PERTH audiences are hard to crack and it’s uncommon for more than two curtain calls.
As for standing ovations, I thought they’d gone out of style — until the premiere of Tim Minchin’s musical Matilda.
Rising to their feet, the audience in the packed theatre clapped and wolf whistled as the cast took bow after bow, and their reluctance to let go of the magic was palpable.
During the performance the sheer joy of Roald Dahl’s story came through in the spontaneous laughter of children in the audience.
• The Aussie youngsters in the cast of Matilda strut their stuff. Photos by James Morgan
From the opening song My Mummy Says I’m a Miracle, Matilda set the scene for a rollicking good time, which showcased the amazing talent of the cast’s Aussie youngsters
The song is pure Minchin: a tongue-in-cheek dig at today’s over-indulged kids, and their overbearing parents, sung by a fantastic chorus of wonderfully conceited youngsters.
Matilda’s parents the Wormwoods, think she’s anything but a miracle, and would rather she watched TV than read the likes of Dostoyevsky and Dickens, while her father would rather she was a boy: “I’m a girl,” she tells him often.
• James Millar was wonderfully bad as the evil Ms Trunchbull.
The grown ups are pantomime bad, and I’d expected the audience to boo rather than clap James Millar’s evil headmistress Miss Trunchbull.
But his wonderful caricature was so good at being bad, that by the end, he elicits a smidge of sympathy for his character’s downfall.
The show lives or dies on the role of Matilda, which is shared by four youngsters.
On opening night, 11-year-old Eva Murawski took to the stage with a professionalism that belied her tender years.
Her every gesture was spot on: from rolling up her sleeves to tackle an injustice, to conversing in Russian, and her singing was powerful and pitch perfect.
• Venice Harris (Matilda) and Elise McCann (Miss Honey).
Matilda’s best friend Lavender is hammed up wonderfully by Sophia Portas, who adds a comic cheekiness that had the audience guffawing.
Rob Howell’s sets were wonderful, especially the library, where Matilda finds solace amongst the books.
Full of wicked fun and great songs, it’s no wonder Matilda took our more than 70 international awards, including a record 13 Helpmann Awards.
At Crown Theatre until May 7, Matilda is a show for every child and the inner child of all adults.
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20) The Sun has its last fill of Pisces and then moves into Aries. The last few days of Pisces come with a surprising amount of emotional intensity. This is unexpected. One would expect that last vestiges of Piscean days to be mellow. If you slip up, get up. Your time is well and truly on its way.
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20) The last few days of Pisces arrive with a wave of emotional depth that nobody sees coming. The Sun moves into Aries on Monday. Venus, who is also in Aries, heats up, grabs you with a passion and leads you towards all that you delight in – but have been putting off for safety’s sake.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 21) Mercury is in Aries. On Monday the Sun will shift into Aries and a collective rambunctiousness is bound to follow. When fuses are short, your capacity for quick-witted communication will be sorely needed. Impulsiveness minus awareness can be brutal and insensitive. Add awareness.
CANCER (June 22 – July 22) The Sun moves through the last degrees of Pisces on the weekend. This gives you a chance to get to the deeper layers of your feeling world, where you will find the understanding and insight you have been looking for. This will prepare you well for the rough and tumble that’s to follow.
LEO (July 23 – Aug 22) You will let go a sigh of relief as the Sun moves into Aries on Monday. Until then, there are more emotions to acknowledge and assimilate. On Monday you will have the first glimmerings of the sense that life is about to fall into place again. You will soon be back to romantic adventuring.
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22 The desire for change is driving you. Life is lining things up for you this week. The dramatic shifts you envisage in your wildest imagination, probably won’t hop out of the magicians hat. That said, you will have the opportunity to put in plenty of work where it counts most. Drive your dream.
