Perth Voice Interactive

THE rundown Banks Reserve in East Perth will get a little love with $90,000 of state government cash being pumped in to restore the riverfront.

Mt Lawley MP Michael Sutherland says the spot “is a lovely area” and “well used by the community and needs to be well looked after”.

He says it’s in poor condition in places due to erosion which has caused trees to fall into the water. The $90,000 state government funding will go towards stabilising the riverbank and revegetating the area with native species.

It’s part of a $2 million injection into the Swan and Canning river foreshores, and the cash goes to Vincent city council which itself has budgeted $95,000 of its own cash to handle the restoration.

The council’s scheduled the works for January 2017 and will also put $20,000 into replacing the playground equipment and $64,000 on realigning the path to fit with a multi-council initiative to install a recreational trail along the Swan River.

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER CEO Francesca Lefante will be replaced after councillors decided not to renew her contract.

The secret vote happened behind closed doors last week and councillors are unable to speak about it. However from murmurs in the weeks leading up to the vote it sounds like there was a split between Ms Lefante’s long-time supporters and those wanting change.

Her contract wasn’t due to expire for a year but councillors were required to give her a heads-up on whether they’d be renewing it.

In a statement issued Thursday morning Ms Lefante said “council is looking for a new direction and new stewardship for the organisation, and I understand and accept their decision.

Leaving date

“In accordance with council’s resolution I will be negotiating on the terms relating to my contract and a leaving date. An announcement on that leaving date will be made at an appropriate time.

“On a personal level, I want to acknowledge the magnificent support of councillors and the city’s staff over the last eight years during my time as CEO.

“To use a boxing analogy, the city is an organisation that punches above its weight and I am sure it will continue to do so for many years to come.

“It has been a pleasure to have led such a dedicated and talented team of management and staff.

“I have no doubt that the city’s success will continue well into the future and I have been proud to have been a part of the City of Bayswater’s story.”

The main issue in recent times to spark discontent has been the handling of the privately owned wetlands near Eric Singleton bird sanctuary, with some councillors reportedly unhappy Ms Lefante did not put an offer to buy some of the land to the full council for a vote.

However historically she’s proved herself as a neutral arbiter able to rise above the internecine bickering between councillors that marked the era around 2009, when councillors were embroiled in suing each other, reporting rivals to the corruption and crime commission, staging walk outs and other publicity stunts. Across those rocky years she played the part of the patient and calm public servant keeping the ship on course when the council chamber resembled a preschool play pit full of squabbling toddlers.

We don’t yet know if Ms Lefante will be given a payout or if she’ll stick around for the rest of her tenure.

by DAVID BELL

NAMED for the Greek goddess of inescapable justice, Sea Shepherd’s Operation Nemesis will take the fight against Japanese whaling to the Southern Ocean.

The eco-warriors have a new vessel, which is also their fastest, and it’s expected to make all the difference in their 11th direct action anti-whaling campaign.

“For the first time we will have the speed to catch and outrun the Japanese harpoon ships, knowing speed can be the deciding factor when saving the lives of whales in the Southern Ocean,” says Sea Shepherd Global CEO Captain Alex Cornelissen.

The Ocean Warrior was built with the financial support of Dutch, British, and Swedish Postcode Lotteries.

In 2014, Australia won a lengthy legal battle in the international court of justice after proving Japan’s so-called scientific whale hunt was a sham, but later that year the Japanese government simply submitted a new program later that year and continued.

“If we cannot stop whaling in an established whale sanctuary, in breach of both Australian Federal and International laws, then what hope do we have for the protection of the world’s oceans?” asked Jeff Hansen, managing director of Sea Shepherd Australia.

Sea Shepherd Australia’s involvement follows the US arm of the organisation signing a deal with Japanese authorities which prevents it from participating in, or funding, direct-action anti-whaling activities.

by TRILOKESH CHANMUGAM

PERTH COLLEGE’S Rosie Cake is hoping her invention the “Key-Ze” could win her a trip to NASA’s Cape Kennedy space centre in Florida.

