Perth Voice Interactive

COUNCIL election signs on private property in Vincent have been stolen.

Vincent south ward candidate Joshua O’Keefe said last Friday supporters were reporting his signs had been cut down from their fences.

He reckons whoever’s taken them hasn’t just pulled them off; the stiff signs are attached via hardy zip ties that make them difficult to yank free, so he thinks a blade was used to slice them off.

Three were cut away on Grosvenor Road, and other signs he’d made sure were legally placed near North Perth Plaza have been unearthed and tossed face down.

Mr O’Keefe’s reported it to the city, calling it a “pretty dirty play I must say and not one I’d expect from our area. The stakes must be high this election.

“They’re professionally printed and produced, so when you factor in the cost of the corflute signs, the time it takes speaking to the people in the house to organise it, putting them up … it’s a bit of a process.”

Ballots were due to start arriving in mailboxes this week, and polls close October 19.

by DAVID BELL

by DAVID BELL

LEEDERVILLE Tennis Club is five years away from notching up a century and is gearing up with an open day on October 13.

Back in January 1924 keen tennis players approached Perth city council looking for land near Lake Monger.

They were riding on the back of a tennis boom.

A June 1924 article in The West Australian noted: “The game continues to increase in popularity, both in the metropolitan area and country districts. In many of the country towns tennis has become the most popular pastime, and great interest is aroused by the week-end matches between players from different centres. In the metropolitan area several new clubs have been formed with a full membership before the courts have been ready to play on.”

The article said Leederville Tennis Club had secured a lease “for a term of three years,” but the club ended up sticking around for a few more sets.

It’s still run by volunteers, some having been there more than half of its long history.

Pam Clarke recalls the suburb was very different when she started playing more than 50 years ago.

“I began tennis coaching lessons at Leederville Tennis Club when I was about eight years old,” she said.

Val Bandy was the coach at that time and there was a very large number of juniors learning their skills.

“I am still a member and can admit to my name being on the 50-year member board.

Peaceful

“In these early days it was very peaceful as there was no freeway, so no noisy traffic and the lawn stretched uninterrupted down to Lake Monger. We could easily call the score from one end of the court to the other and be heard.

“When I was old enough – around 12 – I joined the club. There was a huge number of members of all ages and you could only play every second set on social tennis days. There was an old timber club house and I can remember many a social evening enjoyed there.

“There is still a group of us oldies from back then who play Thursday morning and Saturday afternoon. Some of our members in the past have kept playing into their 90s and that’s what I aim to do!”

All are welcome at the Sunday October 13 open day for a sausage sizzle, and there’ll be social games, a bit of coaching and racquets available for a free hit. It runs 11am to 2pm at the club on Bourke Street, near the Britannia Reserve end.

HOLDEN SHEPPARD’S book Invisible Boys is an emotional tale of growing up gay in a small country town.

Like the protagonists, the Perth author had to hide his homosexuality during his teenage years in Geraldton.

Sheppard managed to stay under the radar at a huge emotional cost, but others were less fortunate.

“You didn’t say you were gay, and those who did were bullied,” he says.

With Invisible Boys taking out three prestigious literary awards before hitting the bookshelves, Sheppard jumped at an invitation to give a series of author talks at his old high school.

Initially hesitant talking at a Catholic school about sexual identity, mental health and suicide, the 31-year-old was heartened to discover a lot has changed since he studied there.

“There’s been a big shift in my home town. They said they wanted the kids to know about those things.”

The book’s title is a nod to a teenage Sheppard feeling “invisible”, because he had to hide his true self.

“I wrote it for anyone who has struggled or still is. I want the pain of these characters to be visible to the world.

“I want the world to understand that boys and men suffer, and for gay boys in particular…this struggle can feel like the end of the world, but it isn’t.”

Sheppard, who writes young adult fiction, now lives in Perth and is a staffer at Edith Cowan University.

