Perth Voice Interactive

PERTH MP John Carey took the Our Streets at 40 campaign to Parliament last week, lobbying the McGowan government to make Vincent safer.

Set up by residents Geraldine Box and Andrew Main, Our Streets wants a 40kmh speed limit on Vincent’s residential streets.

Mr Carey implored road safety minister Michelle Roberts to get on board with a trial, saying speeding was one of the main issues raised by locals.

“I doorknock nearly every weekend on a Saturday between one and 5.30 pm,” he told Parliament.

“When I doorknock one of the number of issues that are raised with me is speeding on residential streets.

Concerned

“People are concerned that their streets feel unsafe. Parents are concerned about their children playing on the verge, or in the front garden, because cars are speeding by.  They do not want to walk or cycle on their local streets.

“The safety reasons are obvious. The pedestrian fatality risk at 50kmh is more than twice as high as the pedestrian fatality risk at 40kmh,” he added.

Under the Our Streets at 40 proposal, transport corridors like Charles Street and Lord Street wouldn’t be restricted to 40kmh, just the residential roads which have lots of houses.

“I know what my residents are telling me,” Mr Carey continued.

“They want streets that are comfortable – where people feel they can walk and cycle. They want streets where their kids, like in the old days, could play cricket, footy or whatever on the street and not worry about being hit by a car.”

Ms Roberts sounded supportive, saying “this is a great initiative … I do not think it is something that we would even contemplate rolling out carte blanche across the metropolitan area, for example, at this stage, but it is worth thinking about.

“If I can assist the City of Vincent, for example, to get a trial happening there, that is what I would like to do. I think we can learn from that experience.

Cheaper solution

“We can see how it works out. It may well be that if this is embraced after a trial by the City of Vincent, people in neighbouring councils, particularly in areas such as Victoria Park and Subiaco, will ask why they cannot have 40kmh speed limits on their local streets too.”

Vincent mayor Emma Cole says they would welcome state government support of the campaign, but they’re determined to go ahead with the trial themselves if need be.

The idea for a 40kmh trial in the southern half of Vincent was first floated in 2016 and Ms Cole said, “We’ve been sitting waiting two years for funding support from the state government,” with the cost for signage estimated at $150,000.

She says they’re hoping to get state approval for a cheaper solution, like 40kmh entry statements, rather than signs on each street.

“We’re pushing ahead and consulting with residents very soon.”

by DAVID BELL

BRAZEN thieves have taken to unbolting bike racks to steal valuable electric bikes.

Around midday last Saturday, single mum Jaya Penelope, 46, left her bike chained to a rail while she dropped a letter into her local post office and did some shopping.

When Ms Penelope returned to the spot where her electric bike should have been the rail was lying on the ground with its bolts undone and her bike was nowhere to be seen.

“I was shocked and it took me a while to comprehend,” Ms Penelope said.

“It’s left me high and dry.

“It’s my only vehicle. I don’t have a car. I use if for shopping, work, everything.”

The electric bike is worth $4000 and the single mother relies on it to transport her eight-year-old son, Gwydion, to and from school.

TravelSmart officer Jillian Woolmer told the Voice bike thefts were on the rise around Perth.

In response to the cruel theft, community members have rallied behind Ms Penelope, with a friend setting up a crowd funding page and a South Fremantle bike shop offering her a discount on a new electric bike.

“It’s been very heartening,” Ms Penelope said.

“I’ve been very touched by the number of people who have shown concern.”

So far the crowd funding effort has raised $1000 of the $4000 target.

To donate to Ms Penelope’s new electric bike and help get her life back on track, go to https://chuffed.org/project/help-replace-jayas-stolen-bicycle

by WADE ZAGLAS

WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018

THE first week of the World Cup served up plenty of memorable goals and games, but unfortunately the biggest talking point has been the use of the controversial Video Assistant Referee system.

Designed to let referees use video technology to make better decisions, it is the first time VAR has been used at a World Cup, but so far the system has been criticised for getting several big calls wrong, including a contentious penalty given against Australia in their 2-1 defeat to France.

Although VAR reviews an incident in slow motion from multiple camera angles, ultimately it still boils down to human interpretation, and there will always be debates and disagreements about sporting decisions, especially penalties.

Critics also say the system spoils the spontaneity of celebrating a goal and can result in several minutes of stoppage time while footage is reviewed.

Football West CEO James Curtis says the VAR has to win over fans.

“Bringing in VAR at the World Cup was always going to throw up contentious incidents and it just so happened the first one involved the Socceroos,” he says.

“There were others in the Sweden and England matches.

“As long as they are consistent and get the right decisions then I believe most people will happily live with it.”

VAR was trialled in the FA and Carabao Cups in England last season, as well as the German and Italian leagues, and Fifa president Infantino declared it was “almost perfect”.

Experiment

“From almost 1000 live matches that were part of the experiment, the level of the accuracy increased from 93 to 99 per cent.”

