Perth Voice Interactive

A HUNDRED years ago in the Barrack Street building that now houses the Museum of Perth, Denis Dease photographed more than 600 soldiers before they sailed off to war.

After the studio closed, thousands of glass negatives were forgotten.

Museum chair Reece Harley says they remained undiscovered until “they were found in the basement of the fire station in Victoria Park in the 1980s,” just before the station was demolished.

“When photographic studios shut down they used to sell off their glass, because they were used as the glass in fire alarms,” Mr Harley says.

In 1999 the state library had a crack at identifying the soldiers in the photos, and the Museum of Perth has now delved deeper into archives to track down every last name it can, even cross referencing the badges visible in the shots to war records to try to pin down names.

Despite the effort, around 100 “unknown soldiers” remain.

Along with the portraits on display at the Museum of Perth, this exhibit will leave an ongoing resource: “We’re creating a searchable database of every soldier who had their photograph taken at the studio,” Mr Harley says, but it’s also hoping that putting it out to the public could spark citizen investigators to find out more about the unknown 100.

The Soldiers of Barrack Street is at the Museum of Perth on Grand Lane, April 20 to June 20, and the photos and records are online at http://www.thesoldiersofbarrackstreet.com

by DAVID BELL

FEDERAL MP Alannah MacTiernan will host a forum seeking to wind back the powers of WA’s controversial development assessment panels.

The retiring Perth Labor MP says the DAPs — a brainchild of premier Colin Barnett — are “undermining people’s faith” in town planning, with unelected panellists exercising too much discretion and “inserting their own opinions”.

DAPs are adding storeys and density, leaving little room for public open space and greenery. Because the five-member DAPs only have two elected members on them, they are not subject to electoral accountability for their decisions.

“It’s really fraudulent, because you’ve got these people submitting their own opinions, not enforcing the policies of council,” Ms MacTiernan, a former WA planning minister and local mayor, says.

She’d prefer to see the DAPs’ discretion wound back: elected councils should make the rules and DAPs should, when deciding on applications, apply those rules without wriggle room for personal opinion. To work properly, the WA government needs to let local councils insert solid rules in their town planning scheme, instead of insisting they be so wishy-washy that DAPs and the state administrative tribunal are able to drive a truck of discretion through them.

Ms MacTiernan says she’s open to other ideas. The forum is at Forrest Park Croquet Club, 66 Harold Street, Mt Lawley, Thursday April 28 at 7–9pm.

by DAVID BELL

POLICE are hunting a predator who molested two children lured from a holiday program in North Perth.

The children, aged 4 and 5, had been attending school holiday care at a Fitzgerald Street premises on Tuesday when they reportedly walked off with a man unknown to them.

Police believe he took them around 11.15am before assaulting them at an unknown location, then dropping them at Hyde Park about an hour later.

Call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at http://www.crimestopperswa.com.au.

PERTH’S notorious Grand Central Backpackers has closed, with a new operation called Akara Hotel opening phoenix-like in its place.

The building is owned by Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi and hubby Joe; their previous tenant ran a very poorly reviewed backpackers that had clocked countless complaints over the years.

As reported by the Voice, the deteriorated innards of the Grand were pulled out for what appeared to be renovations in January: at least some were controversially dumped on a block Mr Scaffidi part-owns in neighbouring Vincent.

The Akara Hotel’s ABN is registered to branding specialist Yohan Peter Dantan, while the Akara Coffee Shop downstairs is run by Zambian artist Crisis Mr Swagger aka Chisenga Katongo.

While Ms Scaffidi distanced herself from the operator of the Grand, Mr Swagger is a supporter: he leapt to her defence during the lord mayoral election in the midst of some of our coverage, penning the rap song ”The Mayor With Flair” (www.audiomack.com) telling the Voice, “thanks for inspiring me to make this”.

MEANWHILE, The Sunday Times reports lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi and husband Joe are fighting heritage protection moves for the building.

PCC staff want to investigate the 1903 building to see if it’s worthy of listing but the Scaffidis, along with other family members who co-own the place, have penned a letter opposing any listing, saying it’s not a landmark, it’s in poor condition, and it’s pegged for redevelopment. PCC staff have reportedly dismissed the owners’ submission and will proceed with an inspection.

by DAVID BELL

PERTH city councillor Reece Harley has been cleared of breaching council rules for printing and distributing 3400 newsletters to residents 14 months ago.

