Perth Voice Interactive

A series of free webinars for financial counsellors will help them recognise and stop elder abuse in WA. 

Seniors getting ripped off has sadly become an increasingly common problem in Australia, especially when it comes to power of attorney and wills. 

Before covid-19, the Australian Institute of Family Studies estimated that between 2 and 14 per cent of older Australians were experiencing elder abuse in any given year, with financial abuse the most prevalent form.The pandemic has exacerbated this issue with seniors more isolated than ever and susceptible to losing their savings to shady family members or clever fraudsters. 

Provided by Advocare, the live webinars will teach the financial services industry how to spot and stop financial abuse. The state government are funding the $71,500 training program. 

“Financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse and is both under-reported and misunderstood,” says seniors and ageing minister Mick Murray

“Financial counsellors are often the first people to see the evidence of financial elder abuse and I thank the financial counselling sector for their involvement and commitment to combatting elder abuse.”

The webinars will cover the key issues of financial elder abuse such as how to recognise it, what questions to ask, and what immediate action should be taken.

It will also cover family and cultural expectations as well as information on the range of community and legal pathways available to victims.

Importantly, additional common legal options to protect people’s rights including enduring power of attorney and guardianship will be covered, including issues specific to vulnerable communities such as rural, regional and remote areas.

Last month The Australian Human Rights Commission launched an elder abuse awareness campaign on the International Day of Older Persons. The commission’s hard-hitting video highlighted the ‘red flags’ to look out for – youtu.be/khniYQZUOv0

To report elder abuse in WA call the helpline 1300 724 679. 

BASIL ZEMPILAS is Perth’s new lord mayor after a three-hour count on last Saturday’s election night.

Five of the eight new councillors are candidates on Mr Zempilas’ ticket, including: 

• Friends’ restaurant proprietor Clyde Bevan;

• East Perth resident and WA Strata Community Association director Catherine Lezer;

• Architect and lord mayoral candidate Sandy Anghie, who scored the highest vote among council candidates;

• Rebecca Gordon, city lawyer, former deputy mayor at Melville and previously a state Liberal candidate for Willagee;

• Viktor Ko, city resident and doctor;

Other new councillors are: 

• Di Bain, also a lord mayoral candidate;

• Liam Gobbert, a town planner and former deputy mayor of Joondalup;

• Brent Fleeton, a former Bayswater councillor who runs the consultancy OverArch which works for businesses needing to deal with government.

The lord mayor and the higher scoring councillors (Crs Anghie, Bain, Gordon, Lezer) got three-year terms until the October 2023 election, while the lower four (Crs Bevan, Ko, Fleeton and Gobbert) have a one-year term until October 2021.

With 27 candidates for council it was a near-run thing: Bruce Reynolds lost out on a council spot by just 14 votes, and previous Perth city councillors Lexi Barton and Reece Harley also missed out.

It was a surprise result for most of Saturday night: One hour after the polls closed at 6pm and with 800 votes counted, Ms Bain had a commanding lead of 39 per cent of the vote, with Mr Zempilas in second place on 23 per cent.

She was still ahead at 8.30pm but the gap had narrowed, 31.8 per cent for Bain and 27.9 for Zempilas.

Mr Zempilas kept pulling ahead and by 9.15pm he won, and he got a final score of 29.44 per cent of the vote with Ms Bain the next nearest contender with 24.94 per cent. 

The result echoes previous elections where the lord mayor’s endorsements appeared to have a big influence: In 2013 all four candidates endorsed by then-lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi won seats. Three of the four lord-mayor endorsed candidates won in 2015, but by 2017 that influence had waned as Ms Scaffidi’s State Administrative Tribunal appeal dragged on.

It was a spending spree of an election with candidates declaring some $134,000 in donations of cash and “in-kind” services like flyer printing, with Cr Bain having the lion’s share of entries on the electoral gift register. If a donor who gave a gift more than $300 has matter before council, the recipient has to declare it and leave the council chamber during discussion and voting.

