STIRLING council wants short-term rentals like Airbnb restricted to having just eight guests and able to operate for 90 days a year without approval.
Short-term rentals came up in the City’s planning and development committee this week after it was given an extended deadline to respond to changes the Cook government wants to make to regulations that cover the sector.
Stirling first tried to crack down on Airbnb-style rentals in 2017 ago after complaints it was affecting long-term rental supplies and were often being booked by people who only wanted somewhere to party.
But it was blocked by the state’s planning department which wanted to wait for the outcome of an inquiry it was planning the following year so it could formulate a consistent approach for councils.
The results of that 2018 inquiry are starting to filter through, with a $5000 incentive scheme to convince landlords to put short-term rentals back on the long-term market announced in November last year and extended by premier Roger Cook on Tuesday this week.
Mr Cook also announced the short-term incentive had been at the heart of a new $5000 incentive to get vacant land back on the market.
“Western Australia’s nation-leading economy and attractive lifestyle are driving significant demand for housing, so we are leaving no stone unturned in our work to boost supply of homes,” Mr Cook said.
Changes to local planning scheme regulations to give councils more power to control short-term rentals were also recommended by a report from the inquiry, and the council’s planning staff say the pressure on housing stock and affordability has only been increasing since then.
“In recent years, this trend has become more acute and also applies the metropolitan area, with rental vacancies for houses sitting at 0.7 per cent in March 2024,” they noted in the agenda.
The council’s planners have mostly agreed with the government’s response, but say its proposal to let Airbnbers take in 12 guests for an unhosted property is too generous and they should be limited to eight, as it had first proposed back in 2018.
THE discovery of an Indigenous songline along the route to the proposed Outer Harbour at Kwinana has prompted calls for it to be reflected in the design.
Curtin University professor of sustainability Peter Newman participated in a Westport workshop with Indigenous elders who revealed the songline along Stock Road and says he’s an enthusiastic supporter of highlighting its cultural significance.
“You could take people on that journey through that cross-section of the coastal plain,” Prof Newman said.
“I just think ‘brilliant’ when things like that get found and acted on instead of being pushed aside like we have in the past.”
Prof Newman said it made sense that Stock Road had been a songline, as Indigenous workers were some of the state’s best cattleman and would have followed their traditional paths while moving the herds around.
Whadjuk elder Noel Nannup was part of the Main Roads-sponsored Aboriginal Journey Ways project which explored the cultural significance of Indigenous journey ways aligned with modern roads and bridges.
Dr Nannup told the Voice he’d been trying to alert people for 30 years to the fact most of the state’s main roads followed ancient songlines.
“A songline is a story associated with a journey made by a spiritual ancestor. During this journey landscapes and landmarks were formed, relationships were observed and established, mistakes were made, lessons were learnt, skills were developed, and the values of community were established,” Dr Nannup wrote in the Aboriginal Journey Ways book co-authored with Francesca Robertson.
Whadjuk Man Steven Jacobs said as Indigenous people followed the seasons, songlines provided important information such as where water could be found along the pathways.
Law and culture outlined a responsibility to look after the land to preserve and maintain healthy vegetation and animals to hunt.
“The songlines incorporate ceremonial places throughout the pathways they followed,” Mr Jacobs said.
“Indigenous people had identity and pathways as far out as Rottnest when the land was joined together,” Mr Jacobs said.
While Dr Nannup’s book Aboriginal Journey Ways doesn’t reference Stock Road, it does tell the story of the Spirit Woman Jindalee, whose songline stretches between Coombarnup (Bunbury) and Jambinbirri (Champion Bay at Geraldton).
“Spirit Man, Spirit Woman, wedj (emu) and yongka (kangaroo) are left discussing who will be the carers of everything,” Dr Nannup tells the story.
“Wedj thrashed around and left, yongka suggested that Spirit Man and Spirit Woman (Jindalee) should be carers of everything.
“Spirit Man and Jindalee stood up; they were tall, taller than the karri trees.
