A POLICY adviser for the Australian Retailers Association has been endorsed as the Liberal candidate for the state seat of Mt Lawley.
Dianella’s Ben Cornel beat out Inglewood real estate director Eric David and motivational author James Fairbairn, while ending the hopes of former Stirling councillor Joe Ferrante to be a face in the March 2025 election.
Mr Cornel said he had strong backing from the local branch and his background with the ARA in government advocacy gave him first-hand experience of how poor policy and red tape can impact businesses and the community.
“I want to use these insights to fight for our community, and advocate effectively for practical solutions that grow the local economy and provide people living here with more opportunities,” Mr Cornel said.
• Ben Cornel with Liberal leader Libby Mettam.
A research officer under former Barnett minister Dean Nader, he says a key priority is home affordability for young people.
“As a member of the WA Liberal team, I’m also fighting for real action on the cost-of-living crisis, better access to health services, more resources for local police, and more effective support for local businesses and entrepreneurs to create jobs,.
“Our community in the Mt Lawley electorate deserves a fresh approach – and I’m ready to bring my energy and experience to fight for you in the state Parliament.”
Mr Cornel grew up in Morley and earned bachelors in education and drama from Edith Cowan University, and said his migrant parents had been hard-working small business owners.
“Through their example, I learned the importance of hard work, responsibility and resilience,” he said.
“The same values… my parents instilled in me growing up, are what led me to join the Liberal Party over 12 years ago, and now run as a candidate for Mt Lawley.
Mr Cornel will be up against Labor candidate Frank Paolino, who hopes to replace incumbent Simon Millman following his announcement he was leaving politics to get back into practicing law.
THE Binar Space Program, a pioneering initiative led by Curtin University’s Space Science Technology Centre, is set to make history again this weekend with the launch of Binar-2, 3, and 4 satellites.
Scheduled for launch today (Saturday August 3) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre aboard the SpaceX NG-21 rocket, the satellites will follow the groundbreaking path set by Binar-1, the first Western Australian satellite to enter Earth’s orbit.
Binar-2, 3, and 4 are notable for carrying the first-ever WA-owned business payload, an S-band transmitter developed by AVI.
Payload
This payload aims to showcase the transmitter’s capabilities and pave the way for AVI to enter the global space market.
The launch will also enable high school students to participate in space exploration through the BinarX program, which allows them to fly their payloads on the satellites.
Once in orbit, these CubeSats will test various new technologies and conduct scientific experiments for the CSIRO. The data collected will inform the development of three more upgraded satellites, which will carry additional industry and research payloads, as well as four high school student payloads from WA.
The Binar Space Program is revolutionising access to space by reducing costs through advanced manufacturing and highly integrated design. This approach lowers the entry barriers for WA and Australian start-ups and researchers, allowing them to develop and test space technologies more affordably.
The program’s innovative design consolidates all complex spacecraft systems onto a single core, enabling larger payloads on smaller satellites, thus driving down costs compared to other manufacturers.
The Binar Prospector project aims to take WA’s space technology to the Moon, with plans to deploy satellites within 20 kilometres of the lunar surface to map resources and provide critical data for future lunar missions.
Binar (pronounced BIN-nah) is the Noongar word for “fireball”.
The launch from Kennedy will be shown on the big screen in the Northbridge Plaza tomorrow (Sunday August 4) from 2pm, with the team from Binar hoping to share and describe the success of the mission.
THE International Transport Workers FederaÅtion (ITF) says it recovered around $60 million in “stolen wages” from ports around Western Australia in one week.
The ITWF has been running a Nowhere to Hide campaign and at the conclusion of a week of action on WA ports on Friday, Australian coordinator Ian Bray said conditions for international seafarers were dire.
Mr Bray said due to current Australian legislation some short-changing of the seafarers was actually legal, which he says infuriates his members.
“How can we say we believe in fairness when this happen,” Mr Bray said.
• The International Transport Workers Federation say companies use flags of convenience to fleece crew of wages.