By DAVID BELL

COUNCILLOR Sandy Anghie is the new Perth deputy lord mayor, elected by fellow councillors at a special meeting on October 20. 

Crs Anghie, Liam Gobbert and Catherine Lezer were nominated for the position, and just before the vote Cr Rebecca Gordon spoke in favour of Cr Gobbert as deputy.

With so many of the candidates endorsed by Mr Zempilas being successful, Cr Gordon said “rightly or wrongly at the moment, we’re seeing a perception of factionalism already forming in the media and the public, and what better way for us to shatter that perception than to appoint someone who was truly independently elected by the people of the district for this role, and we can confidently say that Liam was supported by the voters on his merits and for who he is as an individual and the experience he brings.”

She said his experience as a town planner would come in handy in many of their decisions, and his eight years on Joondalup council would plug some gaps.

“We are on a council with a lord mayor and a CEO who are new to local government and I think in this context it’s particularly important that the deputy mayor role is fulfilled by someone who can support those people,” Cr Gordon said.

She said they’re skilled individuals but “we can provide a supportive network around them in the areas they lack, and this is direct local government experience, and Cr Gobbert has that experience”.

No other councillors spoke, and Cr Anghie won with five votes out of eight (Cr Di Bain was absent). 

Cr Anghie was the top scoring candidate in the council race, and also ran for deputy mayor coming in fifth.

City of Perth election results

Lord mayor: Basil Zempilas: 1,855 votes, (29.44 per cent), Di Bain: 1,571 (24.94 per cent), Brodie McCulloch: 786 (12.48 per cent), Mark Gibson: 716 (11.37 per cent) Sandy Anghie: 603 (9.57 per cent), Bruce Reynolds: 398 (6.32 per cent), Tim Schwass: 371 (5.89 per cent)

Three-year term councillors: Sandy Anghie: 3,339 votes (8.02 per cent), Di Bain: 3,070 (7.37 per cent), Catherine Lezer: 2,643 (6.34 per cent), Rebecca Gordon: 2,252 (5.41 per cent)

One-year term councillors: Liam Gobbert: 2,201 (5.28 per cent), Brent Fleeton: 2,082 (5 per cent) Viktor Ko: 2,072 (4.97 per cent), Clyde Bevan: 2,064 (4.95 per cent)

Manna out to give residents a ‘rest’

THE free food service provided by Manna Inc will have to move out of Weld Square for a one-year trial following escalating problems.

Vincent councillors decided on the year-long break at this week’s meeting after hearing of an axe fight, a recent face-stabbing, all-night needle drug sessions and rangers fearful of entering the park on foot.

“I just moved in in January and I don’t know what hit me,” resident Hillary Capolingua told the October 20 meeting. 

“I have not slept one night throughout,” she said, as her apartment faces the carpark across from Weld Square where people congregate for lengthy sessions of drug use and shouting.

“I will not go out of my apartment after 5pm.”

Ms Capolingua said her phone was stolen “right from under me” while sitting in the park with her dog: “I was pleading with them and they just laughed”. Her bank card was with it, and the thieves took it on a spending spree.

Kevin Smythe lives opposite Weld Square and told the council” “I’ve seen the ebbs and flows at Weld Square. It’s been good, it’s been bad. At the moment, despite whatever reports you’ve received, it’s the worst it’s ever been.

“The park is dangerous from morning to night. From 11 o’clock onwards it gets worse, once the Manna van arrives.”

“I don’t want to use the park anymore,” another neighbouring resident told the Voice this week. “It’s getting really bad.

“This so-called anti-social behaviour, it’s beyond that, it’s criminal… two Sundays ago four guys were running from the park, two with an axe, covered in blood.” 

Residents have taken to calling it “Wild Square”.

State Perth Labor MP John Carey, a former Vincent mayor, attended the October 20 meeting to say Manna Inc should move to the Moore Street homeless services precinct. 

