Perth Voice Interactive

A ONE man sit-down protest has stopped the felling of a 30-year-old tree in Inglewood – for now.

The “Council of Owners” at John Place units wanted the grevillea robusta removed because it was termite-ridden, situated on unsuitable land and might grow to double its size.

They said they consulted five arborists and the consensus was that the tree needed to come out.

But residents June Winsome-Smith and James Kozak disagreed–“This tree is a poster child for untenable destruction.”

On Friday October 4, tree surgeons arrived, dismantling a clothesline and setting up witches hats.

But Mr Kozak sat under the tree and refused to move, even as a worker clambered up the trunk above him and started trimming the first few branches.

Mr Kozak had called in the police and four officers watched over the standoff. Eventually the tree company packed up their gear, replaced the clothesline, and left.

The day before Ms Winsome-Smith and Mr Kozak had filed an emergency application with the State Administrative Tribunal to save the tree.

“We have laid the foundation for some resolute, peaceful opposition to this tree cutting,” Mr Kozak said that afternoon, “But we certainly expect it to get ugly and wanted the police to know in advance.”

After the incident the Council of Owners wrote to occupants stating they’re now “seeking legal advice on the tree’s removal” and advice on recovering costs from Ms Winsome-Smith.

The CoO letter says the tree removal is a “routine maintenance issue” (and so doesn’t need a vote from all owners).

Mr Kozak says, “The fundamental destruction of a large part of the common property landscaping hardly constitutes ‘maintenance’.” He believes that trimming the tree would be appropriate, but that the outright destruction is unwarranted. The CoO says that it would be easier to allow the tree to stand because of the costs of removing it, but “unfortunately, we have to go with an expert rather than with what feels good.”

Originally from Canada, Mr Kozak has “from a very young age had a strong sense of social justice and legal justice,” and believes that there is an “ingrained culture of this place that if no one protests, we can get away with it.”

The SAT will now settle the dispute, and Mr Kozak and Ms Winsome-Smith are also petitioning the court to remove the council of owners for “breaching” the strata act.

It’s not their first stoush in front of the SAT: earlier this year they had a legal tangle over Ms Winsome-Smith’s verge-planting efforts.

She’d done some gardening which the CoO objected to, so they brought in a contractor to remove the offending plants.

Ms Winsome-Smith and Mr Kozak made their first SAT stand to stop those works, but the CoO says they’ve now got written permission from the council to remove them.

by MIREILLE CHRISTIE

AN OUTPOURING of grief has met news of the death of much-loved Herald photographer Matthew Dwyer.

Police confirmed that a body believed to be that of the 51-year-old was “located at the base of a steep incline” at Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges near Albany on Thursday around lunchtime.

It followed an extensive overnight search involving a high-tech Challenger search-and-rescue jet, which was joined on Thursday by a helicopter and drone from the Police Air Wing, as well as SES volunteers and local rangers. Perth detectives co-opted for the search tried to access his online cloud storage to see if he’d tried to communicate through his photography.

Matthew was spotted on Tuesday afternoon taking photos at the summit, where he later rang a friend for a chat. But his backpack and keys were found on the track early next morning by a hiker.

Heartbroken

Herald owner Andrew Smith said “we are heartbroken”.

“Matthew touched all our lives, right across Fremantle and Perth, as he so beautifully documented our life and times,” he said.

Former Herald editor and now Tasmanian Labor MP Brian Mitchell worked for many years with Matthew, fondly remembering him as “an absolutely lovely bloke, just a warm, positive guy – one of the nicest people you could meet”.

Mr Mitchell said one of Matthew’s passions was “capturing birds in their natural environment”.

He’d been a regular visitor to the region where he died; a rare image he captured last August of a quokka in snow on top of the Knoll made headlines around the world.

Former Fremantle Mayor Peter Tagliaferri said he’d also been touched by Matthew’s death.

“Not only was he a wonderful photographer but he was also a great person,” Mr Tagliaferri said.

“Fremantle is poorer for the loss of this remarkable creative. I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and former colleagues at the Herald.

“I hope people can take solace in the fact that the amazing images he captured through his lens will continue to live on.”

Matthew was a career photographer for more than 30 years, including from 2003 to 2016 with the Herald and Perth Voice.

He was treasured for his “technical skill and creative eye” as well as his “empathy and respect for people, intelligence, good manners and warm, friendly disposition” said long-time Herald advertising director Natalie Hug.

Describing himself as a “rare moment photographer” for his spectacular wildlife images, in recent years Matthew began specialising in action shots of dogs at beaches.

His once-in-a-lifetime shots can be found at his Instagram account Matthew_Dwyer_Photography.

A coronial inquiry has been launched.

by JUSTIN STAHL

BERLIN prodigy Heidemarie Wiesner is playing three stunning classical concerts in Perth this weekend (October 11-13).

Wiesner started playing piano at 5 “because I wanted to”.

Following in the footsteps of her mother and sister, Wiesner received the coveted Schumann Prize at age 17 and has devoted her life to music.