The A League was the first top-level domestic football league in the world to implement VAR last season, but its future could be in the balance after a technical failure meant it got a crucial offside decision wrong in the showpiece grand final in May.

Another big off-field talking point has been Optus’ patchy coverage of the World Cup, with its streaming service dropping out during live matches.

Following a national outcry and a phone call from prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, Optus announced on Monday it would simultaneously broadcast all the games on free-to-air SBS for the next 48 hours.

In Australia fans have had to subscribe to Optus TV if they want to see every live game – SBS broadcast one game a day – annoying soccer fans who say that given the significance of the World Cup all matches should be on free-to-air.

“It’s important that all Australians are able to watch their team play on the world stage, be it on free-to-air or on a digital platform,” says Football West CEO James Curtis.

“With the changes in technology and consumer behaviour, it will be important to maintain a balance of accessible options.”

Crunch games

Off-field incidents aside, it’s D-day for Australia with two crunch games against Denmark and Peru looming.

Australia fought hard in their opener against France, but they only mustered one shot on target and one corner.

The Socceroos will want to be more offensive in their remaining group matches and get Tom Rogic and Mathew Leckie on the ball more often. Expect to see veteran striker Tim Cahill feature at some point as well.

Physicality is part of Australia’s game, but they will need to be careful as they were on the brink of a sending off with Josh Risdon, Aziz Behich and Leckie on yellow cards against the French.

At the time of going to print on Wednesday (June 20), Curtis was confident Australia could make the knockout stages.

“We have shown that we can match it with the French,” he says.

“The big question will be who we play in the last 16?”

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

FOOTBALL West CEO James Curtis says the “beautiful game” is in rude health in WA and the World Cup will only add to the momentum.

“Our registered players are at an all-time high this year,” he says.

“Interest in football always rises when a World Cup is on and especially as the Socceroos are now regular qualifiers.

“Nothing can match World Cup fever in a country and Australia is no different.

“And with Trent Sainsbury, Josh Risdon and Brad Jones in the squad, West Australians will identify with three players who have come through the system here. Sainsbury was immense against France and coach Bert van Marwijk hailed Risdon’s display.

“But the growth is wider than the men’s national team.

“In March we had the Matildas play in Perth and that was a great occasion. Sam Kerr, arguably the best women’s player in the world, hails from WA and it was fantastic to see how she has caught the public’s imagination.

“We are also part of the bid to bring the 2023 Women’s World Cup to Australia. And figures released by the Australian Sports Commission show football is by far the most popular team sport played by adults and children in the country.

“The interest is there and the World Cup adds to the momentum.”

AN anti-vaccination billboard on Brisbane Street in Perth is an “appalling anti-health message”, says the Australian Medical Association WA.

Emblazoned on the billboard are the words; “Do you know what’s in a vaccine?” and the website “learntherisk.org” which cites long-discredited fraudulent research by UK former-doctor Andrew Wakefield.

The anti-vaccine activist’s 1998 paper argued there was a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and autism.

The British General Medical Council upheld three dozen charges against him, including several counts of dishonesty, and the publishing journal pulled the paper saying they had been “deceived” and that his article was “utterly false”.

He was barred from practising as a physician in the UK, but the damage was done – MMR vaccinations rates fell, and instances of the disease rose in the UK and US.

AMA WA president Omar Khorshid said there had been a “worrying” increase in infectious diseases like mumps, measles and whooping cough in Western Australia in the last few years.

Unacceptable

“These misleading campaigns undermine confidence in evidence-based vaccination programs and could be linked to a resurgence of preventable infectious diseases,” Dr Khorshid said.

“It is completely unacceptable that billboards promoting lies and conspiracy theories are up on busy streets in Perth.

“This propaganda is not only anti-health, it jeopardises the safety of the most vulnerable members of our community.

“I urge anyone who has concerns about vaccines to speak to their GP, not visit sites peddling misinformation.

“If you want to Google the safety of vaccines, visit reputable sites, or better yet have a look on YouTube and watch a video of infants in ICU struggling with whooping cough.”

Perth Labor MP John Carey, who alerted us to the sign, says he is “deeply concerned” about the billboard.

“I know the Perth community is highly engaged and educated on this issue, but it is terrible to see this kind of rubbish being billboarded,” he said.

“The facts are very clear: The World Health Organization says that vaccinations save between two to three million lives a year.”

“It is not just about the individual child; when you get low vaccination clusters in a community – you may have seen stories about Byron Bay – it can remove the herd immunity.”

Immunity

Herd immunity is when enough people are vaccinated that the disease all but disappears.

“I’m just appalled by it – it’s utter rubbish,” he says of the billboard.”

We contacted learntherisk.org to ask how one of their billboards ended up in Perth. They offered to put us on the phone with their founder, Brandy Vaughan, but didn’t let us know who’d put up the billboard here.

The billboard is on private land but managed by APN Outdoor.  We got in touch to ask if they had standards about what they allow in their advertising. They told us they have guidelines that relate to the content of the billboard, but they don’t extend to the content of the website itself.

by DAVID BELL