Printed by Fremantle Press, Invisible Boys took out the $12,000 TAG Hungerford award, the $15,000 Kathleen Mitchell Award for Australian writers under 30, and the Ray Koppe Residency Award.

He’ll be joining eight Fremantle Press authors including WA Premier’s award- winner Julia Lawrinson, Helen Milroy (Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories) and Steven Hawke (Out of Time, The Valley) at the Great Big October Book Fest at the Fremantle Art Centre October 24.

The event is like a literary Oktoberfest with beer, bratwurst and book readings.

It’s free, but bookings essential at fac.org.au

By JENNY D’ANGER

A Perth environmental engineer says climate change requires collaboration on all levels to address a global problem.

“The bottom line is that we can’t expect to live a prosperous, happy and healthy future on a degraded planet.” says Julia Ward, who works in carbon offset projects and has a passion for sustainable energy and women in leadership,.

She is heading to Antarctica in November as part of an international team of aspiring women leaders who work in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths for climate action.

Ms Ward thinks everyone can do their bit to ensure the sustainability of the planet by eating less meat, catching public transport, investing in carbon offsets and volunteering for tree planting to name a few.

“We all need to approach our own footprint with a legacy mindset,” she says.

“The power of consumer choice is underrated. It’s the small things that we do every day make the biggest difference to our environmental footprint.”

Miss Ward wants to see the world meet the growing global energy demand as sustainably as possible.

She sees that a lot of the problems we’re facing with climate change is our approach and requires a shift in the way we all think.

“The science on the impact of carbon emissions and unsustainable use of resources is crystal clear.

“We need to start thinking globally and in terms of “we” rather than ‘my organisation’ or ‘my country’.

“It’s our earth. It’s our humanity.” she says.

Large corporations reducing their emissions and investing in carbon offsets definitely have a big role to play in ensuring a cleaner and greener future, she asserts.

“Coal has the highest emissions of the fossil fuels so it’s important to replace coal with more sustainable energy sources as soon as possible,” Ms Ward says.

She prompts us to ask ourselves how we can live prosperous yet more sustainable lives for the wellbeing of future generations and ends with an allegory.

“We can think of our own lifetime on earth like we’re setting up camp here. The reality is we’re just passing through. It’s our responsibility to make sure we don’t leave the campsite in a total mess for the people who come after us.”

The November trip is with Homeward Bound, a climate science leadership initiative which aims to heighten the influence and impact of women in making decisions that shape our planet with groups of around 90 women each year since 2016.

by Tatiana Dalin

YOLK Property Group has applied to demolish two old buildings at 9 and 11 King William Street in Bayswater’s town centre, with the development-friendly state government lined up to decide the height of their replacement.

A previous planning approval giving Yolk the go-ahead for a six-storey building, on the proviso the facade of number 11 was preserved, lapsed on August 12.

The company’s new demolition application argues that not even the facade is worth keeping.

Most current Bayswater councillors opposed the previous development, which was approved by the state-controlled JDAP, but in June the state government announced it was taking over planning control for the area by mid-2020 to “maximise development opportunities” during the upgrade of the train station as part of the airport link.

Some core members of Bayswater Deserves Better have formed a new community group in response to the state government takeover, calling themselves Respect Bayswater’s Heritage Heart.

Bigger projects

They now fear an even bigger project is in the pipeline, as other similar areas under state government-control allow for 12 storeys.

Spokesperson Angie Maher fears “another canyon of high-rise units, soaring above convenience stores and fast-food outlets”.

“This is a crucial moment for the future of Bayswater village,” Ms Maher said.

“Many other heritage areas in Perth, including Maylands, Guildford, Claremont and Cottesloe, have shown the courage, initiative and civic foresight to develop their villages while retaining the historic design principles which make these local communities so attractive.”

Yolk director Pete Adams said it was “too soon” to comment on any future development because the demolition application was still pending. While the development’s been waiting in the wings, he says; “we have given both the coffee shop and Future Bayswater free rent on the site for the last three years.