Exploited
Seafaring is often regarded as an invisible workforce, which Mr Bray says is exploited by shipping companies to provide sailors with little to no job security.
Crew are often registered overseas and sent on flag of convenience ships where the Fair Right to Work or Coastal Trading Act are afterthoughts.
It a “commercial override of the human elements”, he says.
He claims international seafarers are being paid half the Australian minimum wage, which led to Aussie seafarers getting bumped off for cheaper labour.
“It’s an existential sea crisis,” Mr Bray said.
Mr Bray said the Week of Action and the campaign was aimed at creating awareness about the issue and to shame governments into taking action.
He wants market rates applied to all seafarers in Australian waters and to have it enshrined in enterprise bargaining agreements.
THE local fishmonger is a bit of a dying breed these days.
People are buying their fish at supermarkets or at larger fish market-style stores, forcing the tiny high street trader to pull down their shutters.
But there are a few small ones left, including the family-run Angelo’s Seafood in South Perth.
It’s situated in a good spot, beside the popular Scutti deli and part of a group of shops on the bustling Angelo Street.
The humble fishmonger has a small display cabinet with a range of fresh fish including tuna, snapper, swordfish and salmon (it’s all cut in-store).
There was also some seafood with oysters, tiger prawns, octopus and scallops.
If you’re after a healthy lunch or want to order a platter for a special occasion, Angelo’s are known for their grade-A sashimi and tasty sushi.
They also have a decent range of fish-related sauces, coatings and spices.
I bought a variety of goodies for an after-school snack and dinner, hoping it would keep the kids and my wife “Special K” happy.
The tuna and cucumber ($7.90) and mini avocado ($8) sushi rolls went down well with Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles.
They especially enjoyed the fresh tuna, which wasn’t smothered in mayo and had just the right amount of seasoning.
I had a sneaky taste and it was good quality with fresh avocado (recently I’ve had lots of avocado with brown edges in my sushi. Hmm, let’s not go there).
After a hard day at work, my wife Special K got tore into the colourful teriyaki chicken and mayo sushi ($8.50).
The purple hue in the cooked “black rice” really popped and helped give the sushi an exotic, come-eat-me look.
The tender chicken was lovely and there was a little sliver of avocado to keep things interesting.
While the clan watched some Olympic breakdancing on TV– yes, there is breakdancing in the Olympics. What’s next, synchronised twerking? – I put the teriyaki salmon fillets ($13.95 each) in the oven.
After 20 minutes at 180C, and dad pulling his groin while bodypopping on the lounge floor, the salmon was ready.
The fillets were quite pricey, but they were big and super thick, unlike the cuts from the supermarket, which wouldn’t feed a flea on a diet.
They tasted uber fresh and the teriyaki marinade wasn’t too salty and didn’t overpower the premium fish.
The teriyaki fillet is a good buy for young kids who don’t like the distinctive taste of salmon.
It was a hit and my bairns wolfed it down no problem.
Angelo’s Seafood doesn’t have the range of fish you get in the markets, but it has all you need for your regular weekly shop and there’s a tasty range of sushi and sashimi for lunch.
So if you’re in the South Perth neighbourhood and want to support local, check it out.
IT looks a bit like something out of Dr Moreau’s laboratory, but Tineke Van der Eecken’s “corrosion casting” is her unique way of honouring marine life and showing they are under-threat.
The gruesome process involves injecting a synthetic resin into the blood vessels of dead animals via the heart.
“It’s followed by the dissolving of cellular tissue and bones with acid,” Van der Eecken says.
“What remains is a sculpture of the animal’s vasculature in resin.”
• (above and below) Sea Snake and Ghost Shark were created by Perth artist Tineke Van der Eecken. Photos by Yasmin Eghtesadi
The end result is provocative and thought-provoking – a beautiful creature reduced to its very essence, highlighting the fragility of nature and the very core of existence.
For her latest exhibition Concurrencies, a tribute to the ocean, Van der Eecken went a step further – casting and then copper-coating a sea snake.
