Perth Voice Interactive

A LONG-TERM plan has been implemented to save the Berringa Park Wetlands from decades of exotic weed infestation.

The Berringa Park Friends Group formed 18 months ago and its volunteers have been working hard during regular busy bees pulling out the choking creep of bamboo, Brazilian peppers strangling paperbarks, and couch and kikuyu grass that’s replaced the native undergrowth.

That’s created some breathing space for natives, so undergrowth planting will start soon.

Friends member David Crispin tells us that not long into the group’s existence, members realised they had an enormous and complex task ahead of them to restore the riverbanks and mudflats to their original state. 

The exotic species have grown head-height and jungle-thick, and species like the pepper trees keep popping back up if not systematically removed.

Now they have a detailed roadmap to recovery: Bayswater council brought in a consultant to work with them on a 10-year plan to address weed removal and revegetation, monitor the surviving native trees, manage mosquito levels and keep pet dogs and cats from terrorising the wildlife.

Different weed species will be pulled out or poisoned by council at specified times of the year to best prevent them from re-germinating.

Some are obnoxiously resilient, like the dreaded Madeira vine. 

It can only be killed with a combination of constantly handweeding its smaller shoots, and drilling the thicker vines and pumping them with plant poison three times a year for up to 10 years. 

Mr Crispin tells us this month also sees the first planting day: Enough weeding’s been done in some parts that they can now start to revegetate with native understorey species like bare twigrush, tassel sedge and robin redbreast. It’ll make for a habitat for native frogs, birds and bugs.

Bayswater mayor Dan Bull says he’s glad to see an evidence-based plan in place to restore the ecosystem.

“I’m thrilled that we have the support of passionate community members who are dedicated to restoring and maintaining this diverse wetland area for future generations,” Mr Bull said.

Busy bees are the third Sunday of the month (anyone who wants a full body workout pulling out giant weeds is welcome), and this special planting day bee is on August 16 at 9am at the living stream by the east end of Berringa near the golf course.

By DAVID BELL

SMALL cabals of councillors should not be given the power to pick a council’s CEO, the Power report into the City of Perth has recommended.

Released this week, commissioner Tony Power’s report has laid bear a conflict at the heart of every council: The person responsible for making sure councillors follow the law is beholden to them for a job.

Councils hire, fire, and give or withhold pay rises to their CEO, who is legally bound to reporting any suspected misconduct to authorities. 

The fraught dynamic gives wayward councillors a motive to hire someone who’ll toe the line, Mr Power said.

At the City of Perth this “contributed to a range of dysfunctional outcomes”.

When former CEO Gary Stevenson reported then-lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi to the state’s Corruption and Crime Commission, he was sacked shortly afterwards.

The inquiry report notes Ms Scaffidi had a phone conversation with council director Martin Mileham shortly before he was successfully interviewed to replace Mr Stevenson, “telling him what she expected from the ‘next CEO’”.

The report says “this was not appropriate”.

Council factions wrestled to get their favoured person in the job, and the chaos “led to the level of dysfunction which caused the minister to suspend the council” in early 2018.

Of the 300-plus recommendations in the report, a significant chunk is devoted to untangling the perilous dynamic between council and CEO.

Recommendations include:

• Instead of a three councillor panel suggesting candidates for the council to ratify, it should come from a panel of a councillor, independent local government expert, and recruitment expert appointed by the WA local government department. The department appointee would “raise any probity concerns”;

• A council firing a CEO must bring in one of the department’s independent experts, provide detailed written reasons (like KPIs not being met) and allow a right of reply. At Perth former CEO Gary Stevenson was forced out following a negative perfomance review, but not everyone on council knew he wasn’t going willingly; and, 

• An independent executive coach, accredited by the local government department, to help new mayors and CEOs manage relationships.

By DAVID BELL

A FULLY booked Future Bayswater forum met on Tuesday night over concerns the latest designs for Bayswater’s new train station is heavy on concrete and Roman-aquaduct aesthetic. 

The train station’s being upgraded as part of the Metronet project and will be a junction for the new airport line.

FB chair Paul Shanahan hosted the forum at Bayswater bowls club and said most people were happy with the earlier concept art, which FB described as “modern,” “iconic” and “elegant”. 

But the latest designs are a lot bulkier and blockier, and the train station concept art looks like people waiting for a bus are hanging out under a highway underpass. The group isn’t fond of the ugly bridge, the “imposing” 10m high viaduct running almost a kilometre along Railway Parade and Whatley Crescent, the “uninspiring and exposed” shelters, and a lack of escalators (other new Metronet stations are getting them).

“All of a sudden we’ve got a design that has some elements that are really concerning to us,” Mr Shanahan said.

He said the group’s members were “big fans” of the Metronet project overall and were optimistic it’d bring more housing density and jobs into the town centre.

