Perth Voice Interactive

A CONTENTIOUS 24-hour service station proposed for a popular North Perth cafe strip has come back before Vincent council.

Landowner OTR 208 Pty Ltd already has an appeal lodged with the State Administrative Tribunal after a broader development encompassing surrounding lots was knocked back by the DAP panel, but its current application focuses only on the old servo site.

OTR is trying to convince the council that it’s merely rebooting an existing business on the site, as the council has changed its town planning scheme to ban new petrol stations in town centres since fuel was last pumped on the Angove Street site.

But the council’s planners, who have consistently backed community opposition, aren’t buying that argument and have recommended the council knock the application back.

In a report to the council, they noted that a service station had operated on the site from the 1960s until 2021 when fencing was erected around the boundaries of the site and it had since been dormant.

The council did approve an application to reopen the station with a sideline selling cars 20 years ago, but it had stipulated only four bowsers could be operating alongside a mechanic’s shop.

The current proposal would see eight bowsers operating and the interior of the building gutted to provide a single tenancy, and the council’s planners say that’s too different from what was approved in 2002 to be considered a mere rejig.’

They also upped the ante by recommending the City write to the state government to alert it to the fact that fuel tanks are most likely still under the site and could be leaking in an area near homes, cafes and the North Perth Primary School.

Contamination

They want to ask for an investigation in the contamination status of the site and condition of the fuel tanks.

This would be to ensure the “ongoing risk presented by this issue is addressed by the land owner as required by the applicable legislation, and for any required remediation to be undertaken in accordance with the relevant standards and requirements.”

North Perth resident Sally Baker lives in an apartment near the proposed station and urged the council to reject the application at this week’s council briefing session.

“”Selling the family home in Inglewood in 2018, I decided I wanted to swap constant trips to Bunnings and the pool shop to stepping out my door to the buss of inner city,” Ms Baker said.

Moving to Fitzroy she fell in love with apartment living, particularly the fact her car barely left the building’s underground garage.

“Returning to Perth in 2022 I wanted the same.

“As you will know, health and the environment we live in are closely linked.

“No matter what mitigation and faux assurances that can be read in the application, a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week petrol station is still a petrol station with an inordinate amount of associated health and safety risks.”

Her comments were supported by neighbour Wayne Davis: “This is a stupid proposal; that you can actually build a petrol station in a cafe strip,” he said.

“If you are going to build it, sell electrical power – why sell gasoline and diesel?”

Planner Nick Hinning represented OTR at the meeting and said the application was simply about improving an existing building.

He said council officers had incorrectly roped in built form and landscaping into their arguments against accepting it complied with the 2002 approval.

OTR also had legal advice suggesting the proposal complied with the approval and urged the councillors to support the application.

The decision comes before full council later this month.

by STEVE GRANT

BAYSWATER council will hold community pop-up sessions at Riverside Gardens and Tranby Reserve over the next fortnight as it looks for feedback on how to manage its river foreshores.

As part of its 10-year Foreshore Plan, the City is working with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and specialist consultancy Syrinx Environmental to develop foreshore restoration designs for Riverside Gardens, Hinds Reserve, Tranby Reserve, Bath Street Reserve and Bardon Park.

The project aims to conserve and enhance natural ecology and cultural heritage, stabilise the riverbank, formalise connections and access to the river, and undertake future planning for public infrastructure and recreational areas.

The council has launched a survey with interactive maps to provide feedback on favourite locations, access points, areas for improvement and other information.

The survey is up at engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au/foreshore-restoration-design-project and submissions close Monday August 26.

MEMBERS of the Queensland branch of the HMAS Perth National Association visited the HMAS Perth (I) Memorial now nearing completion in East Fremantle last month.

The group included four members who served on HMAS Perth (II) during the Vietnamese conflict. 

When completed, the memorial on Riverside Road will take on national significance and the Queensland branch members were keen to see its progress.

The HMAS Perth (I), in company with the American cruiser USS Houston, was attacked in the Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942. 

There was heavy loss of life when both ships were sunk by a Japanese invasion fleet heading for Indonesia.

Survivors

The survivors were captured by the Japanese and sent to work on the notorious Burma Railway, while the survivors were transported to Japan to work in coal mines.

Many of the POW-laden transports were attacked by American submarine which resulted in further deaths of Perth‚Äôs crew.  Amazingly, some of the POWs were rescued and eventually arrived back in Australia.

The memorial that the Queenslanders came to visit is in two parts.  The completed first stage has the names of all the crew who were on the ship on that fateful night engraved on a wall of remembrance.

In front of the granite wall is a compass rose with a half scale replica of one of the propellers from the Perth.

The second stage will represent the bow of the ship and will be clad in glass with imprinted scenes showing the HMAS Perth (I) and her crew.  

An image of the USS Houston will also be included.

Queensland branch president Darrell Neil and secretary Terry McLeod presented memorial chairman Mike Bailey with three pictures of the three HMAS Perths. 