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23) There is both change and there is disruption. It’s not unusual for these two to go together but they are a little hotter than usual as the Sun moves into Aries. With Jupiter in Libra opposing Uranus in Aries, it means that it’s time to expand your capacity to create harmony in the midst of chaos.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21) The Moon begins her week in Scorpio. There’s a couple of days before the Sun moves into Aries. These couple of days are good ones in which to really track your feelings down to the root and discover the truth that will set you free. Come Monday it would be wise to back off and chill.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21) Any trials and tribulations you are going to have, will be done and dusted by Monday. As the Sun shifts into feisty adventurous Aries, so your mood lifts and your famous optimism kicks in. Obstacles that have been in your way, now become rocks to climb and conquer. Turn it round.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19) You are at the apex of a dilemma. As the world careers from one position to another, and as people try to protect and defend important social and ethical cornerstones, so you need to figure out how to keep things practical in the midst of change. Dogma of any kind is generally not much fun.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18) Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, who convenes the airy realm of ideals, and Saturn who is as nuts and bolts as a planet can get. You are a meeting of the sky and the earth. Your dilemma is how to make visionary ideals real. This is a time of community for you. Share your dilemma with friends.
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20) The Sun is travelling through the tail-end of Pisces bringing two days of depth and intensity. Take the chance to swim down into the centre of your emotions. There, with truth, you’ll find laughter and release. Come Monday, the Sun moves into Aries and you must slip away from centre-field.
WITH two secure gates guarding entry to this North Perth home, it’s the perfect place to barricade yourself in and ignore the world.
Gate number one is an attractive timber number accessing a decked walkway.
Number two fortifies a covered portico, which is a great spot for visitors to shelter while you check them out on the video surveillance.
With crim-safe on the windows there’s no chance of a surprise visit, welcome or otherwise, at this Selden Street beauty.
Whether enjoying the solitude, or inviting guests in, this three-bedroom home is a delightful sanctuary.
A central atrium, visible from many rooms, provides a green focal point and has glassed-walled walkways.
Viewed from the floor-to-ceiling windows of two of the second level bedrooms, it is a light-filled charm.
And there’s a different ambience when the atrium is viewed from the front sitting room and dining area of this generous open plan.
With huge tiles on the floor, and banks of bifold doors to the garden, the elegant living area is enhanced by a series of beautiful coloured glass light-shades from Turkey, dangling over the dining table.
Three more hang over the expansive island bench in the kitchen, lending a colourful glow to the white Caesarstone tops.
With its sweep of benches, and multitude of soft-close drawers and double pantry, the kitchen is a chef’s delight.
There’s even a scullery, with more bench space, a second fridge, and a laundry in a cupboard.
The living area flows effortlessly into a lovely garden alfresco, where high walls are softened by greenery and a tall water feature.
There’s room under cover for an outdoor setting and lounge, adjacent to the built-in-barbeque kitchen.
The bedrooms are on the second level, including the main, with its generous walk-in-robe and an ensuite large enough for a separate bath and shower, and double vanities, and a balcony looking out across parkland to the hills.
Perth is a mere 12 minute drive from Perth, while Edith Cowan University and Mt Lawley High School are around seven.
by JENNY D’ANGER
11C Selden Street, North Perth $1.195 million Steven Voros 0419 915 125 Abel McGrath 9208 1999
“I recently had to put on my buyer’s hat when helping to select a first home for my daughter. I was under pressure to find the right home for the right price, while ensuring she made a sound financial decision,” said John Page, sales director of local real estate firm Woodville Property.
“It is vital to be clear about why you’re buying a particular property. Buying an investment differs greatly to buying a home.”
Here are some important elements to consider:
• Decide where you want to buy and why.
• What’s your budget? Talk to your bank manager or finance broker and get finance pre-approval before you start looking.
• What are your buying costs going to be? i.e. Stamp duty, settlement fees, rates and taxes, structural pre purchase inspections, termite inspections, etc.
• Do your homework. How long has the property been on the market? What other similar properties in the area are currently for sale?
• Let the selling agent know what you are looking for – they may know of a suitable property that is coming to market.
• It’s currently a buyer’s market. Prices will not stay down forever, so if you see value staring you in the face – grab it!
For a friendly chat about your property needs, please call John on 0412 953 834.
LABOR was a no-show at a forum organised by Perth Modern School parents to oppose the party’s plan to move gifted students to a new school in the CBD.
