Perth Voice Interactive

PARENTS have urged education minister Peter Collier to try harder to negotiate a deal to secure a new western suburbs high school.

The state government wants to relocate the International School of WA and build a new high school on its site, but ISWA has dug in its heels because it can’t get the deal it wants. It’ll now sit tight until its lease runs out in 2027 and local parents say that’s too long to wait.

Many were planning to send their kids to Churchlands as the area’s main feeder school, but say they’re being put off by the overcrowding the delay to the new school is expected to create.

“Our peak groups are graduating in 2017, and they would normally go to Churchlands. Parents have made decisions thinking they could go to Churchlands,” Vincent councillor and parent Emma Cole says.

Churchlands has 2500 students this year but by 2020 is projected to have 3251, which even Mr Collier says is too many.

“They say there’ll be 4000 students there by 2025 and that’s ridiculous,” says Mt Hawthorn P&C president Scott Yelland.

Mr Yelland says it’s one of the major concerns on parents’ minds since the news broke.

With a son in year two, he says people make choices about where to live based on which schools their kids can attend. Both Churchlands and Mt Lawley have good reputations and parents will be disappointed if it turns out they’re too full and they have to seek further afield.

“The other option is for people to go private, but some either can’t afford private, or they believe in public schools.”

Mr Yelland says parents also worry the delay could mean changes to the catchment area.

Back in 2015 Mr Collier said there was an “urgent” need for another high school and last week pointed out $40m was in the state budget to expand Churchlands and $50m for nearby Shenton College, but even he’s not trying to sell that as a final solution.

Ms Cole’s sister Andrea points out that money had already been set aside for the two schools’ expansions, before the news they’d be having to take in another thousand or so students.

by DAVID BELL

MOST residents living near the proposed West Perth fire station are dead against the plan.

WA’s planning department has the final say on the proposed station at 27 Carr Street, but Vincent city council is handling the public consultation.

The city got 56 submissions; nine were in favour, two were “general concerns” and 45 people were opposed. The city now bundles that up and sends it off to the planning department.

Locals say they’re worried about noise and traffic from the station and how trucks are going to make it to fires on time given the clogged roads around Charles and Newcastle Street.

They also raised concerns about hazardous materials being stored on the site.

Fire and emergency services north east superintendent Brad Miles says all materials “stored onsite for training and response purposes are typical for a metropolitan fire station”.

He says “career firefighters are specially trained to drive emergency vehicles through inner city areas” and adds it’ll keep local residents safer.

by DAVID BELL

ABOUT 200 white corellas will be culled around Stirling during late spring and early summer.

Since a few pets were released a little more than a decade ago, the invasive species have been breeding rapidly and are now a major pest around Perth.

They have no predators (other than contractors) and have abundant food in the metropolitan area.

But they don’t confine their munching to seeds, chewing through communications cables, eating reticulation, and damaging radio antennas.

Edgewater resident L Purcer queried Stirling council at public question time over when and where the culls would happen, but the city won’t be giving up that info: “For ethical and safety reasons, no public notification is intended apart from redirection of pedestrian traffic whilst the culling is underway,” the city’s response says.

The council confirmed the corellas would be enticed into specific areas with seed hoppers, then captured with nets and euthanised in line with the parks and wildlife department’s animal ethics committee. The department’s guidelines say shooting the birds is humane and efficient.

Last month Stirling councillors halted the corella cull at the urging of Cr David Michael, who wanted the Barnett government to take the lead role.

That earned a rebuke from WA environment minister Albert Jacobs, and two weeks later a rare revoking motion reinstated the cull. Crs Michael, Stephanie Proude and Elizabeth Re opposed the reinstatement.

Cr Michael wanted the council to explore nonlethal pest control like netting, lasers and strobe lighting. He says killing 200 would be “a drop in the ocean”.

The cull costs about $3,300. Species targeted include the long-billed corella, the little corella, the galah and sulphur-crested cockatoo.  Muir’s corella is the local species, but it was wiped out on the Swan Coastal Plain by colonial farmers, who clearly knew a thing or two about effective culling.

by DAVID BELL

FORMER Perth city council CEO Gary Stevenson has a new gig as the CEO of Isaac Regional Council in Queensland.

The populations of the two councils are roughly the same (22,000 odd) but Mr Stevenson has gone from presiding over the 8.2 sq km City of Perth to the sprawling 58,862 sq km Isaac region.

Mr Stevenson’s contract was ended early by Perth councillors in January this year.  The timing was controversial, as it was shortly after a CCC report into lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi’s travel troubles.

But a solid source on the inside reckons the move was genuinely down to Mr Stevenson’s management style not gelling with councillors.

by DAVID BELL

STIRLING council has moved to demolish three former pre-primary buildings on its land.

At its last monthly meeting, the council decided that the buildings on Inverness Crescent in Menora, Carcoola Street in Nollamara, and Wrigley Street in Dianella were no longer needed.

The Alexander Park pre-primary was built in 1940, and was leased out to the WA education department until 2012 when it became vacant.

A council report found the timber and asbestos building was in poor condition. It would cost $550,000 to repair, or just $55,000 to smash down.