Mr Carey co-chairs the homelessness working group with Perth and Vincent councils that set up the Moore Street one-stop site to coordinate 50-odd food and other homeless services as previously there was a lot of double-up and waste.

“I’ve not come to a City of Vincent meeting in my four years as MP, but I am on this particular issue which is Manna Inc,” he said.

“What is very clear is Weld Square is no longer working, and it is not a safe space either for those who are seeking assistance or the residents nearby.”

He said the Moore Street precinct is “a safe space, [with] security, lighting, a dedicated program, and there are still slots available which Manna could operate from”.

The issue has come up every year since 2013, when Vincent council resolved to give Manna Inc one more year to operate at Weld Square before moving to a new home.

They couldn’t find one and have been getting yearly one-year renewals since. Vincent staff proposed another one-year extension, but councillors voted it down this time. 

Mayor Emma Cole said the council resolved in November 2019 that this would be the last year of Manna at Weld.

“While I support the great work Manna does, it is time for Weld Square to have a rest.”

She said there’d been an increase in camping: “We’re seeing our rangers not prepared to step foot in the park and only patrolling by car, and that’s a sign we’ve lost the balance and something is not right.” 

A September survey of 68 regular meal service attendees showed 25 were homeless, 28 were not homeless, and 15 were “sometimes homeless”. 

Ms Cole moved a motion that Manna Inc be given until December 31 to operate there, and no other goods or service provision will be permitted for one year “to allow for an assessment of the impact and safety at Weld Square”. 

The motion also requests council staff work with Manna to transition to the Moore Street Precinct or an alternative spot, and re-establishes the Safer Vincent Advisory Group (made up of WA Police, Nyoongar Outreach, Uniting WA, rangers and community members). The group previously gave regular reports and advised council on the situation at Weld Square.

Councillors backed the motion unanimously.

By DAVID BELL

AT nearly 60 years old Beatty Park Leisure Centre is in need of extensive repairs again.

Opened in 1962 for the Commonwealth Games, some parts of the centre were upgraded in 2011. It was supposed to be a four-stage upgrade, but some federal funding fell through and only half got completed.

It has a long list of problems; some toilets date back to the ‘60s and aren’t disability accessible, a recent Vincent council report says some pool tiles are becoming unsealed and may suffer “catastrophic unplanned failure”, and some staff and storage areas are “dungeon-like”. 

The spa, sauna and steam rooms get over-crowded, prompting some people to cancel their membership. 

Vincent council has set aside $2.9m for repairs, but larger and longer term work is needed.

Heritage

They’re hoping for support from higher levels of government, and last week mayor Emma Cole took WA sports minister Mick Murray on a tour of the centre. The building’s on the state heritage list and the council argues it’s a “regional facility” given 70 per cent of people in the swim school are from outside Vincent.

A long term plan dubbed Beatty Park 2062 is in the works to draw up a blueprint to keep the site going until its centenary. 

“We’re very keen for some sate and federal government support in the future to help us with the grandstand for our iconic, regional Beatty Park,” Ms Cole said. 

For now, the indoor pool will be retiled, new changerooms built and the spa/sauna/steam room upgraded – with tenders for the tiling to go out this month. 

There’ll be an expected $750,000 loss of revenue from having the indoor pools closed for up to five months over summer while the works are completed (outdoor pools will still be open).

By DAVID BELL

THE transfer of Anzac Cottage from Vincent council to the National Trust was approved this week, despite a smidgen of concern it could end up a holiday house one day. 

The council will save about $7,000 a year in maintenance costs on the 38 Kalgoorlie Street property which was built in one day in 1916 for wounded Gallipoli vet Cuthbert John Porter.

The transfer is supported by Vietnam Veterans Association WA which holds its meetings there, and volunteer group Friends of Anzac Cottage who hold open days.

Short-stay

The National Trust’s deputy CEO Enzo Sirna told the council they’d ensure both groups had continued access and the Friends could continue holding open days on significant dates. The cottage would also be open on additional dates, but at standard National Trust entry prices ($10 for adults). 