“They could feel the rhythm of the land.”
The story follows Jindalee as she moves north collecting Spirit Children before reaching Jambinbirri and heading east.
As part of the Great Eastern Highway bypass interchanges project in 2021, Main Roads said: “Aboriginal heritage is dynamic. It includes tangible and intangible expressions of culture that link generations of Aboriginal people over time.”
Mr Jacobs said law and culture, purpose and identity had been affected by the loss of land which was not sold or given away but taken with force.
“We followed the culture and law to the letter,” said Mr Jacobs, “it made us very strong-minded and good people for our community we lived in.”
FORMER Stirling councillor Paul Collins has received a formal apology and a rescission of his controversial suspension from the board of the WACA.
Mr Collins’ suspension was issued at the beginning of December last year when he questioned the organisation’s proposed development of the iconic ground, including the decision to scrap men’s urinals.
Early in February he was returned to usual board duties but his suspension remained up in the air until last month when WACA chair Avril Fahey emailed all members to officially lift the suspension and offer the apology.
“We are pleased to advise that the dispute regarding the recent suspension of Mr Paul Collins has been resolved,” Ms Fahey wrote.
“The board’s decision was made in good faith, but it apologises to Mr Collins for that decision.”
Mr Collins said he was grateful for the rescission and accepted the apology.
• Paul Collins was controversially suspended from the WACA board after questioning redevelopment plans for the iconic sporting field.
Suspension
A member-appointed director, Mr Collins had raised $10,000 to fund a challenge his suspension, and says as it was resolved outside the courts the money would be donated to the Lord Taverners Association to help disadvantaged cricketers.
Mr Collins said because of “strict confidentiality” he couldn’t comment further on the suspension, but told the Voice the urinals issue was still to be resolved.
“The reinstatement of the urinals is still a work in progress,” he said.
Mr Collins said his next focus would be on a “significant financial shortfall” he believes the WACA is facing with the redevelopment.
“I encourage all members of the WACA to continue to ask questions about the design, costs and funding of the WACA ground redevelopment,” he said.
Mr Collins was pleased to announce that he had received a formal apology from the WACA as well as an official statement that his suspension had been rescinded, as the WACA sent an email to all members, where they stated.
THE first films for this year’s Revelation Perth International Film Festival in July have been announced.
Opening the festival on July 3 will be feature drama Kid Snow which was shot in Perth and Kalgoorlie and is set in the 1970’s sweat-drenched world of boxing.
The film stars UK actors Billy Howle (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) and Tom Bateman (Death on the Nile) as well as local talent Phoebe Tonkin (Boy Swallows Universe, Westworld).
Paying tribute to the iconic New York video store that inspired a generation of cinephiles before it mysteriously closed its doors and sent its film archive to a small Sicilian village for “safekeeping” is gonzo documentary Kim’s Video. Director David Redmon sets out to investigate the fate of the collection.
• Kid Snow was filmed around Perth and Kalgoorlie.
Mogwai: If The Stars Had a Sound, follows a cult post-rock Scottish band as they cut their 10th studio album at the height of Covid, while You Should Have Been Here Yesterday is a poetic homage to Australia’s early surf culture featuring Tim Winton, Wayne Lynch, Bob McTavish and more on lovingly restored 16mm footage.
A slapstick absurdist American comedy about a 19th century drunken applejack salesman who must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers, the silent black-and-white feature Hundreds of Beavers is completely bonkers and brilliant at the same time, masterfully mixing modern fast paced comedic sensibilities with old fashioned physical humour.
Sticking true to Revelation’s reputation of boundary pushing cinema, is Bruce La Bruce’s low-budget romp The Visitor. Set in contemporary London against the backdrop of racist politics, the film pays homage to Pier Polo Pasolini’s sexually provocative last feature Terorema.
The cheeky Canadian writer/director is renowned for employing conventional storytelling narratives into his sexually explicit, avant-garde films, and this one is no exception.
Locally made animation Pencilhead’s Kids Club – Safari So Good offers up something for younger audiences and is based on the educational online series and colour books.