Rosie’s working on schematics for a blue-tooth key holder to help forgetful kids who leave their keys behind.

She says the gadget would hold kids’ keys with a magnet and be secured to their school bag. If it detects the keys have been taken out it would let out a beep every 10 seconds, and if they aren’t re-docked with the Key-Ze in five minutes the device would send a text message to parents.

“Mostly it’s my sister who loses her key, and she would have ring my mum, and she would have to come home to unlock the door,” says Rosie, dishing the dirt on her older sibling.

But her sister’s participation in Origianl littleBIGidea competition for little inventors last year that spurred her into entering this year.

Judging’s a ways off but organisers reckon Rosie’s idea is a cracker. There’s categories for kids from year 3 to year 8 and the national winner gets the trip to Florida.

Entries are open till September 30, so if you can think of a new gadget or just a way to make my shoes smell good head to http://www.littlebigidea.com.au and draw something up to enter.

VINCENT council is cutting investment ties with the fossil fuel industry following a visit from environmental group 350.org.

350.org member and Vincent ratepayer Rachael Bott was joined by a dozen other activists at March’s meeting; “I would prefer my rates are preferences toward banks that do not invest in fossil fuels,” she’d argued.

She quoted the group’s founder Bill McKibben who said “if it’s wrong to wreck the planet, then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage”.

Last week Vincent council’s new policy to preference non-carbon investing banks was voted in.

The council also wants the WA local government association to lobby banks as well.

Ms Bott says letting the banks know is the most powerful aspect of divestment.

“Making sure the banks understand they are losing their social licence to continue investing in new fossil fuel projects,” she says.

She warned the city the big four banks would try to “greenwash” their image as they like to present a social and environmentally conscious front.

“Their actions belie those policies,” she says.

The group takes its name from research suggesting 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the safe upper limit to avoid climatic armageddon. We’re already at 400ppm.

Social

Under the new policy, banks with better “social and environmental” profiles will be preferenced, provided it’s not putting ratepayer money at risk. The banks that have divested from carbon aren’t yahoo two-bit operations either: 350.org’s Perth director Michael Fabiankovits points out Bendigo, Suncorp and Bank of Queensland rank among them. Following the vote $450,000 has already been switched away from banks supporting fossil fuel industries.

The impact on the bottom line could be around $40,000 to $80,000 a year if the council moves from investing in the big four banks, but the risk associated with investing in second and third tier banks was deemed “slight”.

Councillor Jimmy Murphy says “after what feels like a lifetime of debate around climate change it feels great to just get on with it and make meaningful changes, with $450,000 already moved from fossil fuel industry access into more environmentally friendly hands.”

Mr Fabiankovits said Vincent council had gone above and beyond: “We’re very happy with Vincent. They did a very thorough report, one of the most thorough I’ve seen… they voted on it unanimously, they strengthened it with $80,000 [that will go towards further carbon abatement opportunities], they’ve been a very supportive council”.

Mr Fabiankovits, who volunteers in the role, said he got on board with 350.org after travelling and seeing the tangible impacts climate change was happening, from ice shrinkage to krill die-offs.

“I have two grandkids, and I had two more two weeks ago,” he says. “By 2030 they’re going to say to me ‘why didn’t you do something?’

“And I want to say ‘I tried’.”

by DAVID BELL

A MEMORIAL to late Bayswater mayor John D’Orazio will be erected in Riverside Gardens, adjacent to the block of privately owned wetlands partially cleared by his heirs.

Bayswater council has $40,000 on offer for an artist to create a large bench and bust memorial to Mr D’Orazio, who also served as a minister under the Carpenter state government.

At the first public meeting when news broke of the D’Orazio block being cleared, environmental activist Jacquie Kelly expressed disbelief that this was going on while the city was preparing to build a monument to the late patriarch.

First floated in 2014 when Terry Kenyon was mayor, the council wants an artist to “work with family members to ensure the project remains in line with council’s resolution, the family’s wishes and is reflective of Mr Dorazio’s achievements, as a remembrance”. The decision was made after midnight in a marathon council meeting, with councillors Alan Radford, Stephanie Coates and Catherine Ehrhardt voting against the motion, with Chris Cornish and Sally Palmer having withdrawn from the meeting at 12.11am.