“I am used to working with precious materials such as gold, silver, copper and semi-precious and precious stones to signal what is precious, in particular our natural environment – the sea snakes, the ghost sharks, the seals, to name but a few,” she says.
A passionate environmentalist, Van der Eecken undertook an artist residency in Exmouth, where she worked alongside marine scientists and Aboriginal elders, learning about the under-threat Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf.
While there she helped marine biologists collect sea snakes and tag them, so they can monitor their habits in the wild.
“It was an exhilarating experience… I learnt so much about the diversity of endemic sea snakes over there and all the way to the top end of Australia, and how they are endemic to local reefs,” Van der Eecken says. “I also found out that the sea snakes are an indicator of the health of the ecosystem.
“It is really inspiring that they have been important to indigenous people for thousands of years, and they continue to be important in modern science.”
Sadly many sea snakes die after getting caught in fishermen’s nets and tossed around, breaking their fragile spines.
The copper-coated sea snake is one of 45 artworks in Concurrencies, which includes corrosion casts, jewellery, sculptures, objects and fine metal work.
At times exquisite and delicate, at other times confronting and harsh, the exhibition depicts both the majesty and travesty of the ocean. Van der Eecken’s unique “biological art” has received praise from scientists and academics, who marvel at her ability to blend art and biology.
“At the Animal Morphology Museum in Ghent, I met Dr Christophe Casteleyn a veterinary surgeon who I have been collaborating with for over 10 years,” Van der Eecken says.
“The Baby Grey Seal in the exhibition is our most recent collaborative piece. A must see.”
Van der Eecken emigrated from Flanders to Perth in 2001, and while she is inspired by the natural beauty of WA, her art also draws on her early years.
“I remain conditioned by my upbringing in Flanders: my lace-making grandmother, my father who created metal objects in his shed, my politician-mother who is also a poet, my affinity with farm animals during my childhood, and the many layers and diversity of art and culture around Europe,” she says.
“In particular, I have been inspired by biological art and artist such as Berlin De Bruyckere whose conveys a lot of emotion and empathy through her work with animal casts and skins.”
Since moving to WA, Van der Eecken has exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions, winning awards and being shortlisted on numerous occasions.
She’s also an award-winning writer and poet, and her manuscript Traverse was shortlisted for the prestigious TAG Hungerford Award.
But right now she’s busy getting ready for the opening night of Concurrencies, an unofficial follow-up to her exhibition Tributaries, which was inspired by the land.
“With our technology, we push complex ecosystems to the brink of extinction, confounding their inhabitants with seismic blasts, dredging and drilling. We fish populations of sea life – living or dead – and dump continents of plastic,” Van der Eecken says.
“Sea snakes are among the endemic endangered ocean creatures and we are facing a disaster in WA and for our planet if Woodside implements its planned massive gas plant near Scott Reef, one of the most pristine reefs in our state.”
Concurrencies is at the Alister Yiap Gallery, 6/191-199 Bulwer Street, Perth from August 9-25 as part of the Indian Ocean Craft Triennal. For more details and other events see indianoceancrafttriennial.com.
SHE’S done a psychic reading for a famous West Coast Eagles player, been heckled by religious zealots for doing the “devil’s work”, and overcome two major tragedies in her life.
Say hello to Catherine Faulds, one of Fremantle’s best-known mediums and tarot readers.
Every weekend you’ll find her in Fremantle Markets, contacting the spirit world from behind an ornate curtain at her mysterious booth, which she shares with MoeMoe’s Magick.
Faulds has been reading tarot cards for 36 years and consciously honing her medium skills for the past decade.
“The reason why I’m so passionate about being a reader is because I love helping people,” she says. “Many of my clients say my readings are like a therapy session in which I help them to gain insight into their lives and interactions and help them to shift their perceptions toward a more positive mindset.”