• Kim’s Video searches for an almost-mythical film archive.
The Pencilhead gang is a special group of friends featuring the voices of Peter Rowsthorn, Gina Williams and is co-written by Greg Page, the original Yellow Wiggle.
The festival closes with the annual celebration of WA’s talented emerging filmmakers at Get Your Shorts On, along with the City of Vincent Film Project and Life in Pictures on Sunday July 14.
Festival director Richard Sowada said he was proud of what Revelation stood for and its place in Aussie screen culture.
“For close to three decades we’ve looked beyond celebrity and into the heart of the independent creative community to commission new works, platform emerging voices and champion critical perspectives that make a difference to individuals, communities and artforms. This festival is a rare breed, and we can’t wait to bring it to screens across Perth and Fremantle,” Mr Sowada said.
THEY’RE often seen as laidback and carefree, but when WA’s surfing community lost a favourite son to suicide in 2021, it laid bare a mental health crisis gripping the South West.
Now a new documentary by charity 20talk is shedding light on the issuewith interviews from professional surfers such as Taj Burrows and mental health advocates.
The aim of Breaking Open: Mental Health in the South West is to spread mental health awareness through sharing stories, ways of support and education.
The project was sparked by charity cycling group Bunker Bay 300, which raised $150,000 for local mental health organisations to embark on awareness raising projects.
20talk founders Leighton Bradfield and Lachlan O’Donoghue decided to use their $50,000 share to tackle the South West’s problems after BB300 gave them the tip that there was a yawning gap in services.
• The launch of Breaking Open.
Between 2014 and 2018, 50 people died from suicide in the Augusta/Margaret River area, making it disproportionately higher than the WA average.
The documentary features interviews with Burrows, Bronte Macaulay, Jay Davies, Mia McCarthy, Jamaica Selby, Jerome Forrest, Mason Gibbs as well as Flowstate Margaret River founders Fynn Mueller, Brooke Paterson and Rob West, who provide mental health therapy in the natural environment.
Macaulay competes in the World Surf League and comes from one of the state’s strongest surfing dynasty; her father Dave finished third in the world tour twice, while three of her brothers were pro surfers.
Macaulay lost her brother Jack to suicide in 2021 and features in the documentary speaking of her own experiences of grief, loss and depression.
Her brother’s death was a catalyst for the South West community recognising there was an issue that needed to be addressed.
“That’s a really big name” said Bradfield.
“It got people to a point where they’re like ‘we actually need to do something about this’.”
“Funding is a big issue,” said Macaulay.
“Nationally that needs to change.”
Currently people can receive up to 10 psychological consultations in a calendar year when assigned a mental health plan through their GP, qualifying for a rebate. But Macaulay says that still leaves gaps.
“For a lot of people they still can’t afford that,” she said.
The Flowstate founders discuss their practical approach to addressing mental health in the South West using their backgrounds in teaching and mental health therapy.
• Surfing legend Taj Burrow helps tackle the mental health crisis by speaking up.
West says they do it by providing an “innovative way for young people and adults to get support for their mental health”.
They highlight the importance of staying active and connected to nature, a common theme with all the professional surfers.
“That’s my most important message; is to get outdoors and find something that you love,” said Burrows who always feels “grateful for [the] stretch of coast we live on”.
“With what little resources we have, how do we essentially change the mental health culture in the South West?” asks Bradfield.
20talk’s approach is to bring an aspect of mental health to the people already doing what they love.
“Are they at a festival? Are they surfing?… Are they skating?… You need to go there,” said Bradfield.
The documentary has been screened in Fremantle and Margaret River.
“[There was] lots of tears, lots of cheering,” said Bradfield.
“A lot of traditional blokes and women who wouldn’t normally engage with this stuff at all, were really moved, because for them that’s one of their first interactions with really meaningful mental health education.”
The documentary will be available online soon for viewing.
