Perth Voice Interactive

IF homelessness is becoming a game of “political football” in the Perth council elections, Phillicia Garlett and her family are the pigskin.

They’ve been bounced around the decidedly uneven playing surface of Perth’s CBD and into its farthest pockets; their latest shelter under the Lord Street overpass in Highgate seems so precarious it feels like there’s nothing after that but to drop off the face of the earth.

Ms Garlett, a granddaughter of the late, respected Noongar pastor Sealin Garlett, and a dozen or so family members have pitched their tents along the dual use path from the nearby McIver train station.

There’s so little room cyclists have to weave around them.

Across the path is a small gravel strip where they’d been out of the way of the bikes, but a fortnight ago Transperth put up a big ringlock fence to ensure that option was out.

The group also tried to set up on an empty patch of grass wedged between the railway line, the overpass and the off-ramp of the Graham Farmer Freeway. 

It’s a sump and just about the loudest, most unglamorous address in Perth, but even that was too much for authorities; they were told they were trespassing and to clear out.

“It’s not like we were making fires and burning everything – it’s out of the way,” Ms Garlett says.

The mother-of-two says she’s been on Homeswest’s waiting list off and on since 2002.

“They keep saying me and my partner are not suitable because we don’t fit the criteria and match, but they don’t say what they are.”

Between them the couple have five kids, but they’re all in care with the Department of Child Protection and visits are mostly via video hookups.

“It’s a little bit hard for them; they talk about how they miss mum,” Ms Garlett says.

She’s desperate to bring the family together under one roof, saying it would make it possible to get back on her feet.

Ms Garlett previously worked as a cleaner in the mining industry and holds the relevant training qualifications.

But these days listing “no fixed address” and “no email” on your job application virtually guarantees a knock-back.

“It’s really sad.

“I’d love to help my family get into accommodation rather than living a hard life like this,” she said.

By STEVE GRANT

A SUMMER 2021 reopening for the first stage of the Maylands Waterland is in the pipeline. 

Bayswater council brought in tv gardening figure Josh Byrne to develop the concept plans, with play areas and artworks inspired by local plants and animals, and “bioengineering” practices which aim to ensure the revamped Waterland doesn’t impact on the health of the river.

Stage 1 will cost about $3.5 million and will have shallow splashy areas, but the moderate-depth pools from the old Waterland won’t come til stage 2. 

Bayswater mayor Dan Bull said in a statement: “The concept plans complement the natural beauty of the site while incorporating the variety of family-friendly water play elements our community told us they wanted. There will be access for all abilities, plenty of shade and links to the river foreshore.”

South ward councillors Elli Petersen-Pik, who’s been campaigning for the Waterland to be restored since before he was on council, said: “I am very pleased that we are now seeing significant progress.

“I am particularly happy that it’s going to stay as a water-based facility, and that we will have at least one toddler pool as part of stage 1. It is a component that was particularly important to me and many others in the community, not least to ensure that young kids can gain confidence in water.”

He says he’s hopeful that they’ll see stage 2 (which includes a 60cm deep pool) in the near future as that’d help it get back to being a unique outdoor swimming spot. But that will almost certainly need outside state or federal funding, which hasn’t flowed in so far.

Fellow south ward councillor Catherine Ehrhardt said those deeper pools are key to Waterland. She said the stage 1 design “is a great looking park with water elements, but it’s not Waterland”.

The plans are up at engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au and there’s three community information Q&A sessions coming up at the rec centre next door: August 29 at 10am, and September 2 at 6pm or 7pm. 

By DAVID BELL

A NEW pedestrian and bike bridge across the Swan River will be constructed west of the Causeway, linking the CBD with Victoria Park.

The McGowan government’s spending about $50 million on the new bridge which will have a six-metre wide path and dedicated cycle and pedestrian lanes, marking a shift away from the principal shared-path battle royale model.

Bike advocacy group WestCycle’s welcomed the announcement saying it fixes one of the big bottlenecks for riders commuting to and from the city.

Safest

The Causeway’s often chockers with 1400 cyclists and 1900 pedestrians each day, crammed into the narrow path beside the busy roads. 

Perth state Labor MP John Carey told us “this is brilliant for our city for so many reasons.

“The first is it’s fixing a critical congestion point on the Causeway bridge… this new bridge is just for cyclists and pedestrians, and it’s separated lanes, so it really is the best and safest way for large numbers of people to cross.”

Mr Carey says it’ll also bring more people to a part of East Perth that’s in need of enlivening, and the arty design is intended as a drawcard itself with Aboriginal history and culture woven in. 

He says adding onto the Causeway was considered, and while that was a cheaper option it had a few problems.

“The Causeway bridge is estimated to have another 20 or 30 years in it, but a new bridge will be likely built after that at a higher level.”