Faulds has been dabbling in tarot since the age of 10, when she was allowed to attend readings conducted by her parents, who had their own experiences with psychic ability and the spirit world, and recognised her intuition.
• Psychic, trance and physical medium Catherine Faulds.
“I was fascinated by how they worked and it didn’t take long for me to start eavesdropping and interjecting on their readings with messages that had popped into my mind,” she says.
When she was 14 she was given her first tarot deck and it was around this time she had her first psychic experience, following the death of her great aunt.
“She appeared in my dream on a Friday night just after her funeral,” Faulds says.
“She told me she would visit every Friday night and she did for four weeks in a row until one day she told me it would be her last visit but she’d always be around.”
But a major tragedy in Faulds’ life would be the turning point for her getting serious about her abilities – after turning 17 and graduating from high school, her father, a senior sergeant police detective, was killed.
Overcome with grief she went for a mediumship reading with Dawn Collins, a world-renowned psychic medium.
“She completely blew my mind but most importantly I finally had closure and I was able to forgive myself for not talking to my dad in the months leading up to his death,” Faulds says.
“Over the years I had a number of reading with Dawn and she opened my eyes up to who I was. I had not previously thought of myself as a medium because I assumed I needed to see spirit in the same way as mediums do in the movies.”
Faulds was still a bit reticent about using her skills in public, but following another tragedy – losing her son in childbirth – she decided to start taking more chances in life and seize the moment.
After working in a friend’s shop in 2020 and building up her confidence, she launched her own business – Mystical Zephyrs Esoterical Entertainment Perth Zephyr.
She was soon in demand and working at markets, tarot parties, nightclubs, restaurants and high-profile events like the Perth Royal Show, The Big Easy and Oktoberfest.
After Perth City Market shutdown, she moved to Fremantle Markets in January last year, where she shares a stall with MoeMoe’s Magick, offering reiki, angelic healing, massage and psychic/tarot readings. Faulds says she’s had some famous faces pop in for a reading, including a West Coast Eagles player, who shall remain anonymous (let’s hope Faulds didn’t predict their epic losing streak last season).
“Throughout the reading I kept noticing people stopping and staring at us and lingering around near the stall,” she says.
“It wasn’t until after I finished the reading that I realised he was a West Coast Eagles player. I don’t follow football but he was very happy with his reading.”
Faulds says some of her favourite clients have been skeptics who’ve tagged along with their friends for a laugh, only to become a believer by the end of the session, including a woman who went on to win $9000 as predicted.
So what does Faulds, a former law student now studying psychology and counselling, say to all the naysayers out there?
“I do often get people heckling me as they walk past my stall, I’ve had religious people tell me I’m doing the devil’s work and I’ve had skeptics attempt to humiliate me during a reading,” she says.
“My message to naysayers is that you are entitled to your opinion but please keep it respectful. My practice is based on my spiritual and cultural beliefs that I am also entitled to.
“Ultimately, I want to bring peace and closure to others.”
AFTER 14 beloved years in the Mount Lawley and Highgate neighbourhood, Beaufort Street Books has moved just 50 meters up the road to the corner of Vincent and Beaufort Street.
In a feat worthy of a record, 14,000 books — or countless hours of quality reading — were transported with the help of a “community conveyor belt.”
Proprietor Jane Seaton, who is as much a community cheerleader as she is a bookseller, assembled more than 150 volunteers in an “overwhelming response,” with 15 more committed to delivering home-baked goods.
• A human conveyor belt helps Beaufort Books get around the corner. Photo by Jens Kirsch
“It went way quicker than I anticipated and it was so lovely – the community felt so involved and connected in the whole process, which was just beautiful,” Ms Seaton said.
“It was better than I thought! As a bookstore, we try to give back to the community, but on Saturday they gave it all back to us.”
Under the keen supervision of local author Annabel Smith, volunteers formed a human chain, passing small boxes of books to the new shop. There, staff swiftly unpacked them onto temporary shelving, while the empty boxes were rushed back for repacking. It was a well-orchestrated book ballet.