The council’s planning and recreation departments say once demolished, the site could be incorporated into neighbouring Alexander Park.

Dianella residents won’t be so lucky, as the council wants to redevelop the Wrigley Street site for housing.

The council says it will cost $80,000 to demolish the building, but says it won’t be removing any of the healthy, mature trees. That’ll be  up to the developers.

The council is yet to determine what it will do with the Nollamara site, with the planning department noting that it will be “undertaking a project during the 2016/17 financial year for the Nollamara Centre”.

by BRIANA SHACKELFORD

A DAWDLING 40kph speed limit could be applied to the southern half of Vincent’s residential streets.

The council is looking at introducing a two-year trial of the speed limits, with plans to drop the streets around schools to just 30kph.

Mayor John Carey says it won’t affect major corridors like Charles and Lord Streets, and won’t be imposed unless locals are in favour.

“This is a quality of life issue for residents who live on local streets, and that is the sincere and ultimate aim,” he says. “When you reduce speeds on local streets you increase amenity, your kids feel safe and are more likely to play in the garden, you’re more likely to walk.”

He says there has been backlash from motorists who don’t want to putt along at low speed, but warns opponents not to gild the lily.

“I want to see a really sensible debate, because I’ve seen some extraordinary and hysterical responses outside Vincent, like the view that this would allow paedophiles to cruise schools,” Mr Carey says, describing that critique as “disgusting and irrational”.

He points out that South Australia already has 25kph school zones, while the ACT sets them at 30km/h.

A Monash uni study showed knocking speeds down from from 50kph to 40kph dropped the risk of dying in a crash by about 60 per cent. The report reckons travel times won’t be greatly affected, as motorists spend most of their time accelerating and decelerating, not cruising at the maximum speed.

Puttering along at lower speeds “should bring about an increase in energy efficiency with a corresponding reduction in fuel consumption and vehicle running costs, and a reduction in… greenhouse gases and noise”, the report found.

The area under consideration is bounded by Charles, Vincent, Beaufort and Walcott Streets, and Guildford Road, Stanley and Mitchell Streets.

The cost for the two-year trial is $150,000 for signs and $80,000 for new LEDs around schools, along with undetermined costs for monitoring how effective it is.

by DAVID BELL

HOMESICK migrants missing their wives and families back in Italy formed the Laguna Veneto Bocce Club in Dianella more than 50 years ago.

“A lot came from the same region [of Italy]. They had no family and started getting together playing cards,” Elizabeth Baldassar tells the Voice.

Keen to play traditional Italian bowls — bocce — the men leased a small plot of land in Wembley from market gardener Angelo Gava.

He became one of the club’s founders.

Throughout 1962 they laboured to build three bocce alleys, and meetings were held in an old garden shed. But the swampy ground reminded them of the Laguna di Venezia, and they had a fine sounding name for their fledgling club.

By 1970 the club had outgrown the garden shed, and when bocce became a nationally federated sport in 1971 there was no holding Laguna back. Negotiations with Stirling council kicked off for a proper home.

Strong community spirit and camaraderie saw members offer interest-free loans and free labour to construct clubrooms and bocce alleys at the flash new Yokine home.

Fundraising put more than $53,000 in the coffers and the Laguna Social and Bocce Sporting Club formally opened in 1980.

The club has hosted a number of senior and junior national championships over the years and membership is in excess of 400.

There’s competitive and social bocce, and a heap of social occasions such as the father and mother’s day lunches with traditional Italian food – the radicchio is grown on the club grounds.The swish club now boasts eight undercover rinks, and a statue of St Mark’s Lion — the emblem of Venice and Laguna — graces its Homer Street entrance.

THIS year’s annual Italian Festival marks the 60th anniversary of the Italo-Australian Welfare and Cultural Centre,.

The centre was set up in 1956 to help the wave of post-war Italian migrants settle into their new home down under.

“It had the full support of the Italian consul of the day, and key leaders of the Italian community,” president Enzo Sirna says.

Jim Martino was the first president, Tom D’Orsogna (who founded the famous sausage empire) was treasurer, Tito Onesti the secretary and Father Nanni the spiritual advisor: “And our patron has always been the Italian consul of WA,” Mr Sirna says.

The importance of the Italian contribution to Australian society was aptly demonstrated when then prime minister John Howard opened the organisation’s new premises in 1996.

“It showed recognition and respect for the organisation which we were thrilled to note – and recognition of the Italian community’s contribution to WA,” Mr Sirna says.

IAWCC services have evolved and now include Italian language classes in state schools, social welfare for women, youth services and support for people with diabetes.

“The IAWCC had the foresight to build the first ever aged care home for Italian people in Australia … and its Italian/Australian bilingual childcare was well before its time and set the platform for many different areas,” Mr Sirna says.

Italian migration slowed in the 70/80s, but a “regeneration” has seen the number of migrants rise more recently: “We have had an influx over the last few years…[they are] more skilled and younger,” Mr Sirna says.

The celebration of all things Italian includes a cake and wine making competition, Italian film God Willing at Cinema Paradiso, and an Italian Cultural Day with pasta, sausage and cheese making.

There’s a special anniversary mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday June 5 and the festivities end in a glittering blaze with a ball at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth in the evening.