THE discovery of 96 snake-necked turtles which were mauled to death by foxes at Bibra Lake could be the tip of the iceberg, say volunteer Turtle Trackers.
The trackers had the grim task of hauling out the carcasses, most with legs and heads chewed off, during the last week but said they could only get to about 20 per cent of the lake.
A cause of death couldn’t be established for another 21 dead turtles they came across on the dry lake bed.
Bibra Lake Turtle Trackers lead co-ordinator Joyce Gadalon said it was a devastating find.
“I am literally in tears just talking about it right now,” Ms Gadalon said.
“I found about 42 turtles to begin with and then I made the call to my other turtle tracker colleagues… the rest of my team came and we found the rest of the 117 carapaces on the dry lake bed.
“The reason why we were out there is because the community saw foxes out in the lake a week before that, and it’s devastating to hear that foxes were carrying around these turtles and eating them right in public.”
• Trackers and researchers were devastated by the find of nearly 100 dead turtles, and say it could be replicated across Perth because dry lake beds are making access for foxes easy. They’ve called for a co-ordinated attack on the feral foxes.
Fellow tracker Felicity Bairstow said birds were likely to have taken mauled bodies from the lake bed to peck out the remaining flesh in inaccessible bushland, meaning the real toll was likely much higher.
Murdoch University research fellow at the Harry Butler Institute, Anthony Santoro runs the Saving Our Snake-Necked Turtle project and said the carnage could be a step towards a localised extinction.
“This is a devastating finding and the loss of approximately 100 turtles just from this one event, combined with the rest that occurred from predation and stuff like that, is going to have a massive impact on their future viability,” Dr Santoro said.
“This specific finding highlights the very real impact that climate change and predation can have on a species and it also shows how the when they’re combined, in instances like this, that the impact can just multiply exponentially.”
Dr Santoro said with lakes dry across Perth, it was likely fox predation was happening elsewhere and climate change would see similar events into the future.
“That further reinforces the need for a massive collaborative effort across the state, at least Perth and the South West, in feral animal control,” he said.
“At the moment, everyone’s doing it kind of by themselves, and it doesn’t do anything because foxes travel between places.”
Dr Santoro said if further predation occurred, artificial incubation and “head-starting programs” might be needed to ensure the turtles didn’t become locally extinct in the near future.
“That problem, and turtles in general, need to be better resourced,” he said.
“There currently just in not enough funding for us to do the research we need to save the species.”
A source from Murdoch told the Herald that Dr Santoro and the SOSNT project are caught in a catch-22; he believes the turtles likely qualify as a threatened species, but can’t prove it because he’s unlikely to get funding for a species that’s not already listed as threatened.
Dr Santoro said the turtles were the wetland’s top predator and their demise would see the lower-order species get “out of control”.
“The hatchlings themselves eat a lot of bugs, so the midges and mosquitoes that no one seems to like.”
City of Cockburn environmental education officer Vicky Hartill said the turtle deaths pointed to a “climate issue” rather than just foxes.
“The City of Cockburn is dedicated to turtle conservation, and we’re in it for the long haul.
“In terms of foxes, it’s complicated.
“We do fox control management, and we work with our surrounding land managers with their fox control program.
“From the City’s perspective, for this autumn season, we’ve extended the fox control program.
“So the trapping has continued for much longer than it normally would, but we’re not in a normal year.
“This is a drying climate and this is a new benchmark for us to look at ways where we can improve not only feral animal control, but turtle conservation across the board.”
Ms Hartill said the City had been looking at other water sources to add to the lake, but it was a complex issue.
“Water is a scarce resource,” she said.
“We take it from one place to put it somewhere else, we’re removing that water from another ecosystem or another location.”
Ms Hartill said locals could help out by reporting feral animal sightings in the wetlands to the City.
“It’s really, really important for a local government – any local government – to have that community support because we can’t be everywhere.”
IT was one of the hottest lunch dates I’ve had in a long while.
I’m not talking about some Tinder Mature hook-up with a middle-aged, chain-smoking divorcee from Butler, but the curries at The Chatter Boxx.