In an illustrious career, she has played for 10 years with Berlin violinist Waltraut Elvers and performed several times with the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra.

The concerts feature Wiesner (piano), Elvers (violin) and Noeleen Wright (cello) playing Haydn: Piano Trio No 35, Mozart: Piano Trio K502 and Beethoven: Piano Trio Op 70 “The Ghost”.

According to Wiesner, the centrepiece of the concert is the so-called “Ghost Trio” by Ludwig van Beethoven.

“The first and third movements reflect the passionate, unbridled nature of the composer, so poorly understood by others, despite expressing his emotions so clearly through his music,” she says.

“The ghostly second movement has been described as the slowest of all Beethoven’s slow movements.  Composed in 1808 this Opus 70, No. 1 is one of the strongest, most expressive Beethoven Piano Trios.

“In contrast to Beethoven’s expressiveness, an introspective beauty and dancing lightness shine through the trios by Haydn and Mozart.”

Fremantle Chamber Orchestra is presenting the three concerts at Swanbourne Church of the Resurrection (Friday 11 October at 7.30pm), Wesley Church in Perth (Saturday 12 October 3pm) and Fremantle Town Hall  (Sunday 13 October 3pm).

The concerts are an artistic cooperation that spans continents: Elvers and  Wiesner (whose pianistic family tree leads directly back through Franz Liszt and Carl Czerny to Ludwig van Beethoven) have travelled from Berlin to perform with Wright.

They’re also doing a concert for the German Consul to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the German Constitution, and the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

PLEASE help design Leederville – Vincent council is coming up with a plan for the suburb’s future and “no idea is too big or too small”.

In 2008 the old council regime annoyed a few locals by putting the cart before the horse when it revealed draft designs of the Leederville Masterplan before they had done full consultation.

At the time, one business owner was shocked to see council had ‘designed out’ his business by replacing his building with a thoroughfare. The plan gathered dust and never went ahead.

This time they’re asking first; calling for ideas via

imagine.vincent.wa.gov.au or in person at two informal “gallery of ideas” sessions.

Vincent mayor Emma Cole says Leederville needs “a clear vision for the future, developed in consultation with our community”.

The suburb’s had a shot of confidence with Dale Alcock’s ABN Group announcing they’d soon start building their headquarters on the old hotel carpark.

“There is a strong interest in development in Leederville,” Ms Cole says.

“We want to ensure we have a cohesive approach to how Leederville can grow in the coming years.

“We know the unique character and main street feel is important, and we want Leederville to be a place for our whole community to enjoy and for our local businesses to thrive.”

The first session is October 20, 1pm-5pm at Leederville Village Square, and the second is October 26, 9am-noon at Oxford Street Reserve.

Ms Cole says “this is a real opportunity to help shape the future of Leederville and be a part of its history.

“We welcome input from all members of our community and those who love Leederville. This is an open thinking exercise and no idea is too big or too small.”

by DAVID BELL

THE new owners of Hostel Milligan are reaching out to help former residents left homeless, after reading last week’s front-page Voice article “91 and left to sleep in a shed”.

The Murray Street hostel was bought by the Singapore-based Fragrance Group in 2014, and they’ll soon redevelop it into a 35-storey luxury hotel.

Hostel keeper and resident Tony Ransom was given notice in August that he had to be out by September 30.

In the final weeks Mr Ransom allowed some of the poorer residents to skip rent so they could save up some money to find a new place.

Mr Ransom and a 91-year-old resident were unable to find new accommodation, and they are now sleeping in a friend’s shed.

Despite the situation, Mr Ransom says the property management company Momentum Wealth has been repeatedly contacting him asking for the final month’s rent: $4,304 and 60 cents, with their latest reminder notice arriving on October 7. The Voice contacted Momentum Wealth to ask if they knew of Mr Ransom’s economic situation, but didn’t get a response, so we forwarded a copy of last week’s article to the Fragrance Group.

The next morning we got a call from the project’s architect Laurie Scanlan, who sounded sympathetic.

“We are certainly concerned with what we’re now being told by your story,” he says, saying he’ll meet with Mr Ransom and liaise with the bosses in Singapore to see what they can do for the men.

Mr Ransom said he has no criticism of Fragrance Group or their architects and other workers who’d been through the building in recent years.

He says he got to meet Fragrance Group’s founder, self-made billionaire Koh Wee Meng, when he came by for a tour of his newly purchased building, and he was impressed by how kind and down to earth the Singaporean businessman was.

Mr Ransom says when he was struggling to move a grease trap by himself, Mr Koh rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the other end, and helped him shift it.

He says if Mr Koh knew the situation he wouldn’t want the property managers to pursue the debt, saying it’s not “the Singaporean way”.

by DAVID BELL

A PERTH woman who survived a violent relationship for 10 years says the WA government isn’t doing enough to prevent young women from heading down the same track she did.

“I wish more young girls knew what I know now,” says Katie (not real name).

“They need to know when to leave and do it right away, not years down the track like I did.

“More needs to be done for kids and youth to increase understanding about equality and respectful relationships.” she says.

