Perth Voice Interactive

THE WA health department is refusing to say whether it has found any Coronavirus infections linked to a user of the gym at the Terry Tyzack aquatic centre who tested positive last week.

Stirling council closed the centre when it was told of the infection on Monday, but failed to mention the positive test when it sent an email alerting members about the closure that morning.

FAQ’s

A post on the city’s Facebook page at 9.45am was also coy about the infection: “For the latest up-to-date information on city facilities, events and FAQ’s, please visit our website by clicking the link below,” it read.

Buried at the bottom of the page, the third “frequently asked question” was whether there had been a case at a council facility.

It was only after clicking the drop-down “view” button that readers were alerted to the positive test.

“The City is working with Department of Health after a customer at Stirling Leisure Centres – Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre tested positive to Coronavirus (COVID-19). The customer attended the centre at 5pm on Thursday March 19. The City has closed its leisure centres until further notice,” the answer revealed.

It did not mention that the visitor who’d tested positive had used the centre’s gym.

Jess Belladonna, who works in Swan Districts Football Club’s administration (currently closed over Coronavirus), noticed the lack of information.

“Why have all members of Terry Tyzack not been informed of the positive Covid-19 test result?” she asked in response to the council’s Facebook post.

“We received an email informing us the facilities are closed but why was there no mention of a positive test result.”

As with the Voice’s questions, the council flicked all responsibility to the WA Health Department.

“We don’t have anything to add as that would be the WA Dept of Health’s responsibility,” the council’s media department said in response to questions about why it hadn’t been more upfront about the infection.

Contact

The council said it had provided the health department with a list of gym members for contact.

A spokesperson from the health department told the Voice they would not be releasing information about any infections linked to the Terry Tyzack gym.

Citing patient confidentiality and the huge workload now facing the health department as WA’s Coronavirus infections surged past 200 on Wednesday, the spokesperson said all the department would reveal was that it was tracking people who might have had contact with the gym user.

But they would not say how many people had been contacted or whether there were any gym users who could have been exposed to the virus that they’d been unable to locate.

The spokesperson said community members would hopefully be reassured by the fact the department had a process to deal with the infection, even if they weren’t being told the results.

Dr Norman Swan, who presents The Health Report on ABC Radio National, earlier this month spoke about the dangers of gyms and Coronavirus.

“One of the high prevalence areas from the Chinese data are gyms,” Dr Swan said in his Coronacast podcast of March 11.

“There is so much sweat and wet …. dampness is a bad thing for spreading germs.

“You’ve got these big blokes out there who are pumping away and they could not give a damn about Coronavirus,” Dr Swan said before saying he hoped there were no super-spreaders in his gym, which he was still attending when the podcast was posted. All gyms across the country have been closed since Monday.

by STEVE GRANT

ONCE the pandemic passes and we return to some kind of normality, could Australia’s first trackless tram be rumbling through Stirling to Scarborough Beach?

The proposed $97 million tram route would connect at the Glendalough Train Station and continue 7.5km along Scarborough Beach Road, ultimately linking Perth CBD to the beach.

Earlier this month, deputy prime minister Michael McCormack asked local governments to help fast-track transport projects on local roads.

At the time, Stirling council identified the trackless tram as its number one priority. 

“Our vision is to implement a cost-effective, rapid transit system from the Stirling City Centre to Scarborough Beach that will ease traffic congestion, unlock major development and create thousands of jobs for the Australian economy,” Stirling mayor Mark Irwin said.

Model

“If successful, this will be the first trackless tram in Australia and it would be a model for the implementation of this cost-effective technology right across the nation.”

Driverless, trackless trams have rubber wheels, so there is no digging up roads and they can be set up quickly, unlike light rail which takes years to build.

Powered by lithium ion batteries, trackless trams can be recharged for 3 – 5km in 30 seconds and for 25km in 10 minutes at a solar-powered station.

Mayor Irwin said Stirling’s trackless tram would have zero emissions and could link to other methods of transport.

“We’re currently the only local government in Perth that can deliver trackless trams now – we have all of our planning approvals in place, including a 15 per cent design and all transport modelling complete,” Mr Irwin said.

“The Stirling to Scarborough trackless tram delivers the priorities of the Australian government for innovation, supporting growth and increasing jobs and housing.” 

The tram technology has been trialled in China.

AN Aboriginal community group has missed out on finding a home in Vincent, but hasn’t given up hope yet.

The Wadjuk Northside Aboriginal Community Group had been hoping to expand from its Balga community centre and open a branch at Woodville Reserve on Farmer Street, North Perth.

It had been hoping to snag the empty and run-down Multicultural Services building on the reserve, which Vincent council is planning to lease out for a year or two while it finishes a masterplan for the park.

WNACG had been hoping to host elder and mum and bubs’ groups, mentoring programs, food donations, and use the building’s kitchen for food handling and barista courses.

But after going through expressions of interest, the council has decided the Wadjuks need something more certain, as the building is no certainty to remain in the new masterplan. They have also acknowledged they’d struggle to pay the rent, at least for the first year.

A report to the council says there’s “great appeal” in having an Indigenous centre in the city.

“…it would cater to those residents within the area as well as those that find it difficult to access the Balga and other WN locations within the metropolitan area,” the report said.