Each image was made up of 43,000 individual ‘dots’ and took two months to complete.

The memorial is expected to be completed and opened by March 2025.

by DAVID NICOLSON

TENANTS in a social housing complex in central Perth say they are considering a class action against the state government because it has allowed two tenants to make their life a living hell.

A dozen angry and frightened tenants met with the Voice this week to describe the outrageous behaviour that has been allowed to fester in the Department of Communities complex at 605 Wellington Street.

Dozens of used syringes lie in the garden bed of their small outdoor area, around the bin enclosure and in a vacant lot next door. A small store room with the fuses for their smoke alarms gets regularly broken into and when the Voice visits there’s a couple of syringes in there as well as the remnants of a fire someone has made. In the outdoor area is a shopping bag with two large canisters of nitrous oxide.

The tenants, who didn’t want to be identified because reprisals are common and violent, provide multiple photographs of drug deals and users sleeping on chairs in their common areas or under the stairs. Because they don’t live there and have no access to toilets, the druggies defecate where they please.

To top it all off, our meeting is interrupted by a non-resident who starts threatening people through a door they are forced to lock to keep her out. The tenants claim she is one of the main suppliers.

One tells the Voice the outdoor area has become so well-known in the drug community as a place to shoot up away from the gaze of authorities they’re lining up outside the locked gate.

“So even though they can’t get in, they’re following tenants in, and these are just people off the street; literally people off the street, everyone.

“We’ve asked for a gate here, and all they’ve done is fix the seats at the back, so users have got something to sit on.”

Another tenant says she had a harrowing experience in one of the units they claim is a drug den.

“I was brought down to a lady that had overdosed on heroin; I was shocked.

“She was stone dead when I got to her, but I brought her back to life.”

Drugs

An ambulance was called and the woman was checked over but left in the unit when she refused to be taken to hospital; the resident said she couldn’t believe it when the women started smoking a pipe just after the ambos left.

“In that unit there have been three people who have overdosed previously, and one person who’s died, and they still haven’t done anything.”

They claim the tenant is getting away with it because she isn’t actually selling the drugs herself, so following the regular raids, it’s just her house guests who get hauled away.

But they say getting police action is difficult anyway, because they’ve been told that non-residents can’t be kicked out unless they’re actually breaking a law and police also have to have approval from a Communities officer before they can escort someone off the property.

“There’s no signs that say ‘no trespassing’, so there’s no trespass.

“I went through this with the disruptive behaviour person and Crime Stoppers,” they said.

Part of any class action would be around the physical and mental toll living in the complex has left them.

They say the drug users scream to get let in throughout the night, depriving them of sleep, and then fight every second night when they get access.

“I had a stroke three weeks ago – I’m not saying it was all, but some of the stress that I’ve had – and now I’m a type B diabetic because of all the stress I’m going through,” one reveals.

Another says he believes it contributed to a recent heart attack, while another says it’s made her contemplate self-harm.

The tenants say they’ve lodged many complaints against the problem tenants, but can’t understand why the department hasn’t stuck by its three strike rules and kicked them out.

They met with housing minister John Carey a year ago, but apart from a new meeting due this week, hadn’t heard back from him. They had the same response when they met with the local police superintendent; he wouldn’t take their calls or respond to emails following the meeting.

The tenants say they want signage warning against trespassing, gates to protect the back garden and also more CCTV cameras.

The Voice contacted the Department of Communities, but didn’t hear back before deadline.

by STEVE GRANT

A GROUP of North Perth residents who lost the battle to prevent a nine-storey apartment development along Fitzgerald Street have turned their sights on trying to change WA’s planning laws.

Emily Bird and Neil Stacey were among the residents who gave deputations when the Celsius development came before the state-controlled JDAP last year.

Despite Vincent’s planning controls specifying six storeys for the area, the nine storeys were given the nod by the JDAP, which had three state-appointed experts and just one Vincent councillor presiding on the day.

Ms Bird and Mr Stacey say the group’s deputations were extremely well researched, with each member taking on a particular aspect, but they felt life they weren’t being listened to.

“We’ve learned the hard way that this is what happens all the time with these large-scale developments; that there is no fair say given to local authorities and the community,” Ms Bird told the Voice.

“And most people aren’t aware of what the process is, and they don’t understand why it’s happened.

“They blame the council a lot.”

She says while it wasn’t supported by councillors, the City’s planning staff backed the design despite overwhelming opposition from the community, with 77 per cent of respondents to public comments giving it a thumbs-down.

Done and dusted

“So that’s done and dusted,” Ms Bird said.

“We can’t stop them now, but because we’ve seen what’s happened here, we can also see that this kind of thing is going to keep happening all over metropolitan Perth, and it’ll snowball, and the buildings will get higher and higher.”

Mr Stacey said they were never against a development on the site, but nine storeys was a bit rich.