They were nuclear hot and it felt like an atomic bomb had gone off in my mouth – and that was just the korma!
Situated on the Albany Highway in Victoria Park, the Chatter Boxx isn’t going to win any prizes for its demure, understated facade.
It’s a farrago of clunky advertising with a garish advertising board, big illuminated sign and some posters stuck to the window declaring the even clunkier phrase “where dishes tells a story”.
They should have ditched all the advertising and just kept the sign, showcasing the large bay windows.
Anyway, all of this was inconsequential if the food was top drawer, as some of the tastiest meals I’ve had were in places that looked like something out ofApocalypse Now.
Thankfully the Chatter Boxx interior was a lot nicer with a classy bar, decor and tasteful furnishings.
The menu had a nice range of Indian dishes with an emphasis on biryani as well as crowd-pleasers like korma, butter chicken, rogan josh and masala.
Highlights included Prawn Dum Biryani, Railway Goat Curry (introduced in British-Indian railway carriages in the 1900s), and Barramundi Kalia curry.
The starters had a good variety with everything from chicken tikka chaat to tunde kabab.
There was also a good choice of veggie dishes including Palak Paneer, Bhindi Masala and 18-hour cooked Dal Bukhara.
The staff were super friendly and appeared to be of Indian descent, so I was confident it was going to be an authentic meal.
It wasn’t long before I tucking into my slow cooked Chicken Dum Biryani ($22.50).
This was a real treat – a mound of fragrant basmati rice punctuated with succulent, bone-in marinated chicken. This slow-cooked South Indian dish really hit the mark and the rice, which can often be dry in a poor basmati, was spot on and had a fluffy moistness.
But be prepared for some serious heat when you bite into the chicken, which had a real fiery after-kick.
Thankfully there was a little dish of mint sauce to offset the supernova developing in my gut.
I often bemoan the lack of heat in Australian curries, compared to their counterparts in the UK, but this caught me off guard and had some serious fire. It was delicious, authentic and spicy.
I was intrigued by the beetroot cutlet starter ($13), so I ordered it as a side.
The spiced croquettes were a delicious diversion and had a light breadcrumb coating and a lovely moist filling of beetroot and toasted peanuts.
I had never tried these before and they were really nice. And yes, they were a bit spicy too.
I ordered a Lamb Korma “extra mild” for the kids to share ($24) with basmati rice ($6).
It was a huge serve and there was lots of tender lamb, but it was too spicy for my kids, even at the requested extra mild.
To be fair, there was a kids menu with butter chicken, so I probably should have ordered that to be on the safe side, but I wanted them to try different dishes and push the envelope a bit.
Aside from the spice level, this North Indian dish was perfectly executed and had a lovely creamy sauce with traces of cashew, onion and yoghurt.
Our Indian meal at Chatter Boxx was authentic, delicious, well-priced and the portions were big (there’s also a dedicated lunch menu for those on a budget).
But unless you like it flamin’ hot, ask for the spice level to be toned down, or you could be ordering half a dozen mango lassis and reaching for the Rennie Extra when you get home.
AN inflatable God with green hair and skinny arms, an Australian barista who makes men from magic coffee beans, and a group therapy session where all the participants are dead.
These are just some of the wacky characters and plots in the 2024 Over the Fence film festival, which is dedicated to off-beat and subversive comedy shorts.
The theme for this year’s festival is the “endings and beginnings of life in all of its facets, two inescapable paradigms that cannot exist without each other”.
Or the Circle of Life as Elton John once said.
• (above-below) Emergency 1st Aid Hacks and The Wavy Handed God are screening at this year’s Over the Fence.
Festival director Greg Coffey has handpicked 14 of the best comedy shorts from across the globe with selections from the UK, US, Spain and New Zealand.
There’s also a strong contingent of Australian flicks with Victoria well represented.
“What impresses me about this years selection is how generous and giving filmmakers seem to have become since covid,” Coffey says.
