Perth Voice Interactive

THE “bring out your dead” tradition in Vincent is headed for the trash pile with councillors voting to end bulk verge collections.

On Tuesday (April 2) Vincent councillors unanimously supported Cr Josh Topelberg’s motion to not renew the city’s tender for bulk verge collection.

He cited a truckload of reasons to dump the system including:

• Unsightly verges for two months a year (or even more since many people put stuff out early and that’s on top of the green waste collection months);

• Rubbish blowing around neighbourhoods;

• Late-night verge hunters creeping around the neighbourhood;

• Illegal dumping on other people’s property; and,

• People dumping after collection dates meant garbos have to do another pass.

“I’ve been known in my younger days to be a kerb-surfer looking for stuff – back when there used to be things,” Cr Topelberg told councillors.

“I think I’ve got a restored chair somewhere in the house that was once on somebody’s verge.

“In the days of Gumtree and Buy Nothing, those days are pretty much over.”

He said he’d heard a lot of complaints this year about rubbish being strewn around neighbourhoods, including someone putting a big freezer full of meat on their verge for two weeks in the summer sun.

During the verge collection the freezer door opened and the rancid meat toppled out.

Stench

The stench lingered for two days and council workers eventually had to replace the mulch outside the property.

Vincent Deputy mayor Susan Gontaszewski seconded the motion and said this was the worst year yet for complaints about verge junk.

Mayor Emma Cole said “there are the stalwarts out there that love it, but yes I definitely agree with Cr Gontaszewski, I certainly fielded way more complaints this year than previous”.

She said only 15 per cent of verge collection junk is diverted from landfill, “and while there is this perception that a lot is picked up off the verge and recycled…it doesn’t hit anywhere near close what you can recycle if you use other methods”.

Vincent councillors have asked staff to come up with an alternative to verge collections by June.

Some neighbouring councils give residents tip passes or let them have a skip occasionally.

The motion doesn’t specify an alternative.

by DAVID BELL

A SHORT film about dating in your 80s kicks off a series of screenings from emerging filmmakers at Yagan Square this week.

Filmmakers from ECU’s WA Screen Academy are getting some exposure on the big 45-metre screen, and the first film in the lineup is Deighties, the tale of Phil (86) who lost his wife 18 months earlier and embarks on a quest to find love in the modern dating world.

Director Mason Fleming said that empathy was always the objective when making Deighties.

“I’ve noticed a collective blind eye turned to the notion of the elderly needing intimacy,” he said.

“I’ve always loved that Deighties tells an emotionally universal story. It acknowledges that everybody will age, everybody will feel loneliness and love, and everybody needs companionship.”

The seven short films will be shown on April 5, starting at 1pm.

Then every Friday at 1pm one of the films will be re-screened.

GETTING underground power has turned into a class war, says Stirling council.

Calling for the McGowan government to review the state’s underground power program, the council says it has turned into a commercial bidding war that favours the rich and pits councils against each other.

Stirling staff say they’re being forced to offer more than the usual 50 per cent council contribution just to get a look-in with the Underground Power Steering Committee, which is made up of members from WA Treasury, Western Power and the WA Local Government Association.

“Property owners in lower socio-economic areas are unlikely to ever be granted projects due to the reduced ability for residents to make payments, and this likelihood reduces even further when local governments are required to bid competitively against each other to be selected for a program,” officers wrote in a report to last week’s council meeting.

“The program now appears to be aimed at higher socio-economic areas where there is an ability/willingness of property owners to make increased payments, rather than the initial aim of the SUPP to reduce risks associated with storm events and impact on service reliability.

“The city has for many years held concerns about the principles and the equity of the state underground power program.”

The report also noted that if the council upped its bid to get projects through, the added cost would be borne by ratepayers.

Stirling mayor Mark Irwin said while there were obvious benefits to underground power, he wants to be sure the financial impact on property owners is fully considered.

“[Stirling council] seeks to influence the WA Local Government Association and other local government authorities to advocate for more favourable terms and conditions for affected property owners,” Mr Irwin said.

“The Menora SUPP installation is now tracking well, and we will continue to update residents on project progress via the city’s website.”

The council voted unanimously to write to the McGowan government and other stakeholders requesting a review before the next round of the program.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

DESPITE a royal commission exposing a long list of misdeeds by the major banks, Stirling council’s finance staff are advising councillors not to pull investments out of the big two it deals with – yet.

The council has $92.7 million with NAB – by far its biggest investment – and $25.1m with Westpac.

Both were criticised by commissioner Ken Hayne, who said “time will tell” if Westpac will pull up its socks, and NAB got the worst review of the four with the commissioner fearing there would continue to be a “wide gap between the public face NAB seeks to show and what it does in practice”.

Stirling council’s finance staff put together a report for councillors looking at the “implications” of changing their investments away from the banks criticised by the commissioner.

The report said there was no direct impact as a result of the royal commission, but “the indirect, and wider issue, is related to social impact as to who the city chooses to invest with”.

The officer’s report says they now “have the option to move away from those institutions which have been found to have acted below community standards and expectations”.

The report alse noted the commissioner’s view that NAB still seemed unable to grasp “what is the right thing to do”.

But councillors were advised to adopt a wait-and-see approach for now and “monitor” the banks’ responses.

The officers suggested a further report to council if the banks didn’t pick up their game.

The city’s investment policy lists one objective as “socially responsible investment”, but that section only calls out “removing investments… [in] companies that are involved in fossil fuel projects”.

by DAVID BELL

THE fate of the proposed Inglewood Woolies was due to be decided by the Development Assessment Panel this Friday (April 5), with members being urged by Stirling council to approve the development.