Under Labor’s Education Central plan the academically select student body would be moved next to the Perth train station, and the Perth Mod campus would become a normal high school.
Parents and students were furious, with hundreds packing out Perth Bowls Club and spilling out onto the footpath on Tuesday night.
All major political parties (and a few small ones) were invited. Labor’s Perth candidate John Carey, education shadow Sue Ellery, leader Mark McGowan and Mt Lawley candidate Simon Millman all declined.
The parents even reached out to former federal MP Alannah MacTiernan to at least get a Labor voice on the panel, but had no luck.
• It was standing room only as Perth Modern School parents packed a meeting to air concerns about Labor’s plan to strip the school of its academically gifted program which would go to a new CBD school. Photo by David Bell
Rumble
Emma Gregory from Save Perth Modern action group told the crowd “unfortunately the Labor party has declined our invitation to attend this evening,” sparking a rumble of disapproval from the hall.
“Scared!” one attendee called out.
Education minister Peter Collier attended, as did Liberal MPs Eleni Evangel (Perth) and Michael Sutherland (Mt Lawley).
Independent Julie Matheson was there, while Pauline Hanson sent a statement saying she thought the city was no place for a school and kids needed open space to play.
The ethnically-mixed crowd looked visibly uncomfortable to have her on side, but her statement was greeted with polite applause.
Mr Collier said the problem of growing school numbers had already been solved by the Barnett government’s plan to reopen a campus at City Beach.
Greens education spokesperson Alison Xamon told the crowd her party wasn’t opposed to an inner-city school in principle, but there were problems forcing academically select students into the CBD.
“The Greens are very concerned about the lack of consultation that has occurred, and the lack of planning that seemingly has occurred,” she said.
Ms Xamon said renting the building rather than owning a school site was a huge concern: “I’m quite confident Labor will backpedal on this once they hear the amount of opposition.”
Ms Xamon said Labor was using St Georges as a case study of how inner city schooling can work, but said it was a different kettle of fish to Labor’s proposal.
As a private school St George’s student numbers were capped at 440, and it had the money to ensure its students got to use city facilities.
Liberal Perth MP Eleni Evangel said “make no mistake, this Labor policy on education is all about winning the Perth seat and all about winning the Mount Lawley seat.
“You people do not matter to Labor, that’s why they have not one single representative here tonight.”
Ms Evangel said “information has circulated in my electorate that is completely incorrect.
My opponent [Labor’s John Carey] has written on his brochures that we need an inner city school to cater for the growing inner city student numbers”.
She said the Labor plan would only provide 1500 new spots (and an extra 200 at the Perth Mod site which will be turned into an ordinary high school) while the Liberals would be providing 3600.
She said “if we are to build an inner city school down the track … as the member for Perth I’d like to see green space adjacent”.
Ms Evangel said any plan had to be based on Education Department research, but suggested the department’s old building in East Perth could work as a school.
“You’ve got Wellington Square and Langley Park where children can actually have some green space to use and enjoy,” Ms Evangel said.
Mr Carey said he was unable to attend as he’d already committed to go to a Chamber of Commerce event on Tuesday night.
Apprehensive
He told the Voice: “I can understand that parents of the school are apprehensive about change, but I genuinely believe we will be providing a state of the art educational facility in the heart of the city that caters for people across the state.
“We’re arguing that it makes sense to have the Perth school of excellence in the heart of the city, that has excellent public transport and has access to important learning facilities like the Alexander Library, like the art gallery. It’s not just about people living in the western suburbs, it’s about people across the state.”
It was no Liberal party rent-a-crowd at the meeting, with a few vocal Greens supporters peppered among the ranks and some parents who usually voted Labor saying they were struggling with their conscience over how to vote on Saturday.
Parent Alana Dowley, who started a petition opposing moving the academic select students to the CBD, said their fight would have to continue after Saturday if the Labor party were elected.
So far the petition has 1362 supporters.
“We’re not here to get the Liberal party elected,” she said.
“If the Labor party gets in, we are in for the long haul.