“There is no right or wrong emphasised in these stories, rather how do we get along with what we have…it’s wonderful.”
If you like your comedy a little absurd with a divine twist, then The Wavy Handed God could be your salvation.
It’s about a man who wakes up alone in a vast green wasteland, then sees God…
Screenshot
Well, it’s actually one of those super tall inflatable tube men you see at the side of the road advertising things.
A light-hearted film with a surreal bent, The Wavy Handed God was made in Victoria and has gone down well on the festival circuit, claiming top spot at the Paris Independent Film Festival, Tokyo Indie Shorts fest, and 2023 Vegas Shorts.
Some of the best comedy is rooted in man’s worst fears.
In Bald Future, Peter believes that his worsening hair loss is the root cause of all his problems at work, where he is treated with disdain and has become an outcast.
Peter just wants to fit in, but things go from bad to worse when the company hires the good-looking Brad, who has a set of flowing locks.
With his job hanging by a thread, Peter hatches a desperate scheme to get his career back on track. But will it succeed?
Co-directed by Reilly Archer-Whelan, this quirky Victorian movie is a hoot and manages to tackle some weighty social themes while still making you laugh.
The UK comedy short Feirg has a great concept – Hera finds herself at a grief therapy group where all the participants are dead. The only way out is to apply for reincarnation…
If the film is anything like The Lobster, we are in for a mind-bending treat.
The Voice won’t reveal anymore of the plot – it’s best to go along and see what unfolds.
Most folk love a Rocky-style yarn where the underdog overcomes all the odds to beat the favourite and emerge victorious.
Well, Ultimate Frisbee is a quirky and slightly dark take on that genre.
Cameron, who is on the verge of taking his own life, is coerced into playing a game of ultimate frisbee against a champion-winning player.
What unfolds is a sweaty redemption of sorts that subverts the established sports movie genre into something funny and slightly unique.
If you like magic and dark fantasy, then the Human Bean will be right up your wizard’s sleeve.
‘Flynn, a Brunswick coffee lord, unknowingly births the Human Bean, and tries to use his bodily fluids to win the Brunswick Best Beans competition.’
I think we’ll leave it at that.
Over the Fence is at Luna Leederville on Friday May 17 and Luna SX Fremantle on Friday May 24. For screening times and tix see lunapalace.com.au. Festival attendees can vote for their favourite short with the winner announced at the end of the Festival.
THE City of Vincent is aiming to further decrease speed limits on its neighbourhood streets to 30kmh.
Vincent introduced a shift from 50kmh to 40kmh on neighbourhood streets almost seven months ago, but CEO David MacLennan says this could be just the beginning.
“In the medium to longer term, we’ll be aiming to reduce the vehicle speeds down to 30kmh once we’ve embedded 40kmh,” said Mr Maclennan.
“Thirty is the ideal speed for a car in a residential street.”
• Vincent CEO David MacLennan will outline to a Road Safety forum the City’s dream to have pedestrians and cyclists at the top of the road hierarchy.
Despite hoping for 30kmh, Mr Maclennan is pleased with the decrease from 50kmh to 40kmh.
“The primary benefit is around road safety and improving the actual perceived safety of our streets – for our residents and for their kids.
“This initiative was led by our community, who were asking us to do something about vehicle speeds in their streets.
“It’s a great demonstration of community leadership and a local government responding to their community.”
Mr Maclennan said dropping the speed limit was just one element of the City’s overarching transport strategy./
He says it would up-end the current hierarchy on quiet residential streets, with “pedestrians, cyclists and vulnerable users,” to be prioritised over cars.
Mr Maclennan is set to discuss the change of the speed limit, the reasons for it and its future implications as a key speaker at the National Roads Safety Week seminar hosted by WestCycle at the council’s admin building on May 9.
Westcycle supports Mr Maclennan’s hopes for slower roads.
CEO Wayne Bradshaw said in a recent statement, “the data backs 30kmh, but 40kmh is a welcome step in the right direction”.
Perth Voice Interactive 