you’re producing a small amount of waste that is similar to our residential collections, then that’s something that the City does really well,” she said.

Her motion got support from deputy mayor Elli Petersen-Pik, but when it failed and the council moved to consider a total phase-out by 2028, he warned there could be business .

“I definitely acknowledge that some businesses, definitely in the industrial areas, probably should be moving onto private waste services, but you need to understand that some businesses in our town centres, they are very small,” Cr Petersen-Pik said.

“That will require them to now pay much more to have basic services that I think every local government should provide, even if it’s limited to the amount of bins they can have.

“We will have businesses questioning what they actually get for their rates.”

But Cr Josh Eveson said the phase-in period would give businesses time to plan for the change, while a last amendment from Cr Steven Ostaszewskyj will see CEO Jeremy Edwards explore non-council alternatives to “support” businesses through the transition.

by STEVE GRANT

STIRLING council has been called on to ‘stop the vaccine mandates’ and withdraw Covid-19 vaccines – two issues it does not control.

During public question time at December 3’s council meeting, a trio of anti-vaccine activists implored the council to take action against Covid-19 vaccines. 

They cited the Town of Port Hedland’s recent motion calling for “immediate suspension” of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, a move that prompted premier Roger Cook to say “the Town of Port Hedland should stick to its knitting”.

The activists said there was confirmation that Covid-19 vaccines were “contaminated” with excessive levels of DNA. The Therapeutic Goods Association has described these reports as “misinformation” based on faulty methods of testing DNA levels. 

Glenda Lord of Doubleview asked: “Would the council consider having a special meeting to stop the mandates, and withdraw the vaccines?”

Mr Irwin said a local government doesn’t have the authority or the expertise to do anything about vaccines.

Sandra Dowling was concerned about Stirling’s elders. 

“Stirling council, I believe, is the 17th biggest council in Australia… my concern is the elderly population, a lot of them just watch telly etcetera, but they don’t understand. The doctors have been hoodwinked. People have been coerced. Your own staff were mandated [to take] this deadly injection.

“We’re all talking about budgets and all these wonderful things that the City of Stirling are going to do. I wonder how many people are going to be left? It’s very concerning.”

Another resident from Wembley Downs asked if vaccines aren’t council business, then “how can the Chinese trackless tram, which is state and federal [managed], be in the remit of local government? What is the difference here?”

Mr Irwin responded: “Trackless trams come under land use planning, along with road engineering, which is entirely under the remit of local government.”

“Whilst, again, I acknowledge there is concern from the community, you’ve heard from other members of the gallery this evening: We don’t always get it right when dealing with sand dunes and cats. You don’t want us dealing with vaccines. 

“I’m not trying to make light of it, but you don’t want an uninformed council dealing with significant, serious health issues.

“We’ve got to deal with roads, rates, and rubbish.”

by DAVID BELL

THE un-one-waying of Perth CBD streets continues with works now pending to restore two-way traffic flow to a length of Hay Street. 

Many inner-city streets were converted from two-way to one-way many misty years ago but it’s led to some awkward layouts and traffic snaking around looking for a way in or out.

In the past decade or so a rolling effort to undo the confusing grid has progressed across the city, with Hay Street from William to Elders Streets the last remaining one-wayer.

The conversion could cost anywhere from $4 million for the bare basics to $20 million if the City adds new street trees and pavers, granite kerbing, and street lighting and other bonuses to make it a pedestrian-friendly avenue.

At the December 3 council briefing, lord mayor Basil Zempilas said “in a previous life as a talkback radio broadcaster, we would often look at the city’s changing road designs and say… they seemed to have only changed that not so long ago. Why are they changing it again?

“It is a reasonable question; why are we changing Hay Street,” answering his former self’s query that it was about “connection” and “permeability”.

“As I understand it… this is all about unlocking connectivity,” he said, noting as one example that the current one-way setup made for a runaround trying to come from Subiaco to the city.

