Perth Voice Interactive

VINCENT council’s annual general meeting of electors is on January 28, 6pm at the Loftus Street chambers.

Vincent’s AGMs are usually a sparsely attended affair with council staff sometimes outnumbering electors. Last year saw a boom of 11 electors, up from the four who came along in 2018 and 2017.

Every elector’s motion getting a majority vote at the AGM has to at least be considered by councillors at their next meeting.

Bayswater councillors are about to do just that at their first meeting back for the year on January 28.

Some of the 20 successful electors’ motions from December’s AGM they’ll vote on include:

• Deborah Bowie’s proposal to rename Carter’s Wetland. She’s suggested Noongar custodians be consulted to see if it’s appropriate to give it a Noongar name. The council bought the block from the Carter family in 2017 to restore the wetlands;

• Georgia Kennedy’s idea to employ an arts and cultural manager to “build the reputation of the City of Bayswater as a home of arts and culture in WA” (a mantle Vincent council’s been trying to don);

• Doug MacLennan’s call for the council to make its Audit and Risk Committee meetings open to the public;

• Greg Smith’s proposal to ban wheel clamping on private land (though Mr Smith’s blunt motion has been watered down a bit, with the proposal to councillors suggesting they just keep an eye on Stirling’s attempts to ban clamping and see if that gets approved by the state government before they take any action).

Mr Smith’s other proposal, that the city lobby state and federal MPs (Lisa Baker and Patrick Gorman) to help free Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, was narrowly defeated 21 to 24 in December.

The 2018 AGM also bore fruit this month, with the realisation of Lazar Radanovich’s motion to save an 80-year-old Kurrajong tree that was going to be pulled out for the Bayswater train station development. It’s now safely sitting in its new patch of soil down the road (Train re-root, Voice, January 18 2020).

WA’s peak council lobby group, WALGA, has been pushing to scrap laws requiring councils to hold electors’ AGMs, but Vincent’s submission to a McGowan government review of the Local Government Act describes them as a useful point of accountability and representation.

by DAVID BELL

AN unauthorised performance has joined the Fringe World lineup to protest against the festival’s sponsorship by a major fossil fuel provider.

Extinction Rebellion WA’s show “1.5 Degrees Live” will see performers take turns reading out the entire 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report at the “Woodside Pleasure Gardens”, following in the footsteps of readings at Edinburgh Fringe.

Extinction Rebellion says Woodside purchases “social licence” with its arts spends and wants Fringe to turn down any future funding.

On Friday January 24 the Friends of Australian Rock Art is coordinating the 1.5 degrees reading, headed up by Aboriginal musician Lois Olney who has kin connections to the Burrup.

FARA is angry over Woodside’s recent relocation of ancient Aboriginal rock art at the Burrup during an expansion of its LNG hub, and fears pollution from the gas trains could erode the works.

XRWA organiser Tamara Clements says the first few readings have been “really well received… people did stay for quite a while. We even had some people return the next night which was really uplifting to see”.

The reading segments are punctuated by 10-minute discussions between performers about the report.

“It gives people an opportunity to listen to the science, to have it read out to them, and we also have time to reflect and share comments and opinions,” Clements said.

She says Fringe organisers haven’t given them any trouble: “We were shifted off the pavement by the council, and Fringe World were accommodating and allowed us to be on the grass. Fringe World has been cooperative but they’re not meeting our demands, which is to help us tell the truth [about the climate] by removing sponsorship from the polluter.”

XRWA’s Jesse Noakes says they’re not aiming to hinder Fringe.

“Fringe isn’t Woodside – we don’t want to be interfering with artists,” Mr Noakes said.

“We don’t see this as a protest or disruption, but part of the public art – part of the entertainment.”

They’re at the Russell Square grounds Thursdays through Sundays, until the estimated 50 hours of reading the report is done.

A FLAT on Sherwood Street will be auctioned off so Bayswater council can recover rates racked up since the owner died 12 years ago.

Vilim (William) Bunoza’s estate owes $17,979 in council rates, $10,150 to the Water Corporation, and $61,871 in strata levy charges.