The council says it’s working with WNACC to find an alternative location.

Meanwhile, the Ethnic Commuities Council WA will be offered a one-year lease, with the council having absolute power over whether it offers another year or two option after that.

JUST before the coronavirus became a pandemic, Inglewood went all hipster with its first ever parklet.

Featuring a swing bench for people of all ages and Jenga-style seating, the parklet is outside Finlay and Sons café on Dundas Road.

Parklets are temporary public meeting spaces in parking bays, designed to attract people to the area and support local businesses.  

The city is planning to put another parklet in Inglewood at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Beaufort Street.

Stirling mayor Mark Irwin says they are mobile and can be moved to different spots in Inglewood’s town centre.

“Parklets add interest and vibrancy to areas, encourage people to stay a while and also rediscover their town centres,” he said. 

SPORT and community groups that have leases with Vincent council will have to undergo an “annual health check” under a proposed new policy.

The council has faced something of a rebellion from clubs recently after trying to claw back costs it believes they should be picking up, such as smoke alarm testing, termite treatments or general maintenance.

Over the years its leasing arrangements have been haphazard and inconsistent, so many of the clubs who’ve never paid the extra costs believe they’re exempt; some have cried poor, while others have simply walked out.

To try and bring some order, the council has proposed a “property management framework” along with a corresponding policy.

Its current leasing policy simply outlines possible terms of leases, but doesn’t go into any detail about whether community or commercial organisations should be treated differently or how costs should be split.

A report  to  last week’s council meeting said the new  guidelines “ensure any city property that is leased or licenced is managed in a consistent, fair and transparent manner, along with providing an equitable methodology for calculated lease and licence charges”.

They define occupancy types, how fees will be applied, annual property management reporting, leasing incentives for community groups and clarify the tenants’ and city’s responsibilities.

The new policy is to be put out for public comment.

CORONAVIRUS killed off their public forum, but Labor pollies Josh Wilson and Patrick Gorman did their best to keep climate change on the agenda by having a crack at an online talkfest last week.

The Perth Future Forum: Future of Climate Action featured MPs Gorman and Wilson (who’s Labor’s shadow assistant minister for the environment) along with Bayswater deputy mayor Filomena Piffaretti and climate engineer Zanetta Macharenhas on a Facebook Live feed.

Mr Gorman said it was disappointing the live event, expected to draw about 100 people, wasn’t able to go ahead, but they’d followed the best advice available.

“The future of democracy is in the digital space, and events such as the Perth Future Forum will soon take place online,” Mr Gorman said.

“While I am sceptical about this flowing through to electronic voting, the reality of our situation means we must explore all options available in the digital world.”

Cr Piffaretti outlined Bayswater’s aim to be using 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 and zero carbon emissions by 2040.

“In the short term (three years) we will be implementing immediate actions to reduce our energy costs via initiatives such as solar panels, trialling electric vehicles and undertaking an energy efficiency program to push down the city’s costs,” she said.

“In the medium term (five years) we will be developing a plan with individual business cases.

“This may include building a solar farm or purchasing renewable energy through aggregated buying power.”

Cr Piffaretti said Bayswater’s power bills were $26 million over 10 years.

In order to be prepared for a changed climate, the council was working to green the city, protect bushlands and wetlands, developing policies to better manage the interface between the built and natural environment, and had put together a team of experts to help develop a framework to guide the city’s growth with an in-built climate resilience.

INGLEWOOD mum Roslyn Park had a lightbulb moment to take children’s minds off COVID-19 – and it’s gone down a storm on social media.

She’s put up solar-powered fairy lights on her garden and verge trees to make things seem a bit brighter for her neighbours’ kids and passersby.

“Bugger it, these fairy lights haven’t made it to the garage yet – tomorrow they’re going back on the trees,” Ms Park posted on Facebook.

“The lights are solar, cost me nothing to have up and the neighbour’s kids love the lights at night.

“Good time to brighten up our streets for the next few weeks? (Non Christmas theme of course).

“Also, we live too far apart to sing and cheer but we can give our healthcare shift workers something pleasant to look at to and from their stressful shifts.

“And maybe something for the kids to be involved with to thank these workers #fairylightsbackup”.

The post was greeted with a flurry of Likes on Facebook pages Perth Hills Chat, Inglewood 6052 Community group and the Mt Lawley Community Group.

Ms Park is on the committee of the Inglewood Mt Lawley Community Garden, and since March 12 has been working from home, juggling her full-time job and being a single mum. 

A PETITION of 109 signatures calling for parking on Highgate’s Turner Street to be moved across the road has fallen flat, after a bit of digging from Vincent council found residents weren’t all that keen on changing the status quo.

The petition was organised by Turner Street resident Lauren Ireland, who wanted all on-street parking moved from the north side of the street to the south, adjacent to Jack Marks Reserve.

While providing easier access to the reserve for visitors, moving the parking would also have made it easier for residents to reverse out of their driveways, while a few extra bays could have been created.

However, council staff noted it would remove parking from right outside of people’s houses and might encourage reserve users to drive rather than walk, so they consulted with the 21 residences along the strip.

Only six favoured the changes, and four of those lived in the same house, while 10 wanted the status quo maintained, so the council has decided not to proceed.