“I don’t want [my daughter] having the slightest chance to enter into a relationship similar to what I did.”

Two weeks ago the McGowan government released its 2019 Women’s Report Card, which found that the number of battered wives seeking help from WA’s homelessness agencies had increased by more than 10 per cent in the last six years.

Women’s minister Simone McGurk says they’ve rolled out national domestic violence organisation Our Watch’s school program in 10 schools, with plans to expand it to all state schools.

But she acknowledges current approaches to domestic violence have tended to be “crisis-driven” rather than preventative.

Violated

Katie said her relationship had an undercurrent of disrespect, and behind closed doors it became violent within months. She said the violence would often come on quickly – a side-effect of his disrespect.

“Our interactions were mostly him subtly putting me down and ‘gaslighting’ in all sorts of ways while I tried to prove myself back to him.

“I felt violated, but didn’t do anything to get myself out.”

Katie feels the biggest mistake in her relationship was thinking she could convince her abusive partner to treat her well.

“I tried to convince him that what he was doing to me wasn’t right. When I [did that] he blew up and it came out of nowhere,” she says.

“He would pin me up against a wall, choke me, literally kick me out of bed, and lock me out of the house for hours at a time.

“Once, he kicked me in the guts so hard that it took the wind out of me. He had me in headlocks from behind countless times to prevent me from calling the police.

“When things get violent and there are reunions, things get quite addictive quite quickly after that,” she says.

Ms McGurk says the government is also putting together a 10-year domestic violence strategy.

“Part of that is better tracking of survivors on DV and feedback from that,” Ms McGurk said.

“Prior to our watch the state government did very little towards domestic violence – they didn’t do anything new. I feel the sector’s really happy with what we’re giving them now.”

Recently trauma survivors support group Angelhands received a $350,000 grant from Lotterywest . “It’s a start, but it might not be enough to cover all the women and girls across the state,” says Katie.

by TATIANA DALIN

WITH dating apps, sexting and online porn available at their fingertips, young people are increasingly turning to the internet for advice on sexual health, but it’s not always a healthy experience, says youth coordinator Lorna Graham-Geraghty.

“Next to female friends, the internet is the number one place where young people are turning to for information about sexual health … but [we] acknowledge it is not necessarily a source that you can trust,” Ms Graham-Geraghty says.

She works for the Northbridge-based Youth Advisory Council WA’s Youth Educating Peers Project, which is organising a technosexual summit at The Boulevard in Floreat this November.

The summit will address the role of technology and online social media in relationships, sexuality, sexual health and blood borne virus issues.

It’s aimed at giving youth workers, counsellors and government representatives the skills to provide more targeted support to young people.

“The ultimate goal is that the young people will be empowered to…engage in sexual behaviours in the digital and online space in a more responsive and informed way,” Ms Graham-Geraghty said.

She says young people need to be encouraged to give digital contact the same consideration as face-to-face friendships.

”It’s important that the work that we are doing is not trying to demonise [online or digital sexual behaviours].”

Instagram is the go-to app among metro youngsters, followed by Facebook; while TikTok is popular among the younger ages. In the Pilbara, Snapchat is more frequently used.

Ms Graham-Geraghty says young people deserve more credit for their online sexual behaviour and awareness of the issues.

Among the topics covered at the summit will be young people’s legal rights, consent and pleasure, porn, social media, safe sexting and the needs of people from the disability space.

The 2019 Youth Sector Summit: Technosexual will be held on 12 November at 8am-5pm, by the YACWA Youth Educating Peers Project at The Boulevard, Floreat.

Tickets at http://www.eventbrite.com

by ALEX MURFETT

SYLVIA and Karan Bettis-Heijne will use virtually all of their new East Fremantle home to raise money for charity.

Aside from building a modest 81sqm sustainable house, the rest of the Perth couple’s 1362sqm property on Preston Point Road will be devoted to permaculture gardens and a mini-orchard.

There will be lots of excess produce, which will be shared with neighbours and sold at markets to raise money for Animal Aid Abroad.

A huge terraced front garden will be filled with “bush tucker” plants.

“We’re tired of using stuff and being part of the problem,” Mrs Karan Bettis-Heijne says.

The couple is also looking at running permaculture workshop fundraisers.

Perth’s Janet Thomas founded AAA 12 years ago, after teaching English in Egypt and being appalled at how animals were treated there.

Initially she worked with the Cairo Zoo, fighting for a lone elephant to be unchained and allowed to wander around its enclosure.

Money was also raised for a shade and a better pen, and improved enclosures for the chimpanzees.

Now back in WA, Ms Thomas works in partnership with animal welfare organisations in 12 countries improving conditions for working animals like donkeys, bullocks, horses and camels.

“People don’t realise there are millions of working animals in impoverished counties,” she says.

The animals are often worked seven days a week in heat or snow, without proper food or water, Ms Thomas says.

“They are tired and ill and beaten to get the last ounce out of them.”

AAA provides medicine, treatment, more-humane equipment and education programs on how to better treat working animals.

For more information or to make a tax deductible donation visit animalaidabroad.org

by JENNY D’ANGER