Councillors will vote on the final concept plan at the December 10 meeting.

by DAVID BELL

PRIDE WA organisers have been peppered with multiple censorship accusations after several marchers were ordered not to display politically-charged signs. 

The Order of Perpetual Indulgence was a prominent no-show this year: The satirical sisters have been an enduring mainstay of Pride events but Mother Gretta (aka Neil Buckley) tells us their proposed theme satirising Donald Trump was “banned” by the Pride board.

The order of activist nuns had planned a float criticising the transphobia of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement: “We had six-foot blow up penises and we were going to put a whole heap of Trump flags on them, and we were going to write ‘MAGA’ down the front of them,” Mr Buckley says.

The plan had been to frame transphobes as “dickheads” who were pre-occupied with penises, with Mr Buckley citing the current Republican-led campaign to ban transgender people from the restrooms matching their gender identity. 

But Mr Buckley reported on the eve of the event that “the Pride board asked that we not march with our ‘MAGA and transphobia dickheads’ float”.

He says they didn’t get a solid answer out of Pride organisers as to why their theme was rejected, but the board asked them to run with a different theme. Instead the Sisters pulled out.

“The censorship really has been a bit much,” Mr Buckley says, noting a shift towards a less outrageous, more corporate event. 

“It really has changed… there’s no political satire any more in the parade. It’s a nice parade, but it’s very boring.”

The Sisters have often marched with provocative signs, and there’d been no issue with giant inflatable penises in a previous Pride outing.

“That’s what it used to be about. People could make those statements, and now they seem really worried.”

“We’ve always gone in with a political message, and this was really about transphobia.” 

Mr Buckley says locally some people are fearing that ramifications of Trump’s election will be felt here, and it’s a prime time to stand up for their rights. 

Transphobic

“To say that doesn’t affect us here is just rubbish, because it gives permission for people here to be transphobic.”

Other political messages also faced censorship at the November 23 parade: WA Labor’s Perth MP John Carey penned a furious social media statement the next day saying “Pride WA censored the WA Labor/Rainbow Labor… instructing us to remove signage which criticised the WA Liberals on their anti LGBTQAI+ commitments and for closing a women’s shelter.”

The latter referred to ending funding of the Safe Night Space by Perth council, headed by lord mayor Basil Zempilas who is also the Liberal candidate for Churchlands at the next state election.

Mr Carey said: “Pride marches are built on a history of political activism and protest, freedom of expression and advancing the rights of LGBTQAI+ community”.

But he said at this march “police were approached and informed by Pride WA that WA Labor was breaching the agreed conditions of the march participation, despite no rules prescribing any limit on political messaging to enter the parade.

“I have a great working relationship and respect Perth Police – they were just doing their job by asking us to remove the signage and were highly professional and good to deal with. 

“The real reason behind the censorship became clear when a Pride WA leader told a member of WA Labor they feared losing City of Perth funding.

“Only last week Pride WA also sought to remove the same signage because of complaints by members of the Liberal party: later  confirmed by a Pride WA board member that those were also complaints from the City of Perth.”

Local LGBTQIA+ news outlet Out in Perth also reported on a video showing another group of marchers being ordered by police not to display a sign reading “Fuck! Cops BHP Rio Tinto Fuck! Corporate Pride”, a sharp critique of the presence of police and corporations marching in a parade that was once a protest. 

According to Out in Perth’s report, the group was then told by police they have the power to call for signs to be removed if they believe it will cause a disturbance, and that they can issue ‘move on’ notices if people refuse to comply. 

We put a series of questions to Pride WA about the censorship claims but did not hear back before deadline. However in answers to Out in Perth Pride brass said: “Some of our volunteers were made to feel unsafe at the Parade and this is deeply concerning. This warrants further consideration at the appropriate time.”

The Voice has asked for clarification on what made the volunteers feel unsafe, and how that description gels with Mr Carey’s account that other censorship attempts had been communicated a week ahead of the parade.

by DAVID BELL