There’s no hard rule on the use of copy machines and mailouts (and councillors occasionally use them to send out Christmas cards or Chinese New Year’s greetings), but then-CEO Gary Stevenson reckoned the newsletters overstepped the mark and he wanted Cr Harley to cough up $3300 to cover the bill.

Cr Harley refused, saying “it’s a fundamental role and responsibility of councillors to communicate with residents and electors of the city”.

“I was simply doing my job as a councillor.”

Mr Stevenson kicked it upstairs to the WA local government standards panel, which has finally determined he did nothing wrong.

The panel agreed with Cr Harley’s view that communicating with residents is part of a councillor’s role — hence he was entitled to use the resources — and found there was no prohibition of the practice at the city.

The panel also reckoned there was nothing to the claims Cr Harley’s newsletter had been a warm-up to his unsuccessful tilt for lord mayor some six months later, as there was no evidence he’d intended to run at the time.

While Cr Harley might’ve racked up a big mail bill on ratepayers’ dime, he and Cr Jemma Green are the only elected members at Perth who don’t claim ratepayer reimbursements for clothing, haircuts and the like.

Some of their colleagues’ yearly bills top $10,000.

The finding revealed the PCC’s rules are full of holes big enough to drive a truck through: anyone can now apparently go hog wild on a printer as long as it’s for communication with ratepayers.

Cr Harley favours the City of Melbourne’s rules, where councillors can’t claim clothing expenses but can claim for  communications costs — with a limit.

by DAVID BELL

GREENS leader Richard Di Natale outlined a grassroots approach to the coming federal election to a packed Perth Town Hall last week.

About 250 people filled the hall to hear Senator Di Natale outline how his party was going to approach the July 2 double dissolution.

He said the two major parties were ignoring many issues facing voters, who were still reeling from the effects of Joe Hockey’s infamous 2014 budget. Citing homelessness and domestic violence as two examples, he said it was wrong for Australia to be closing shelters at the same time the Turnbull government contemplated cutting corporate tax.

MEDICATION is reportedly amongst items confiscated by Perth city council in its raids on Heirisson Island/Matagarup.

The council’s been seizing goods to stop people camping there, and the Voice has heard one woman had her monthly prescription taken, along with the rest of her belongings.

The council’s charging people the cost of seizure and storage before handing gear back, and the woman can’t afford either to replace the meds or pay the fees.

A wheelchair belonging to a man with a bad back was also reportedly taken in a previous raid, and the Voice has seen photos of a crutch sitting in the warehouse where seized goods were held.

PCC media manager Michael Holland continues to refuse to answer questions or acknowledge correspondence.

Last Thursday, April 14, protestors from the island and their supporters marched on Council House to demand an end to the raids and confiscations. Their presence resulted in the PCC ordering a lockdown of the premises.

Just days after joining that march, Tony Spratt/Bropho died. Advocate Jennifer Kaesehagen has no doubt homelessness contributed to his death. “Homelessness strips so many years off the otherwise natural lifespans of people,” she told the Voice.

Mr Bropho had taken several beatings while on the streets: he’d most recently been admitted to RPH after being kicked in the ribs while sleeping.

A keen muso who took to the stage at last year’s Concert for Matagarup, he had a grin on his face last Thursday while pushing a trolley of food to “donate” to the PCC (figuring it must be starving as it’s always confiscating food).

At that march, many spoke about how unsafe they felt sleeping on the streets, and that Maragarup was like a sanctuary in the city: “When I sleep in the city I’ve been assaulted by men,” one young woman said. “Ever since the raids I have no tent, I have no clothes, I sleep in a bush… at the island I felt safe.”

The Brakema family who’ve been staying on the island with five young kids also spoke: “My daughter Hope wakes up screaming every night after the raid,” Ms Brakema said. She’d thanked Mr Bropho for helping them and said Matagarup was the safest place the family had experienced in its long travel from the eastern states.

The group moved on to parliament house, blockading the steps and setting up tents. After an hour or so of nobody coming out to speak, the group dispersed.

by DAVID BELL