The Causeway is very low to the water and has only a tiny clearance for boats (or floods), and it’s due to be replaced in a few decades anyway.

“We really thought a purpose-built, iconic bridge that’s a tourism drawcard was a better investment than a $20m spend that’s adding to infrastructure that has to be replaced.

“I love that it’s another drawcard, an activator for the east end of our city.”

The initial concept’s been done up in consultation with the Wadjuk working group, and they’ll be kept on board through the final design. It’ll have design elements inspired by Aboriginal historical figures Yagan and Fanny Balbuk. 

Yagan has a statue on Heirisson Island, and Balbuk was born in the shallow waters of Matagarup before land reclamation raised Heirisson Island. She would often walk the route from her birthplace to the swamp where the Perth train station was built, not altering her path even as buildings and fences sprung up on her land. 

It’s intended as a New Deal-style stimulus works so the McGowan government’s pledged to have the work done by WA companies and the steel fabricated here, and tenders are due to go out in 2021.

By DAVID BELL

AFTER years of hard work a triangular oasis of urban greenery is ready for guided bushwalks.

Volunteers from the Friends of Inglewood Triangle have worked to restore the patch to a prime example of intact banksia woodland. 

It’s needed weeding to keep out invasive weeds like veldt and black flag, careful quarantining to keep dieback at bay, cleaning to get rid of litter, and revegetation efforts to restore some of the degraded areas. Local school kids have been helping with planting, then Friends’ volunteers hand-water the plants for the first two years. 

Remnant

Friends’ secretary Sue Campbell tells us “it’s a very special little place, because other than Kings Park it’s the next closest spot to the CBD of remnant bushland.

“You can have a wildflower experience right in your own hood, right in the heart of suburban Inglewood.”

The spot’s an important refuge for wildlife: Small lizards, bobtails and bugs call it home, and many others stop by for a feed. 

“The black cockies love the marri trees, in particular the honky nuts, because of the seeds inside them. They spot those and stop over and have a munch.” Ms Campbell says with all the dozens of types of birds “it’s quite a noisy spot at times”.

The triangle’s also rich with unsung heroes: Moulds and fungi like the Scotsman’s beard and the strawberry slime mould. Forty types have been found there, including some not yet identified by the group, and the plants are reliant on the fungi and moulds to thrive.

Ms Campbell says the value of fungi is under-appreciated: “They’re really the third kingdom: We’ve got plants, animals, and fungi, and we wouldn’t survive without fungi. It’s very early days for us in mapping out fungi: We’re just appreciating how important they are for orchids and providing nutrients for plants.

“It’s fascinating when you’re looking for orchids: You can only find orchids if there’s the fungi underground they’re feeding on.”

The triangle’s always open to the public but they’re now prepared to invite more in for bushwalks. Along with getting the bushland up to a healthy level, newly installed three-stage dieback cleaning stations help stop the pathogen spreading.

The spring walks run on various dates from September 6 to November 1, are an easy 45 minute walk, and they’re free but book via eventbrite (search “Friends of Inglewood Triangle Reserve Spring Walks”).

From gravel to grand 

The Friends’ group goes back to the early 90s, when the triangle was Stirling council’s storage ground for sand, gravel and equipment. Some locals got together to write to the council asking for a halt to the vegetation slashing program there, as it was taking down weed and native plant alike.

In 1993 the Inglewood Ward Ratepayers and Progress Association wrote to the council and requested the triangle 

be separated from the larger recreation reserve that also houses the golf club. The National Trust declared the area to have natural heritage significance, and the council agreed to make it a “class A” reserve for the purpose of preserving the landscape. 

Thirty-five people showed up to the first wildflower walk in 1995.

Members came and went over the years and the Friends group faded away at the end of the millennium, until being revived in 2007 when concerns were growing about the council’s use of sprays to tackle weeds.

In 2010 they were successful in getting all spraying stopped, and pledged to weed the triangle by hand, and the group now gets council backing through staff support and funding for Friends groups.

Local schools have also helped along the way, and Perth College Kindergarten “adopted’ the triangle and its students head along to help with conservation work regularly through the school year.

“We’ve got a great group of people now,” Ms Campbell says, but adds “we’ve still got lots of work to do”. 

THE WA Australian Medical Association has raised concerns about a partnership between Perth health clinics and a medical cannabis producer.

In the biggest deal of its kind, leading medical cannabis supplier Montu has signed a deal with Jupiter health clinics across WA, claiming it can help drastically cut waiting times for patients with a cannabis prescription.

Montu will be providing “advice” to GPs on the 30 conditions it claims medicinal cannabis can treat, including chronic pain, anxiety and insomnia.

But AWA WA president Dr Andrew Miller is urging caution.

“There is limited evidence available as to the effectiveness of medical cannabis for the wide range of suggested uses – more clinical trials and data is needed,” he told the Herald.