“I think this train station and the investment the state government is making in this area is fantastic, it could be a real game changer for this area; an area that really does need revitalisation. 

“So we want this train station to be iconic… it could become the flagship Metronet hub but we’ve got to get the design right.”

He wants an inquiry into the awarding of the construction contract, and to determine how the early popular designs ended up so different. 

Maylands Labor MP Lisa Baker was in attendance to hear the group’s concerns, and FB’s now starting a petition and letter writing campaign to premier Mark McGowan. 

“We have one last crack at actually influencing this design for the better,” Mr Shanahan said. “The station’s going to be there for 120 years, if it’s done in the right way it’s going to be a fantastic thing for this community.”

By DAVID BELL

IF you’re particularly attached to the verge junk about Vincent right now, or you’d like this to be the last collection, the council’s now consulting on it.

About 85 per cent (700 tonnes) of what gets put out for the annual verge collection goes to landfill and the council’s weighing up replacement options.

Mayor Emma Cole says it’s an issue that invokes passions.

“There is deep sentiment about the tradition of the annual junk verge collection in our community.

“Some people see it as a great way to find a treasure and bring community together and others complain of illegal dumping, increasingly messy piles of junk, and less of the good stuff available,” as it usually gets given away earlier through Facebook ‘buy nothing’ groups or the garage sale trail.

Six main options up for consultation have now been solidified, including a skip bin similar to Stirling council, or a by-request pickup of up to two cubic metres of verge junk. 

Consultation’s open via imagine.vincent.wa.gov.au or in person at the Vincent admin centre until August 28, and council’s due to make a decision in September.

By DAVID BELL

AN Aboriginal cultural centre for Perth’s a step closer with $2 million of WA government money pledged for the planning. 

It was announced as part of the McGowan government’s $76m culture and arts recovery package, which includes a $30m upgrade of Perth Concert Hall, $15m for more work on His Majesty’s Theatre to reinstate the original balconies, and a $15m “getting the show back on the road” fund for live performance.

State Perth Labor MP John Carey says he loves the idea of an Aboriginal cultural centre: “We need to genuinely consult and engage with local traditional owners,” he said.

The city’s been flagged as a favoured spot by many parties (the City of Perth, advocacy group Committee for Perth, federal Perth MP Patrick Gorman).

By DAVID BELL

AN explosion of tweens has prompted plans for a skate park for younger kids in Mount Hawthorn.

State Perth Labor MP John Carey says he’ll soon start a survey on the best spot and what people want in a skate park. 

Leederville has a big skate park at HQ but he reckons there’s a need for something catering for younger skaters and scooterers in the 8 to 14 age group. 

“We know there’s been a big baby boom in Mount Hawthorn,” he says, “there’s been an explosion of kids. I know that from door knocking when I was mayor, seeing all the prams and kids toys out front.

“Those babies and kids are now tweens and teenagers and what’s apparent is there is a growing demand for recreation facilities that cater towards that younger tween or teenage bracket.

“I’m passionate about getting kids away from screens and doing the activities they love. Skating and scooting is incredibly popular with boys and girls.”

He says in early talks some of the possible locations raised with him so far are Axford Park, Britannia Reserve, or Charles Veryard. 

“It’s not about plonking it somewhere that’s removing critical green space,” he says, “so what we’re looking at is: Where are areas that could be used that really are unused at the moment.” 

The skate park has to be away from trees since they drop nuts that gum up the skate board trucks. Mr Carey says he’ll work with Vincent council on the best spot but will seek funding for the WA government given how councils have copped a battering from Covid-19.

Mayor Emma Cole is keen: “We’re very excited, we’d definitely want to support this happening. We have identified in our Public Open Space Strategy that we need more fun, interesting things for youth to do. We do have a growing tween and teenage population in our Mount Hawthorn and North Perth areas, and this would be very welcomed.

“Because our budget’s taken a hit, this is really welcomed by us, because it really ticks the boxes for our strategic priorities.” 

By DAVID BELL

A NEW Holocaust education centre is on the way for Yokine, with $6 million of WA government funding announced as part of the arts and culture recovery package.

It matches $6m of federal money announced last year and the local Jewish community is aiming to raise $3m of its own for the redevelopment of the existing 70-year-old Jewish Community Centre at Woodrow Avenue. 

Mt Lawley Labor MP Simon Millman had been urging his government to fund the centre upgrade and welcomed the August 6 announcement.

He travelled to Israel last year, and says in the leadup “the local community urged me to visit Yad Vashem,” the world Holocaust remembrance centre in Jerusalem.

“Having paid my respects there, I returned determined to convince the McGowan Government to fund a Holocaust Education Centre for WA.”

Bigotry

He says the centre’s important because “learning about the Shoah,” the Hebrew term for the Holocaust meaning catastrophe, “reminds us all of the threat of authoritarianism, the risk of dehumanisation, and the terrible consequences that can flow when we give bigotry a free pass.”