The supermarket complex is to be located on the old Bunnings site on Beaufort Street, and will include basement and ground floor car parks, a supermarket and liquor store on the first floor, and a cafe on the strip.

Woolies initially copped flak from locals over the building’s faux art deco design, so it came up with a revised version that was backed by Stirling councillors at their March 26 council meeting.

“The proposed art deco style building respects the traditional character of the Beaufort Street precinct whilst drawing on relevant contemporary construction methodologies and design aesthetics,” wrote city planning staff.

Only councillor Joe Ferrante voted against the proposal.

Woolworths carried out their own consultation at the Inglewood Night Markets, where 79 per cent of participants said they were either “supportive” or “very supportive” of the revamped design.

The Mount Lawley Society, which champions heritage protection in the area, was no fan of the first version.

Ahead of Friday’s decision, Society president Paul Collins told us they still had legitimate concerns about the redesign and would be fronting the DAP meeting to present their case.

The DAP consists of three state government-appointed members and two Stirling councillors.

Woolies’ planners Rowe Group initially told council they shouldn’t have to pay a “per cent for art” contribution as the building was so aesthetically pleasing.

But that’s a moot point if it’s dealt with by Friday, as Stirling council is not due to finalise their per cent for art policy until later in the year.

We’ll update our story at perthvoiceinteractive.com when the decision is known.

by DAVID BELL

THE Baysie Arts & Streets Fest went down a treat on Sunday March 31 with estimates they drew a crowd between 10,000 and 15,000.  Volunteer organisers from Baysie Rollers are thrilled with how it all went, with one of the highlights being the Lantern Parade of 300 lanterns made by local school students and artists, led down the streets by the Junkadelic Brass Band (pictured).

“The Bayswater town centre was absolutely alive and pumping,” Baysie Rollers member Geraldine Pillinger told us. Organisers will now work out whether they can make it a recurring event.

ONE of the weirdest instruments in the world – the “trautonium” – will be played by Munich musician Peter Pichler in Perth this week.

The proto-synth was created by scientist Freidrich Trautwein in the Weimar Republic in 1929.

The most famous trautonium player was Dr Trautwein’s associate, professor Oskar Sala, who mastered the electronic instrument after training in classical piano and organ as a youngster.

It’s considered the “great grandfather” of the synthesiser, and the eerie sound was prominently featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic The Birds.

With Sala’s death in 2002, Pichler became the world’s leading trautonium player and is now bringing one to Perth, the first time he’s toured outside Europe. He’ll play a live soundtrack to the 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis at Northbridge Piazza, April 13 at 7.30pm.

by DAVID BELL

STIRLING councillor Suzanne Migdale has backflipped on her push to remove individuals’ names, including that of former mayor Terry Tyzack, from the city’s aquatic centres.

Following the presentation of a 137-signature petition against the proposal at last Tuesday’s council meeting, Cr Migdale withdrew a rebranding motion.

However she then lodged an alternative motion calling on staff to investigate how Stirling’s leisure centres appear in online searches, and “ensure consistency for the city’s brand and users.”

Mr Tyzack, now retired, is a former Stirling mayor and was the longest serving councillor in the city with more than 35 years under his belt.

Cr Migdale originally wanted individual names removed from external signage and marketing of all Stirling’s leisure centres, claiming it wasn’t consistent and hindered marketing.

But Cr Elizabeth Re said the petition showed the plan was seen as disrespectful.

Neither Cr Migdale nor Mr Tyzack would comment.

It is the third time he has faced calls from councillors to have his name removed from the Inglewood aquatic centre named in his honour.

The alternative Google motion would also affect the Herb Graham Recreation Centre in Mirrabooka, named after a former WA deputy premier and housing minister in the Hawke government. Mr Graham died in 1982.

“We, the undersigned, are extremely disappointed that the new Councillor Suzanne Migdale has called for the removal of Mr Tyzack’s name, noting this issue has been settled previously by Council on more than one occasion.

Mr Tyzack is the City of Stirling’s longest serving Councillor, serving for more than 35 years.

The aquatic centre bearing his name fittingly overlooks Yokine Reserve which Mr Tyzack successfully led to the creation of by leading a campaign to close the rubbish tip on the land.”

FEDERAL Perth MP Patrick Gorman reckons the Morrison government budget has pinched the best bits of Labor plans.

But he warns that Perth schools will still miss out.

The Labor MP says Perth electorate residents can “be happy they’ve copied a range of Labor’s policies—they’ve copied Labor’s tax cuts for low to middle income earners,” along with some infrastructure spending.

But he says “if you want an effective Tafe system, properly funded schools, a long term plan for preschools, you’ll be pretty miserable” about the budget.

On budget night treasurer Josh Frydenberg said “while money is important, so too is the quality of education afforded to all Australians… we are committing around $300 billion to all schools, a total increase of 63 per cent”.

Mr Gorman says it falls short of Labor’s pledge, which would see an extra $21million going to schools in the Perth electorate.

Mr Frydenberg also announced “$453million to once again extend pre-school education, enabling 350,000 children to receive 15 hours of quality early learning per week in the year before school”.

But Mr Gorman says that under the Libs that cash will soon run out: “It’s only funding for one more year. So if you’ve got a one-year-old, a two-year-old, or a zero-year-old, there’s no guarantee they’ll have access to universal preschool.”

Labor is also promising free or subsidised preschool for three year olds if elected; to be funded by new policies limiting negative gearing.

Mr Gorman concludes the budget is “a pretty political document—we are six weeks from an election. This is part of the Liberal party’s election pitch but it misses pretty big if you care about education”.

by DAVID BELL