“We need everyone to put as much pressure as possible on any Labor government not to do this.”
THE Paddington Alehouse has been flayed by customers over its plans to host an evening with Pauline Hanson on Thursday March 9.
“Pots & Pizza With Pauline” offered pizza and the first 100 drinks on Ms Hanson’s tab.
The event attracted swift criticism as soon as it was advertised.
Hundreds of people descended on the Paddo’s Facebook page, posting they’d never go back to the Mount Hawthorn pub.
Deleted
Posts were being rapidly deleted by the page’s administrator, but dozens more kept popping up.
“There goes your reputation,” online poster David Jones opined.
“We don’t need this divisive person in our community,” Franco A Lanza posted.
“Dismayed that one of my fave local pubs is supporting her.
“Unfortunately I’ll have to find a new local pub to support.
“Never setting foot in the Paddo again.”
Many others also said they’d boycott.
• As fast as the Paddo’s social media manager could delete comments, more would keep popping up. Many of these have now been scrubbed from the web.
Nick Gierisch suggested Mount Hawthorn was the wrong demographic for a Pauline pizza night.
“This doesn’t seem like a smart decision in a suburb where almond milk and ‘men’ wearing 3/4 length skin tight pants is normal,” Mr Gierisch posted.
Commenting on the tidal wave of criticism, Anthony Tran simply said “you guys are fucked, hey”.
Longtime Labor defender Frank Calabrese pointed out “providing free alcohol by a political party or candidate is in breach of the WA Electoral Act”.
But the Voice checked the Act, and One Nation would only potentially hit strife if candidates attend. Nothing prevents Ms Hanson from appearing and offering free beer and food as she’s not a candidate.
We asked the Paddo for comment but they had “no further comments about [the] event tomorrow night,” indicating it was going ahead despite the backlash.
One Nation didn’t get back to us by deadline.
The voices against massively outnumbered those supporting the PHON event.
One of the sole supporters, Dave Thompson, described the online outrage as “autistic screeching from the Leederville lefties opposing free speech because words hurt.
“I don’t agree with everything One Nation has to say but I will at least listen to their side of the argument instead of the snide elitists having a ‘muh education’ pissing contest.”
THE major parties are asking Western Australians to cast their vote in Saturday’s state election without basic information on two key policy issues. The election ‘campaign’ has been a farce.
The Labor Party easily won the race for the dubious honour of lavishing ‘sweeteners’ on voters in an attempt to win the uniform swing of 10 per cent required to form government.
But its program to pay for promises costing just over $5 billion, roughly double the Liberal Party’s enticements, appears flimsy at best. And the Liberal strategy isn’t much better.
State’s finances
In fact, given the parlous position of the state’s finances, it might pay to be ready to tick off the promises as they are broken by whichever side wins power.
The first major shortcoming of the campaign has been the failure of the two parties to come up with a credible program to get the state’s finances back on a sound footing – to achieve a balanced budget and reverse the escalation in state debt.
The Liberals always claim to be the better economic managers. But that claim has been shot to pieces over the past four years helped by the collapse in royalties due to lower iron ore prices, and the appalling deal on the goods and services tax. And the AAA credit rating was lost.
Premier Colin Barnett’s economic credibility was hit by the perfect storm. But he should still have put more money aside from the good times to cushion the inevitable downturn.
The Liberal proposal to sell 51 per cent of Western Power to raise $11 billion – $8 billion of which would go to retire debt – has merit, especially as the utility’s value will fall with advances in renewable energy. But it’s unpopular and could prove a vote loser.
Even if the Liberals do win the possibility their preference deal with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party – which strongly opposes the sale – is likely to result in three Hansonites in the Upper House with the balance of power, could be the death knell. The debt reduction plan would collapse. Claiming a mandate doesn’t cut the mustard in 2017.
Labor believes it can reallocate the $1.2 billion in federal money earmarked for the Roe 8 project, when it dumps the road plan. But federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says it’s federal money and he will decide how it’s spent.