Planned to be a “world-class” Holocaust education centre, it will have an an Australian streak, housing a permanent memorial to Aboriginal human rights activist William Cooper.

Cooper was a Moira man born in Victoria and campaigned for Aboriginal rights as far back as 1887. In 1938, after hearing of the Kristallnacht attacks in Germany, he led a delegation of the Australian Aboriginal League to the German consulate in Melbourne protesting the “cruel persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi government”.

“We are a poor people, and few in numbers, but in extending our sympathy to the Jewish race we also pledge ourselves to help them by all means in our power,” his League’s resolution read.

By DAVID BELL

THE Conservation Council of WA has called on the McGowan government to adopt its ‘Clean State’ recovery plan and build 15,000 new energy-efficient social housing homes.

The plan would “solve three problems in one” suggests CCWA director Piers Verstegen, by meeting WA’s social housing shortage, reduce WA’s carbon footprint by 360,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, and create 65,000 “shovel-ready” jobs.

Social housing includes public and community housing. In the South Metro region, there are 2500 households on the social housing waiting list, and an average wait-time of 116 weeks. 

Social housing resident Kerry Elder feels this shortage keenly.

“My house is going to be torn down, and I’ve been waiting three years for relocation. I was told that I would be out of here in 12 months”, Ms Elder said.

“It’s caused my mental illness to really deteriorate – my home has become a house.”

Earlier this month, Anglicare warned that WA could soon face a dearth of up to 30,000 public housing properties.

Ms Elder says that many of the houses that do exist desperately need retro-fitting. 

Freezing

“My townhouse is all cement, and in the winter it gets absolutely freezing downstairs. A bit of insulation would really change that.”

Trish Owens, a community housing resident and tenant representative, told the Voice retrofitting would benefit tenants and housing providers alike. 

“Housing providers are already looking to make their properties more energy efficient. It saves money. If I had insulation, would I use my 1970’s aircon so much?” 

A spokesperson for the Department of Communities emphasised the state government’s new social housing programs.

“The state government’s Social Housing Economic Recovery Package announced in June 2020 is the largest housing maintenance and refurbishment program in Western Australia’s history,” the spokesperson said. 

SHERP is a $319 million package which will see 1500 homes refurbished and over 300 new homes built.

According to the department, the program will be environmentally conscious.

Clean State has launched an open letter to drum up support for its initiative. 

The department of communities commented only briefly on the CCWA plan. 

“Communities is aware of the Clean State jobs stimulus and recovery plan and is further considering the proposal and the associated proposed measures.”

By LOTTIE ELTON

A MENTAL health campaign launched by the WA Association for Mental Health claims the McGowan government has muddled its funding priorities, dooming any attempts to reform the sector to failure.

The association is hoping its Prevent Support Heal campaign will gain traction in the lead-up to next year’s state election, particularly as Covid-19 continues to pick away at people’s mental health and puts increasing pressure on mental health services.

The association says the government has ignored its own mental health roadmap, Better Choices Better Lives 2015-2025, by pouring money into expensive in-hospital treatment programs while community support and prevention services have languished.

WAAMH CEO Taryn Harvey, a former Vincent councillor, says the unbalanced distribution of funding has led to gaps across WA’s mental health care system. 

“We have seen people with mental health challenges staying away from hospitals during the pandemic, meaning demand for community-based services has soared,” Ms Harvey said.

But despite Better Choices setting a target of increasing the proportion of funding for preventative services from 5 to 7 per cent of the overall mental health budget, WAMH claims it’s dropped to just 1 per cent.

Mental Health minister Roger Cook’s last big announcement for the sector was a 20-bed mental health unit at Fremantle Hospital.

An audit of the Mental Health Commission by the auditor general’s office in 2019 found there had been “limited progress” in implementing Better Choices, while increasing demand for community services hadn’t been matched by funding increasing, leading to people receiving less care.

“We’ve got a roadmap. We know what we need in this state. What we’ve lacked is the political will to make strategic reforms,” says Ms Harvey.

“Inadequate investment in prevention and community-based services puts pressure on other parts of the system.”

Ms Harvey says the minister’s approach risked turning hospitals in a revolving-door option for people with mental health issues.

“If you help people earlier on, they’re less likely to access those expensive clinical services.” Without support in the community, they were more likely to relapse after release and be back in a hospital.

Ms Harvey says the community support services’ slice of funding has also slumped to 5 percent – enough to meet just 20 per cent of the demand.

She claims the imbalance is reflected in more people presenting to hospital for suicidal thoughts and self-harm since the onset of Covid.

The Voice contacted the health minister Roger Cook’s office, but were told he could not provide a comment before deadline.

By KELLY WARDEN