Perth Voice Interactive

TWO hundred hours of work went into a Bayswater council application for a federal grant that was rejected during the “sports rorts” scandal.

On Monday (August 3) a federal senate select committee inquiring into the grants heard Bayswater requested $500,000 to resurface the cracked and failing Noranda Netball Association courts.

The council saw the upgrades as being of the “highest priority” as the were needed to improve safety and increase player participation by about 30 per cent.

It should have been a shoe-in if the process was based on the Sports Australia commission’s assessment: They rated it as 83/100, well above the cut off mark of 74, and recommended sports minister Bridget McKenzie approve it. 

Instead, many highly scoring projects missed out and most money went to projects in electorates the Liberal/National coalition was hoping to win at the 2019 election. 

Noranda’s in the Perth federal electorate, where the Lib/Nat coalition wasn’t running a candidate and had no motive to muster votes. 

At this week’s inquiry teleconference hearing, Bayswater council’s project services manager Jon Vines phoned in as a witness.

“We had two city staff working on documentation for a full week period, and that was in conjunction with the Noranda Netball Association, and local contractors and suppliers,” he told the committee.

“We estimate in excess of 200 staff hours in relation to the application”.

Others testifying on the day had similar estimates of hundreds of hours going into detailed applications, with the shortest still clocking in at 80 hours of work and 17 pages.

Some of the grant-winning organisations didn’t even fill out an application, or got money for work that’d already been done. 

Mr Vines said out of several projects needing funding the city chose to put forward the NNA application because the courts were already failing and there was high demand.

“A lot of effort and a lot of hope went into a strong application,” he said.

Mr Vines said the process was “clearly not fair… it wouldn’t pass the pub test.”

Federal Perth Labor MP Patrick Gorman was fuming after listening in to the committee hearing, telling the Voice “the Liberal-National sports rorts took money from the City of Bayswater and wasted weeks of their time”.

THREE classmates who once shared the same pioneering primary school teacher back in Scotland 50 years ago were brought together in Perth this week.

Their teacher Saroj Lal, born in Gujranwala (in British India at the time), died in March at age 83. She was one of Scotland’s pioneers on race relations and feminism, working with schools to tackle racist bullying and police to classify, track and address racially-motivated crimes.

But before that she was a school teacher in Edinburgh: “The first black teacher at South Morningside Primary” her son Vineet Lal tells us. 

He said his mother would be “the only brown or black face within a very monocultural environment” back in 1970s Scotland. 

“When I look at the photographs of the classes she taught, they were exclusively white, except for one child in one class.

“Growing up as an Asian child in Edinburgh in the early 70s, you were acutely aware that your skin colour was different. 

“I wasn’t aware my mum going in to become a teacher at that stage was so groundbreaking, that’s a realisation that’s come about in recent years”.

After her death, and with the 50th anniversary of her first class coming up on August 20, he reached out via social media to see if he could find any former students.

Word spread through the grapewire and it turned out three students from her first class had moved to Perth, but had never met up here. 

Stephanie Steinsvaag, Hugh Ross and Alison Robertson, who went to primary 3 class together, reconvened after half a century in Kings Park on July 25. 

“They finally all met,” Mr Lal tells us via phone from Scotland, saying he was astonished that three from one class had all come here. “It was as if time had slipped away and they were just talking for hours and hours.” 

Ms Steinsvaag even had a photo of that first class that Mr Lal hadn’t seen before.

Ms Steinsvaag recalled her teacher as “such a lovely, lovely lady, [who] made a big impression on me as she was so kind”. She told Mr Lal “I was extremely impressed and fairly in awe when I read all that your mum had achieved in her life”.

Mr Lal says it’s been uplifting to see people brought together by the memory of his mum. 

DAVID BELL

A TIGHT-belt budget’s been passed at Vincent council, with provisions allowing up to $500 off rates bills for hardship. 

Mayor Emma Cole said it was her “most difficult” budget, even surpassing 2014 when the finances were thrown into disarray by an old error on the books that recorded a $3 million deficit as a surplus. 

The council is forecasting a $10.8m drop in revenue this year, down to $50m. 

Parking revenue is forecast to halve, and Beatty Park is expecting a similar drop while needing $2.9m in repairs. 

Twenty four community groups and sports clubs have been granted rates waivers, totalling another $127,000 in foregone revenue. 