• Beaufort Books owner Jane Seaton says she was surprised how smoothly the move went. Photo by Jens Kirsch
“It seems books today are not just for grownups,” Ms Seaton said.
“Lots of children helped. That surprised us; there were so many young helpers. That is just beautiful. A new generation showing interest and a love for books.”
A few comments from the excited helpers were:
• “I am really, really happy to help. We all come together to do our bit for the community.”
• “Our faith in humanity has been restored, seeing all these volunteers.”
• “This is our store. I want to help our independent bookshop.”
Inspired by a similar event at October Books in the UK, this move was a true community effort. The new space promises more room for books, events, and community gatherings, continuing the tradition of being a vibrant hub in the neighbourhood.
Ms Seaton, a former nurse, has always prioritised serving the community beyond just selling books. Known for her warm greetings and valued book recommendations, Ms Seaton has also been a community representative on the Highgate Primary School Board for 10 years and supported customers during the pandemic by delivering books throughout the neighbourhood.
“Over the years, we have done some crazy events. We have done movies, book-based speed dating, yoga; we’ve done a community sausage sizzle when the whole street was suffering due to construction works,” Ms Seaton reminisced with a smile.
As book retailers face significant challenges, the community rallied to support this local bookstore. This move is a testament to the enduring importance of bricks-and-mortar businesses, which continue to be the heartbeat of the community.
Ms Seaton reflects on why it is so important to have independent bookstores in the community: “Bookstores fill the important role of being a community hub for like-minded people. Now, being able to run events hosting local, national, and international authors, we aim to elevate this experience.”
Despite the struggles small businesses face, Beaufort Street Books is taking a leap of faith by doubling its floor space, inspiring locals to reimagine the main street’s atmosphere. The new space will fit up to 100 guests per event.
“Events help people not just buy a book, but experience the book,” Ms Seaton said.
The new location will feature larger event spaces, new book sections, and more room for browsing and community gatherings. The bookstore aims to continue to build a warm, well-read culture as part of the hum of Beaufort Street life.
The store closed its doors at the previous location on Wednesday, July 17, and was due to reopen at the new location on Thursday, July 25, with a grand opening celebration on Saturday, July 27 featuring a sausage sizzle and a warm welcome.
The future program kicks off on Wednesday, August 14 from 6 – 9.30pm with The Gourmet Farmer, Matthew Evans. Mr Evans will discuss his recently published non-fiction work on a controversial superfood, offering a powerful, entertaining, and eye-opening commentary—all while being served fantastic food by Vince and his team at IL Paiolo Catering, prepared in the wood-fired oven out front of the shop!
Tickets via the Beaufort Street Books website: beaufortstreetbooks.com.au/c/matthew-evans.
Beaufort Street Books has been more than just a bookstore; it’s a community cornerstone. The move to the new location is a new chapter in its story, and with the community’s support, Ms Seaton promises it will be an exciting read.
A COMPANY which paid for a $3300 brunch, lunch, wine and dinner trip to Busselton by Bayswater mayor Filomena Piffaretti appears linked to a possible redevelopment of the historic Maylands Brickworks site.
Ms Piffaretti declared the gift back in March, but she faced a grilling from unhappy council colleagues and ratepayers about the lack of detail at Tuesday’s council meeting after the trip was revealed in the West Australian on Monday.
Ms Piffaretti said she’d accepted an invitation from PT Bayan Resources to attend the meeting as an “opportunity to meet with a potential investor and talk about current investment opportunities across the city”.
• Filomena Piffaretti
“My role as the mayor is to promote our city and to encourage investment in our city; that’s one of the functions as mayor, and I was carrying out my function as mayor,” Ms Piffaretti said.
When grilled by council watcher Harry Bouzidis during question time, the mayor would only detail that her discussions involved “multiple sites” across the city, but when pressed by councillor Elli Petersen-Pik later, she agreed that the Brickworks had been discussed.