31/3 Sherwood Street Maylands is being sold February 1 at noon under the Local Government Act which allows a council to sell off an indebted property if they’ve given the owner (or other person with interest in the property) minimum three months’ notice.

The council doesn’t get to keep any profit once the rates, water bill and strata fees have been paid: The Act requires any leftover money to be given back to relatives (or other people entitled to the property). If they can’t be found, the money goes back to the supreme court, then after six years into the state government’s “consolidated account”, the big pool of public money that all revenue sits in.

BEN MORTON is the Federal Member for Tangney and a rising star in the Morrison government. Following his pivotal advice that helped secure the Coalition’s against-the-odds election victory last year, Mr Morton was promoted to Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet and now has responsibility for the National Australia Day Council. With many local governments ditching Australia Day celebrations over concerns it offends Indigenous people, he makes a pitch that it’s a tradition worth preserving.

AUSTRALIA DAY is a day to reflect on the past, present and future – to think about where we have been and where we are going as a nation.

It’s a day to celebrate our people, our successes and our resilience in the face of adversity.

It’s a day to listen to each other and respect each other’s stories and contributions, and to acknowledge that whatever our experience and backgrounds, that first and foremost we are Australians.

We celebrate our land, our freedoms and our democracy, our wonderful lifestyle, our achievements, the opportunities our country offers, as well as its potential to become even better.

We reflect on our struggles and successes as a nation – our resilience in overcoming world wars, depression, drought, fire and flood. This year we are experiencing the harsh challenges of fire and drought.

So this Australia Day we pay special tribute to the sacrifice of our emergency service personnel and volunteers who have been at the frontline fighting the bushfires.

We also applaud the countless volunteers, from all walks of life, who have dropped everything to lend a hand and we applaud the generosity of Australians who have supported communities devastated by fire.

This year, even more so than others, we draw strength from our strong community spirit and mateship.

Australia Day is an opportunity for Australians to bind as a nation – to reflect on our past, celebrate our present and contemplate our common future.

The usual Australia Day debate fuelled by activists has been unusually subdued this year. The bushfires have bonded communities together and bought to the forefront the strength of the Australian spirit and pride in our nation and our people.

I’ve been disappointed to see that some councils have cancelled Australia Day events ‘out of respect’ for our firefighters.

On the contrary, such events are an opportunity for all Australians to reflect on their courage and sacrifice, respect their bravery and commitment and honour their contribution as Australian heroes.

Out of such hardships and cruelties our nation has emerged as a diverse, free and fair society.

Diversity is one of our nation’s greatest achievements.

Our story starts over 60,000 years ago with the First Australians, the world’s oldest living culture. Australia Day is a day to reflect on the impact of European settlement had on Indigenous Australians and their way of life. It’s a day where we can respectfully learn about the ongoing history, traditions and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Australia is also the most successful multicultural nation on earth – a tapestry of peoples from around the globe who have all contributed to our social, cultural and economic success.

Today more than 25 million people from almost 200 different countries make up our society and we will welcome thousands of new citizens on Australia Day.

It’s easy to think of ourselves as being part of a particular family, tribe, region, state, ethnic group, generation or religion. So Australia Day is important because it is the day that whatever our experience and backgrounds we acknowledge we are Australians first and foremost.

No one is more Australian than another.

That doesn’t mean we can’t disagree. We all have different views. We all have different backgrounds. And because of this Australia Day means different things to different people.

But we prize the values of individual freedom, equality opportunity regardless of their race, religion or ethnic background, mutual respect, tolerance, fairness and compassion for those in need.

We should celebrate these very freedoms and values – for they are at the very heart of being able to freely express different views, listen to each other and respect each other’s opinions.

For all these reasons Australia Day is rightly our biggest annual civic event. Last year more than 10 million Australians participated in Australia Day activities, celebrating our diverse background and the extraordinary achievements that have made Australia such a successful nation.

I for one have always loved Australia Day and participated in events as a proud Australian with my family and friends. Now I share Australia Day with my own children. It is a day for hope and optimism about our future as a nation.

So this Australia Day, in particular, join with your own community and take time to reflect on the bravery and determination of our emergency service personnel and volunteers, respect their immense contribution to our nation and celebrate their spirit and strength.