Mr D’Orazio died in 2011 at 55 during heart surgery. Before he was in state politics he served as a Bayswater councillor from 1981, then mayor from 1985 to 2001. Under his watch Bayswater Waves and the Morley Sport and Rec centre were built, Lightning Swamp Bushland was saved from destruction, sports fields were built at Lightning Park, and he campaigned to start up the Bayswater and Noranda Community Bank

There was a bit of discontent when the memorial was first approved with Bayswater City Residents and Ratepayers Association chief Tony Green saying public cash shouldn’t be spent on it. He pointed out there was already a park named after him, an oil painting, and he’d been honoured as a freeman of the city.

Submissions for quotes close September 19 with work planned to commence March 2017.

by DAVID BELL

LABOR leader Mark McGowan has formally thrown his support behind Maylands MP Lisa Baker’s campaign to quash historic anti-gay convictions.

Ms Baker raised the issue in a speech to parliament earlier this year, saying the record should be fully cleared for pre-1990 convictions when it was illegal to have gay sex.

Untold hundreds of men were affected and while they can apply for a spent conviction, it doesn’t fully clear the slate and still throws up red flags when applying for security-sensitive jobs or for some overseas travel.

Mr McGowan’s now announced a Labor government will quash convictions for LGBTI people who were convicted under anti-gay laws that no longer exist.

“These laws will go some way to putting right the wrongs of the past,” he said in a statement.

“LGBTI Western Australians should not have to carry the stigma of a criminal record for consensual acts that are no longer considered a crime.

“Frankly, these acts should never have been regarded as a criminal offence and the old laws clearly discriminated against the LGBTI community. People convicted under these laws should not have a criminal record hanging over their head for offences that are no longer illegal.”

We haven’t formally heard back from the premier’s office on this, but early murmurs suggest this’ll have at least some support on both sides of the house.

NEW Perth federal MP Tim Hammond delivered his inaugural speech to parliament this week.

Mr Hammond told of his long path to parliament as a lawyer representing asbestos victims and people in remote Aboriginal communities.

As a 20-something longhair he read the tale of Rex Dagi, a Papua New Guinean tribesman who successfully took on Australian miner BHP over its polluting of the Ok Tedi and Fly River that flowed past his home.

Force of will

“Right then I was convinced; with enough tenacity, with enough hard work, with more than a bit of luck and sheer force of will, victory for a just cause was achievable,” Mr Hammond said.

“Representing men and women dying of asbestos disease in the courtroom has taught me every second is precious and life is very short.”

Mr Hammond got a little choked up as he told parliament of clients dying from asbestos-related illnesses who’d hold his hand while he consulted with them bedside.

In that line of work he saw Labor party figures and the trade union movement go up against James Hardie on behalf of victims, and launch a special commission of enquiry to ensure the company paid victims.

“And that’s what brought me to the Labor party: A Labor government making decisions to keep James Hardie accountable, whilst having the welfare of ordinary working men and women at front of mind.”

He said the resource industry played a huge party in WA’s development but acknowledged the times they were a changin’ and we’d better start swimming.

“Our new world does not sit cosily alongside the old world. Our teenagers are more likely to use their spare time collaborating with 20 other programmers, artists and writers all over the world in real time to create new web-based computer games in their bedrooms in their spare moments. Globalisation is now.

“Our challenge is to embrace this change, not to chase after it in a clumsy attempt to catch up.”

He said a Labor government was best placed “to skill up workers transitioning out of traditional employment roles so they grab with both hands the opportunities our digital economy has to offer, to invest in our kids, to close the gap, to care for the most vulnerable and marginalised in our community, to make marriage equality a reality right now.”

He acknowledged the big job he’d been given as a newbie pollie, having been allocated the role of shadow assistant minister to three ministers (which mean’s he’s not technically, as our sub-editor supposed in our July 30 edition, in the shadow cabinet itself).

by DAVID BELL