While the Trust’s short-term plan is to have it as a “house museum” and memorial, a council report notes “in the longer term, consistent with international trends, it is possible that the National Trust may consider short stay accommodation in conjunction with the house museum/memorial role as a means of gaining revenue for its maintenance”.

One person who responded to consultation on the transfer said they had experience living near Curtin House in Cottesloe, which the National Trust has turned into short term accommodation. The submitter said that property now has very little to identify its historical significance as a house of prime minister John Curtin, and when they had complaints about guests causing a ruckus the Trust didn’t step in as they’d outsourced the accommodation bookings. 

Most of the other public submissions were in favour of the transfer. Private Porter’s daughter Marjorie Williams was born in the front bedroom of the cottage in 1921. Now 99 years old, her family assisted her to put in a supportive submission: 

“Whilst the family acknowledges the assistance and support that has been given to the cottage by the City of Vincent, it is appreciated that the city, like all local government bodies has a huge agenda of issues and responsibilities with which to deal. Because of this and because the National Trust focus is purely centred on heritage, we feel that the transference of ownership will be beneficial to the cottage and to the city as well, relieving the city of maintenance costs and the responsibility of caring for a building that is over a century old and was built in one day.”

By DAVID BELL

TWO friends with personal experience of sexual violence have established a new initiative to raise awareness about the prevalence of assaults against young women, and provide support for others who’ve been through the same traumatic experience.

Micaela said she and fellow uni student Joey created Young Women Against Sexual Violence after realising how many of their peers had been affected and how many of the attitudes and behaviours that can be pre-cursers to an attack are not called out.

“Nearly every girl has some story, and if it’s not a sexual assault, it’s about non-consensual behaviour,”  Micaela said.

“I think that is the issue; there is a lack of education about what is consent, and that comes down to things like the general attitudes about women being there to be conquered, and the lack of information about consent in sex education.”

The pair will hold public events every six weeks in collaboration with local businesses, and Micaela says to show what a live issue it is, they’ve already sold 38 tickets to the first event through word of mouth amongst friends. They’re expecting around 50 all up.

They will also be holding fortnightly meetups for members only, who’ll be women who have experienced sexual violence.

Micaela says they’re not psychologists, so the meetups won’t be group therapy but a supportive environment where young women can share their stories and help each other. She’s unaware of any support groups offering this in WA.

“These events are organised by women with lived experience of sexual violence, which in doing so, empowers us by taking action and having our voices heard,” she says.

Micaela says that’s important because one of the traumatic aspects about a sexual assault for a woman is having her voice taken away.

The launch, Spilling the Tea on Sexual Violence, will be held today (Saturday, October 24) and take the form of a high tea at Hackett Cafe at UWA from 1-3pm. Tickets are available from ywasv.eventbrite. com.au

By Steve Grant

RELIEF may be on the way for Vincent’s graffiti-emblazoned laneways.

Following a surge in illegible tagging this year, Highgate resident Franca Di Natali was told it had become so overwhelming the council’s lone graffiti buster would no longer do the lanes’ fences and garage doors.

But mayor Emma Cole thinks that’s contrary to council policy and put up a notice of motion at this week’s council meeting calling for a review of the city’s graffiti removal service so it can maintain the city’s 42km network of lanes. 

“Graffiti removal is part of our core business and if the need is there, we need to look at additional resources,” Ms Cole said.

“We have an absolutely outstanding graffiti officer, Lenny, who works tirelessly – he goes above and beyond and has done an absolutely incredible job being a one-person show, it’s quite phenomenal.

Tipping point

“But we’ve actually reached a point where we really need to look at whether that’s enough.”

Ms Cole says if the problem’s not solved it could cause worse issues: “If we let our laneways go, this is going to be an issue of amenity and safety for our residents more broadly.”

The policy will be clarified and some budgeting projections that will allow for extending the graffiti service back into laneways will be prepared for councillors to consider in February 2021.

by DAVID BELL