Then there’s shadow treasurer Ben Wyatt’s strategy to pay down debt by an intricate formula based on increased royalties – should the iron ore price remain high – combined with a doubling of the current return on the goods and services.
Hope springs eternal.
Only National Party leader Brendon Grylls has been upfront about his plan to restore the state’s finances, with a raid on mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. But he has played a Lone Ranger role while the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy has unleashed a withering $2 million plus advertising campaign to cut him down.
The other issue requiring further explanation relates to renewable energy. Mr Barnett says the Liberal target is to provide 23.5 per cent from renewables – solar and wind – in the power grid by 2030. The Greens are going for 90 per cent.
Labor initially floated a 50 per cent goal but then abandoned it. Why? Because its veteran Collie-Preston MP Mick Murray, a champion of coal mining at Collie, said he’d quit if that was policy.
But he’s the only one who can hold the seat. So the party caved in and now has no target.
Unemployment
That could change because federal leader Bill Shorten is pressing for the 50 per cent target to become policy at Labor’s national conference next year. Watch this spot.
With unemployment (6.5 per cent) the highest in the nation, both sides are making a virtue of seeking to promote jobs and apprenticeships. Highly laudable, but economic growth would help.
Labor needs a uniform swing of 10 per cent to win the 10 seats to form government and deprive Colin Barnett of a historic third four year term. But swings are never uniform.
Liberal seats in the leafy western suburbs, plus electorates such as Alfred Cove and South Perth, are safe. But a clutch of the party’s inner suburban seats, won last time, will fall.
Massive contests are being waged in the Liberal seat of Mt Lawley, held by Speaker Michael Sutherland, and the new notionally Liberal seat of Bicton where Matt Taylor is being challenged by Labor’s Lisa O’Malley.
Labor has enjoyed a consistent lead in opinion polls, and all the signs point to Mark McGowan becoming WA’s thirtieth premier. But he won’t get a honeymoon period.
There are too many pressing issues to resolve.
Leading the list are those issues which received scant attention during the campaign. And paying for those promises? Well the money has to come from somewhere!
• Peter Kennedy is an adjunct professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Notre Dame Australia.
IT’S been a fierce fight for the state seat of Perth: front yards are peppered with six-foot high signs of Labor candidate John Carey’s noggin and Perth Liberal MP Eleni Evangel’s glossy brochures fill letterboxes — sometimes several at a time.
Ms Evangel won the Perth seat with a big 12 per cent swing in 2013, but it’ll be a tough fight to keep it as her margin has narrowed to less than three percent.
Ms Evangel tells us her opponent, Mr Carey, might be good at spruiking his achievements, but she’s preferred to shun self-promotion, quietly helping out locals over the past few years.
Her re-election campaign has been focused around the Liberal party delivering economy and tourism boosters like Elizabeth Quay, the impending Perth City Link, Perth stadium and Kings Square.
Mr Carey is the bookies’ favourite to win the seat, having built up a lot of local goodwill (and only a couple of vocal detractors) in his time as Vincent mayor.
He says as mayor he was often coming across issues that needed state-level intervention to solve and his campaign’s already seen pledges to support local issues like fixing up the horrid Scarborough Beach Road/Green Street intersection and to help pay for a new town square for North Perth.
Witnessing the Development Assessment Panel approve overly-large unit blocks during his stint as mayor has caused him to deviate from Labor policy by calling for the DAPs to be dumped.
GREENS’ Perth candidate Hannah Milligan says her work in criminal law has given her an insight into the damage done when essential services like public education and the healthcare system fail.
The Greens traditionally do decently in the Perth seat, nabbing 12 per cent of the primary vote last time round (with most of those ultimately feeding into Labor’s numbers).
The ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY Perth candidate Matt Hanson is a science graduate and board member of the vegan animal rights organisation Animal Liberation WA. The AJP’s running on a policy of halting live export, banning greyhound racing, protecting wildlife (banning the use of 1080, giving the dingo protected status, and non-lethal measures for shark attacks) and outlawing puppy mills.
JULIE MATHESON FOR WA is running architect, heritage and planning expert Ian Molyneux in the Perth seat.