“We are currently working with various groups to assess ways in which the site could be used for community events in the future.”

Demolition consultation closed September 25.

‘It feels like this area is ready to fricken explode.’

THE demolition application has reignited tensions in a divided town, with an anti-demolition protestor ejected from the Bayswater Growers’ Market on September 21.

The long-delayed apartment block project has split the community between members of Future Bayswater who want tall developments to revitalise the area, and members of Bayswater Deserves Better who want to retain historic buildings like number 9 and number 11.

“It feels like this area is ready to fricken explode,” one Bayswater local commented this week in the midst of yet another flurry of Facebook debate.

At the Growers’ Market run by Future Bayswater, ardent BSB supporter Greg Smith was told to get out of Bert Wright Park after he handed out flyers urging people to put in a submission opposing the demolition.

That earned the ire of councillor Chris Cornish.

“As a believer of free speech and free access to public land, this concerns me and so I will be requesting the CEO of the City of Bayswater to investigate,” Cr Cornish said.

The council waives the $13,000 annual hire fee at the park for Future Bayswater.

Future Bayswater spokesperson Paul Shanahan shot back a lengthy reply, saying Mr Smith was hassling people, had been “threatening” and had a protest sign with an expletive.

Mr Smith chuckled at this account, saying the stall holder he allegedly threatened was an old friend he’d stopped for a happy snap with before being told to scram. He said he only grabbed the protest sign after he’d already been asked to leave.

“I thought: This is completely appropriate, I’ve been protesting this shit about knocking down this building for three or four years now.”

He stuck some of the pamphlets he’d been handing out on the back of the sign and stalked back towards the park.

“I thought there’s a bigger issue here than 9 and 11 King William Street. There’s the issue of freedom of speech, freedom of political comment.”

Stories by David Bell

DOG rescue services would be fined if a re-homed animal attacked someone, under a recommendation from the City of Stirling.

The McGowan government is currently poring over 66 submissions to its “Pause for Paws” consultation on changes to WA’s Dog and Cat acts, with a report due to be tabled in parliament in November.

Stirling’s submission, which appears not to have been considered by councillors before being lodged by a staffer,  wants tighter dog attack laws “due to the increase in dog attacks from inappropriate dogs released to unsuitable owners”.

It says there should be “penalties for organisations involved in the assessment or re-homing of ‘rescue’ dogs that are subsequently involved in serious dog attacks”.

Adopted

Animal lover and dog photographer Alex Cearns, who runs Houndstooth Studio on Edward Street, Perth, spotted the submission and is concerned it could be a “death sentence” for hundreds of dogs.

“How can a rescue be responsible for what happens to a dog for the duration of its life once it’s adopted,” she queried.

Ms Cearns photographs animals for rescue organisations to make them look adorable and adoptable, and this year received an OAM for her charitable work. She says the onus must be on the dog’s owner.

“If a dog is adopted to someone who agrees to certain on-lead walking requirements or set types of socialisation [or] boundaries with other dogs, how can a rescue then be responsible if that owner doesn’t fulfil their agreed requirements later on?

“How long after a dog is adopted is a rescue responsible, if at all?

“Most rescues are pretty transparent when adopting out dogs, when it comes to specifying the dogs temperament and requirements — and the adoptee signs on the dotted line in relation to accepting and managing these things.”

Maylands MP Lisa Baker says she couldn’t support Stirling’s submission.

“I do not think it’s appropriate for them to be shifting responsibilities onto charitable rescue and rehoming groups.”

Ms Baker has made her own submission, and wants the new act to require all councils to  provide better information when they hand over dogs to rescue services.

Stirling’s community development director Michael Quirk said rescuers could ensure dogs were safe by carrying out behaviour assessments, providing new owners with the background and history of the dog, and requiring the dog to be registered.

by DAVID BELL