PT Bayan is a part-owner of TenGolf which manages the City-owned Maylands Golf Course, which is across the road from the Brickworks.
Council CEO Jeremy Edwards said there had been no “formal proposals” submitted to the council for the Brickworks, but foreshadowed a briefing for councillors about the site in a couple of weeks.
This prompted a response from Cr Petersen-Pik that “I know something else”, but Mr Edwards reitera
ted the lack of any “formal” proposal.
Cr Lorna Clarke then disclosed a passing discussion with a director from TenGolf which revealed the company had some contact with the City about the site.
“I have had mister Sam Lee of TenGolf very briefly raise the Maylands Brickworks site; the fact that it was in some way being considered by the administration; he mentioned it to me in passing,” Cr Clarke said.
Ms Piffaretti also revealed that she had not told her council colleagues about the March 19 trip, with a couple saying they knew nothing until the West broke the story.
“I hadn’t heard about it until somebody texted me this morning,” Cr Sally Palmer complained.
“None of us here – not one councillor – was aware of your meeting of advocacy down south.”
Ms Piffaretti responded that the details of the trip had been available on the gift register.
She also strongly rejected Mr Bouzidis suggestion the trip was a “junket”.
“No ratepayers’ funds were expended on this trip; let’s be very clear about that before you start using the word ‘junket’,” Ms Piffaretti said.
“I have complied with all my obligations as per the Local Government Act, so I will not accept the allegation that there is no transparency or openness.
“I have been very open; I disclosed it as I am required to do.”
PERTH is once again preparing to rally the state and federal government to address the “growing epidemic” of domestic, family, and sexual violence against women in Australia.
Organised by advocacy group What Were You Wearing as part of their National Rally Collective, the No More: National Rally Against Violence will be held around Australia this weekend “calling for action” to combat the nationwide “scourge” of gendered domestic and sexual violence against women in Australia.
At least 50 women have died at the hands of men in the first seven months of this year, compared to 64 for the entirety of last year.
In WA, domestic violence incidents have risen 40 per cent in the last five years, and restraining order breaches have increased by 20 per cent in 2023, according to WA Police.
• Thousands attended last year’s march and rally, but violence against women has got worse in 2024.
Speakers at the Perth rally are set to include human rights lawyer Rabia Siddique, Greens senators Dorinda Cox and Jordon Steele-John, and independent Kate Chaney.
Ms Chaney, who attended the first rally in April, says both state and federal governments have “positive-sounding plans” to address gender-based violence, but that more action is required to deal with such a massive nation-wide problem.
“Good intentions are a start but we need to hold governments to account and ensure this desire for change doesn’t disappear into the bureaucratic abyss,” Ms Chaney said.
“We need to see changes from primary prevention to early intervention to crisis support and recovery.
“It requires action from all levels of government, as well as everyone in the community taking a stand against this violence.”
What Were You Wearing representative Zoe Cornelius says that despite the previous rallies in April and subsequent funding announced by the federal government there is “nowhere near enough” support for victims and survivors of sex- and gender-based violence.
“We’re struggling to get that support from the government, especially for organisations that help support victims and survivors,” Ms Cornelius said.
Current federal and state laws do not go far enough to protect victim survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, according to Ms Cornelius, which is “just ridiculous” given the number of women dying at the hands of men is getting worse.
“If someone comes out on bail from committing an assault of some kind, there is little to no tracking of that person and what they’re doing, where they are,” she said.
Another request of the protestors is for first responders nation-wide to undergo mandatory trauma informed training to best handle situations of domestic and sexual violence without causing further suffering.
“Paramedics, doctors, nurses, and police are the first to respond to these situations, and in some cases, this can even be school teachers for children,” Ms Cornelius said.
“At the moment it’s not mandatory anywhere, so that they are able to give care that is sensitive to someone that’s going through this situation.
“This is why so many women don’t go and report or don’t go to the hospital when things happen, because a lot of the time it’s not met sensitively.”