Having once chaired the WA Heritage Council, Mr Molyneux says he came out of the woodwork after watching the DAPs approve big towers in quiet residential suburbs in Perth.
Along with their “scrap the DAP” policy, the party started by Ms Matheson (a Subiaco councillor), also wants the State Administrative Tribunal and the Building Commission gone, and several members also have gripes with the family court.
MICRO BUSINESS PARTY Perth candidate Archie Hyde runs his own business working as a service provider to the energy and civil infrastructure sectors.
He says small business needs more of a say in the decision-making process, having suffered during this recession because of a lack of foresight and good management of the state government.
The MBP formed because they reckon Labor’s got the union’s interests at heart and the Liberal party is dominated by the big end of town, and are backed by many taxi drivers (you would’ve seen their ads plastered across Perth cabs in recent months).
Why’s Mr Hyde’s photo squashed? We’re not sure, that’s how it came. Maybe a statement on their plan to squash red tape.
FLUX THE SYSTEM! Perth candidate Ben Ballingall is a politics and international relations student.
The Flux platform is an oddity: rather than having a slew of policies, they let members digitally vote on how their representative should vote in parliament.
One of their candidates explained “as a Flux representative, I am prepared to give up my autonomy and vote according to the wishes of the people, expressed via the Flux app”.
The Flux party has also stacked the upper house card with a bunch of undeclared candidates to improve their chances of getting someone in through arcane preference deals: up to 26 of the “independent” candidates in the upper house ticket are actually Flux-sympathisers, and sticking a one in their box above the line will mean your preference goes to Flux.
MT LAWLEY Liberal MP Michael Sutherland knows he faces a fight to retain his seat this election.
In 2008 he managed one of the biggest swings in the state to wrest it from Labor and gained more ground in 2013, but that margin’s dwindled a little to 8.9 per cent.
In his typical colourful turn of phrase he described his election battle to a forum of parents at Perth Modern School this week:
No preferences
“I’m in the trenches, I’ve got my hard hat on and my bayonet out, because I don’t really get preferences other than from the Australian Christians,” who barely managed two per cent at the last election.
The former lawyer and veteran polly has been in politics a long time, first elected to the Johannesburg City Council in 1982 for the Progressive Federal Party.
They were anti-apartheid and at the time they were known by the acronym PFP which their far-right opponents claimed stood for “Packing for Perth” since so many of them were emigrating to Australia.
Fate followed the jibe and Mr Sutherland came here in 1988, was elected to Perth council in 1995, then became deputy mayor, then Mount Lawley MP, and then speaker of the house.
LABOR Mt Lawley candidate Simon Millman has had a controversy-free campaign, scoring support from local groups by securing funding pledges for the likes of the Mount Lawley Society, sports clubs, and this week announcing a Labor government would give $120,000 to RTRFM to support community radio.
He has a stiff 8.9 per cent margin to knock down to win the seat, but the bookies reckon he can take Mt Lawley for team red.
GREENS Mt Lawley candidate Matt Roberts has been a labourer, worked in warehouses, call centres, a creche and as a disability support worker.
He came to Australia when he was 10 and not long after coming here his mother died of cancer, so he’s big on a strong public health system.
ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY Mt Lawley candidate Kandi Revian is a long-time animal lover who worked as a vet nurse in an animal surgery clinic.
LABOR’s Lisa Baker holds Maylands with a mere 2.7 per cent but the pundits predict that’ll only be pushed upwards on Saturday. A $1 bet on the animal-loving Ms Baker only returns you a $1.03 if she wins (one of the few bets she’d be okay with, given her stance opposing greyhound racing and calls to ban riding crops in horse racing).
LIBERAL contender Amanda Madden has a background in teaching and is dean of student services at Perth College. If she won she’d be the first Liberal to hold the seat since 1968.
GREENS candidate Caroline Perks is an artsy sort, graduating in musical theatre from WAAPA, worked under Greens MP Lynn MacLaren and worked on climate change policy for the local government sector, and wants action on the local environment like the area’s wetlands which have been under threat from housing developments.
Perth Voice Interactive 