“Patients seeking medicinal cannabis for nausea, or chronic pain, may benefit from other drugs and treatments – we are realising more and more that drugs are not the answer for most chronic problems.

Alarming zeal

“There are a group of patients who likely will benefit from medicinal cannabis but it is alarming the zeal and speed with which proponents want to expand widely the range of benefits of what they are selling.

“Buyer beware: Wide use of medical cannabis for a long list of reasons based on advertising will not benefit the community.”

The majority of Australian doctors are unconvinced too, with less than 5 per cent prescribing medical cannabis, despite more than a third of patients asking about it.

Montu managing director Christopher Strauch said the partnership with Jupiter – the state’s largest clinic network – was a “significant step to integrate cannabis into medical practice more broadly”.

Mr Strauch said patients who’d suffered chronic pain for more than 20 years had been able to quit opioids after cannabis treatment and live normal lives, while it had also helped people suffering depression and poor sleep.

“We put patient outcomes first and are proud to facilitate widespread access to medical cannabis by actively supporting doctors here in WA and across the country through our nationwide team of medical liaisons.” 

The Herald asked if the partnership tied Jupiter GPs into prescribing Montu’s medical cannabis products.

“Jupiter’s GPs have the freedom to choose the medical cannabis product and partner they deem most suitable for their patients,” Mr Strauch said.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

A LITTLE boat that spent 463 days drifting across the Indian Ocean is making its way into Perth this weekend. 

The tiny GPS-equipped Star of the Sea, built by students at Sacred Heart School in Kingston, Massachusetts was part of a global project from nonprofit organisation Educational Passages, which aims to connect students around the world. So far 165 boats have been launched, but this was the first to make it to Australia.

Once the Sacred Heart students had built the boat and filled it with 50 letters, it was air-freighted to South Africa to be launched on March 22, 2019 above the Marion Rise in the Indian Ocean, which scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute are in the process of mapping to help unlock the mysteries of tectonic activity in the deep ocean.

Complex seas

“Biologically, geologically and physically, the planet’s seas are an incredibly complex system of wind, waves current, life and resources that are yet poorly known,” says WHOI chief scientist Henry Dick.

In April this year the mini-boat approached WA’s North West before being swept south on the Leeuwin current, with the eager students at Sacred Heart reaching out to Perth locals by email to direct them to Geographe Bay.

Bunbury councillor Todd Brown’s family and Fremantle geoscientist William Power hunted the mini-boat using the students’ GPS reports, but in a serendipitous twist they were beaten to the punch by local primary school teacher Carol Smith and her husband Brian who’d been walking their dog on Dalyellup Beach.

Ms Smith shared the mini-boat full of full of letters and trinkets (but minus its mast) with her year 3 class at Australind Primary School and has become a committed participant in the program. 

She’s now working in a small team with Mr Power and Mr Brown to decide the mini-boat’s fate. For now it’s heading to the Fremantle Children’s Library this weekend and then August 30 to September 6 along with some of the letters.

“While the boat is on display, people can come down, have a look and read a few letters from the kids that built the boat. We need help to repair and relaunch,” Ms Smith said.

Mr Power encourages anyone who is interested in getting involved to head to the mini-boat’s Facebook page ‘SHSOS-Australia’ to keep track of updates or let the team know how they’d like to help.

It’s also touring schools. 

Fremantle College’s marketing officer Claire Watkinson said they’re hoping to build from Mr Power’s knowledge and design a similar research experiment for their specialist marine students.

by MORGAN DE SMIDT

AN alliance of environmental groups fighting a major oil and gas development on the doorstep of Ningaloo Reef launched a major new campaign in Perth this week.

Beautiful Ningaloo is being run by Protect Ningaloo, a joint initiative of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, the Conservation Council 

of WEA and the Cape Conservation Group – Exmouth, and is targeted against Subsea 7’s plans for a pipeline fabrication and towing facility in the Exmouth Gulf.

Protect Ningaloo director Paul Gamblin says they’re aware it’ll be a David and Goliath battle against a multinational.

“For two years we’ve implored Subsea 7 to do the right thing by withdrawing their controversial proposal and avoiding harming Exmouth Gulf, Ningaloo. But it’s been to no avail,” Mr Gamblin said.

The campaign will involve advertising as well as postcards sent to about a quarter of Perth’s homes.

“Tens of thousands of people have already joined our campaign and this enormous support means we can now take up the cause in a much bigger way than ever before,” Mr Gamblin said.

“Ningaloo-Exmouth Gulf is a special place to so many people – it’s a beloved part of our shared heritage – which explains the torrent of letters that people have sent to government asking it to stop industrialisation of this area.”

Protect Ningaloo says pipelines can be deployed offshore from ships or alternative sites found in the Pilbara.