The council’s kept its rates intake the same as last year, but individual residential rate bills will vary based on property rental value changes: About 40 per cent of residents will see a lower bill as the rentable value of their property’s dropped, 30 per cent will get the same as last year, and 30 per cent will see an increase.

$250,000’s been set aside for the hardship discount, available to people suffering from job loss, medical conditions, deaths or family problems. Those qualifying will first be given a six-month extension with no interest, and if they’re still in hardship after that then up to $500 can be waived. 

Vincent businesses have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic: 53 per cent of businesses in Vincent are accessing JobKeeper, compared to about a third of businesses in the City of Perth. 

To help retailers the council’s frozen the rate-in-the-dollar to be taken from commercial property owners. 

Rent values being down on average compared to last year mean they’ll pay a total of $290,000 less between them. 

That rates pain was originally going to be spread to residential bills and during consultation the council copped some criticism from unhappy homeowners. Ms Cole moved an amendment to keep the residential bills lower and so the council takes the $290,000 hit, starting the financial year with a deficit.

Council staff voted to freeze their wages, saving $380,000, and marketing and events spending will be reined in. 

Wages freeze

Ms Cole says there’s a lot of uncertainty ahead with what’s happening in other states and the potential impacts of the high court border closure challenge. 

Instead of a half-yearly budget review it’ll now be done quarterly, allowing faster adjustments and a possible top-up of the hardship fund if needed.

“I’m very conscious of the fact that peoples’ financial conditions could be even worse next year, not knowing what’s happening with JobKeeper and with the economy,” Ms Cole says. 

Vincent council’s cash reserves aren’t as swollen as some councils that’ve been able to dip into savings to tide them over this year, and the council had a pretty rough 2019 financially. The WA government’s MyCouncil rating site gave Vincent a “Financial Health Indicator Score” of 55, about 20 below the metro average, as they have a lot of ageing assets and not much cash.

By DAVID BELL

A PUBLIC pool plan at the East Perth WACA site is being realised with the WA government announcing a $30 million contribution to the WACA redevelopment on Sunday August 2.

The WACA’s undergoing a big overhaul and state Perth Labor MP John Carey has been gauging interest for a pool there. 

Mr Carey says the $30m of state money means the WACA redevelopment will include “major aquatic facility, including a 50m public swimming pool, water slide attractions and water play areas, as well as other standard facilities” like a spa and sauna.

A feasibility study joint-funded by Perth city council and the state government suggested the pool would bring in more revenue if it had fun stuff like slides, similar to Cockburn ARC.

The state money matches federal government funding and is contingent on Perth city council prcontribution. That’ll depend on Perth city council providing some contribution.

That’ll depend on the future elected council setting aside money in upcoming budgets, but the council’s long-term corporate business plan has flagged $25m for the WACA redevelopment over the next few years.

Mr Carey says a pool complex is “strongly supported by local residents” and will be a drawcard for the area. 

“More people living in the city fills streets, provides more customers for small business, means more vibrancy at day and night and makes our city streets safer.”

By DAVID BELL

Financially responsible and guided by strategy

A $10 million loan, a dip into reserves, an underspend of $8m on wages; and Perth city council has passed a balanced budget despite Covid-19’s $15m revenue hit. 

The budget report says the $10m loan from the WA Treasury Corporation could be repaid over 10 years thanks to historically low interest rates.

Trimming

The wage bill was $8m smaller than previous years due to former CEO Murray Jorgensen trimming the large number of staff.

With so much lost revenue from parking and money needed for $20m worth of Covid-19 relief initiatives, cash reserves had to be “drawn down” by $11m to lessen the reliance on rate revenues. 

Rates intake is largely the same, but the amount on each individual bill will vary based on fluctuating rentable values.

Commissioners are due to finish up in October, to be replaced by the newly elected council.

Chair commissioner Andrew Hammond said at the August 4 special meeting that it’s a financially responsible budget, and “the first budget in the history of the City of Perth that’s actually been guided by a cogent financial strategy,” as they now produce budgets in line with a 10-year strategy, rather than handling it one year at a time. 

“I truly believe now that as commissioners we leave a financial framework and a strategic financial planning system in place that will readily be able to engage with the new council and new lord mayor so they may make truly informed decisions on the future of this fine city.” 

By DAVID BELL