The rallies are a major part of What Were You Wearing’s advocacy, who also work with victims of sexual assault through their Survivor Healing Groups.
WWYW is also researching WA’s drink spiking regulation, which would include prevention training as part of the Responsible Service of Alcohol qualifications, and mandatory security cameras in venues where alcohol is sold.
Perth’s No More: National Rally Against Violence will be starting at 11am at Forrest Chase in the CBD, and will march to Parliament House.
A WA conservation group has appealed plans to carve a road corridor through a 96-hectare woodland along Anketell Road for Kwinana’s new port.
The Wildflower Society of WA lodged the appeal with the federal climate, energy, environment and water department following a proposal from Main Roads WA to “widen” Anketell Road for vehicles going into the Westport project.
The road upgrade will require clearing three threatened ecological communities, which the Wildflower Society says is “not sustainable” and “unnecessary”.
According to the society, 10 per cent of the area to be cleared is core habitat for endangered cockatoos.
• The Wildflower Society of WA has lodged an appeal against Westport’s plans to widen Anketell Road. Photo by Tim Oliver
President Brett Loney says the clearing of such a valuable ecological area “isn’t justified” because funding for Westport and the road upgrade has not yet been allocated.
“The assessment of the port hasn’t been completed yet, so we don’t know whether thatwill come up with an approval for the port project, or if there’ll be modifications to it, which will make the upgrading of the road unnecessary anyway,” Mr Loney said.
“[The state government] have been workingon an alternative port to Fremantle for a number of years, but when is it going to be needed? And what if that that is too far out?
“Why are they planning to do it and get the approvals now, when they might not build it for 10, 15, or even 25 years?”
According to the Wildflower Society, at least 25 per cent of the proposed area contains three threatened ecological communities, and over 80 hectares of secondary habitat for black cockatoos.
This includes 41 hectares of tuart woodland, 14.26ha of banksia, and 1.96ha of endangered melaleuca.
“The threatened ecological communities themselves are endangered,” Mr Loney said.
“Two of them are critically endangered and the other one is endangered, and that’s because there’s been so much clearing on the Swan Coastal Plain.
“There’s been limestone extraction, there’s been urban development, there’s a whole raft of things that have happened to that land, and so it’s gotten to the point now where it’s critically endangered.”
Bulldozing
Greens MLC Brad Pettitt drew a comparison to the failed Roe 8 project and says the bulldozing is “out of sight, out of mind”.
“They’re kind of doing the same thing hoping that because it’s further south and in a more industrial area that people won’t notice,” Dr Pettitt said.
“Part of the problem is that there aren’t as many residents as there were for Roe 8 which was almost in people’s backyards.”
Westport is unlikely to be finished until the 2030s or ‘40s, which Dr Pettitt says is disguised by the government “as part of the bluff” to get funding for the project.
“The truth there is that the container trade of Fremantle port has barely grown – at less than 1 per cent a year,” he said.
“Westport modelling assumes growth of over 3.25 per cent, and under the current growth rate, the port won’t be needed until the 2050s, or even the 2070s.
“With the right management around how we move containers, getting more in rail, getting more low emissions trucks running off-peak means the current road and rail network means that Fremantle Port has many decades of life left in it yet, and we don’t need to move it.
“[Westport] is a huge, $10 billion plus project… and it’s deeply unnecessary.”
It’s the second major project from the Cook government to impact banksia woodland, with a wave park in Jandakot also criticised by conservation groups for destroying a 3.1 hectare banksia stand.
Dr Pettitt says it’s a “cumulative impact” of the government’s lack of urban bushland legislation, the last of which was cancelled in 2022.
“Here we are, still with no plan for protecting urban bushland, and a series of ad hoc projects,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the cumulative impact of these kind of projects on urban bushland is that we are seeing key species like Carnaby’s cockatoo heading towards collapse, because we’re just seeing more and more bushland cut down with no real plan around replacing it or keeping what’s left.
Submissions to appeal the Main Roads proposal closed on Thursday, July 18.
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