“If the discretion was an extra street or a metre on a setback, we were very, very clear that we supported a quality building in the correct location.

“The word NIMBY gets thrown around in that, and we are certainly not that.”

Mr Stacey said it has been difficult coalescing the many groups across the metropolitan area fighting against inappropriate developments in their own backyard, probably because that’s where their focus is, but they have forged some alliances.

The pair have launched a petition on the state Parliament website calling for a better balance between the interests of communities and developers. 

Ms Bird says it’s clear the power and influence of developers has seen the planning system heavily weighted in their favour.

The petition also calls for the re-introduction of third party appeals.

“We’re the only state that doesn’t have that,” she says.

“And we also want to address political donations from developers to political parties as well, because no one gives you money without expecting a return of some sort.”

The petition can be found at: https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/LCePetitions.nsf/($All)/DA305BBE2F6D39A048258B230019B16E?opendocument

by STEVE GRANT

IF Bluey knew the impact of balloon releases, the playful pup would likely swap balloons for “Keepy Uppy” games that save our environment.

“We must act now to protect our marine life and preserve our environment,” urged Karen Joynes, co-founder of No Balloon Release Australia. 

“The problem is that people use balloons without understanding the dangers. Plus, I’m not sure how many local councils or the government regulate the release or accidental release of balloons.” 

Ms Joynes is advocating for national regulation on the sale and use of helium to prevent balloon releases at the source.

Clean-up

Recent clean-up efforts along Australia’s coastline have revealed alarming numbers of balloon remnants, highlighting the widespread nature of the problem. 

Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Campaign coordinator Karoline Strittmatter noted the 2024 results from clean-ups conducted in Western Australia. 

“So far this year alone, during only three clean-ups, we have found 44 balloons at Whitford Nodes Park, 18 balloons at Trigg Beach’s Clark Reserve area, and 36 balloons at Eden Beach in Jindalee.”

Environmental advocates also warn of the “shifting baseline syndrome,” a phenomenon where people accept the current degraded state of the environment as normal because they are unaware of how it was in the past. 

This syndrome emphasises the importance of educating the public about the historical abundance of wildlife and the pristine conditions of natural habitats before modern pollution levels become prevalent. 

Balloons, which were not as ubiquitous decades ago, now contribute significantly to environmental degradation, yet many do not question their use.

“For example, mylar balloons did not exist until more recently, yet they are now widely used and promoted for celebrations and commemorations,” Ms Joynes said.

Mylar balloons

“Mylar balloons add to the planet’s single-use plastic waste load and break up into microplastics, adding to the chemical pollution on the land and in waterways. 

“They also contribute to climate change as they are made from fossil fuels. Before mylar balloons, people made their own reusable decorations from paper or cardboard. 

“Mylar balloons are shinier than latex balloons because they are made of two different materials. 

“The base material is mylar, which is a type of nylon, while the outer, thin layer is foil, which is aluminium.”

Byron shire council on the east coast has taken a novel approach, introducing a ban on the use of balloons and other single-use decorations in all council buildings, parks, and outdoor areas. 

“We know that balloons are one of the most lethal types of debris impacting Australian seabirds and other marine life including turtles, who eat burst balloons because they look like jellyfish,” Byraon mayor Michael Lyon said.

The ban, effective as of June 1, 2024, is part of a new Single-Use Packaging and Materials Policy for the Byron shire, aimed at phasing out unnecessary waste from council operations, facilities, and open spaces.

In a landmark move aimed at protecting marine life and reducing environmental pollution, Western Australia implemented strict regulations banning the release of helium-filled balloons as of January 1, 2022. 

Prohibited

Under the new regulations, individuals and organisations are prohibited from releasing any balloon inflated with a gas that causes it to rise into the air, including helium.

The laws also hold supervising adults accountable if a child releases a balloon, demonstrating the government’s firm commitment to tackling marine debris and reducing plastic pollution’s harmful impacts.

Balloons, often released during celebrations and events, pose a significant threat to wildlife once they deflate and fall back to earth. They can travel up to 500 kilometres from the release site before descending, eventually becoming litter that pollutes land and waterways. 

These deflated balloons are frequently mistaken for food by marine animals, such as turtles, birds, and fish, leading to ingestion with often fatal consequences. 

The ribbons attached to balloons can also entangle and harm animals, further contributing to environmental degradation.

Additionally, inhaling helium, a seemingly harmless gas used to inflate balloons, poses serious health risks. 

Inhaling helium can cause asphyxiation, a condition where the body is deprived of oxygen, leading to unconsciousness or even death. 

This highlights the need for caution and awareness in the use of helium-filled balloons. 

For more information on the regulations and environmentally-conscious practices, contact the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation at plastic-action@dwer.wa.gov.au.

As Western Australia continues its bold step forward in environmental stewardship, the hope is that these regulations will inspire similar initiatives in our local councils, fostering a cleaner and safer environment.

by JENS KERSCH