Perth Voice Interactive

THERE’S a simple way governments across Australia can support traditional media organisations and counter the power of Meta.

It’s simply to stop shovelling billions of advertising dollars to its US-based owner Mark Zuckerberg each year, and instead spend that money with local publishers, big and small.

There’s something perverse about the federal government’s handwringing over Meta, when it has been one of that company’s biggest benefactors. In fact, its advertising spend has all the hallmarks of a social media junkie, ballooning year after year until the notion it’s saving money has become a mere fallacy.

Its digital advertising budget is now hundreds of millions of dollars bigger than what it was when the traditional route was traditional media.

And it’s not alone; state and local governments have increasingly gone down this route, particularly gutting regional and suburban newsrooms until far too many communities have been left with no locally-produced news at all.

This behaviour turns a blind eye to the noxious influence of social media on communities.

Governments have a responsibility to be messaging their community through safe and inclusive avenues, and while legacy media wasn’t without its issues, does Facebook really stand up to the pub test given its legacy of scandals, bullying, misinformation and data misuse?

It’s a simple equation; support democracy by supporting local, independent media, or continue down the rabbit hole that gave the likes of Donald Trump a leg-up.

THE City of Perth has launched its first major advertising campaign under the two-year-old City of Light brand.

The campaign “Shine bright in the City of Light” follows a group of dancers enticed away from rehearsal by a glowing doorway to explore the city’s attractions with some skaters.

Lord mayor Basil Zempilas said it would make people proud of Perth and “fall in love with the City of Light all over again”.

“Over 60 years ago, American astronaut John Glenn dubbed our great city the ‘City of Light’, but it’s always been that for the people of Perth and this new campaign personifies all the reasons why,” Mr Zempilas said.

Glenn didn’t actually coin the term City of Light, describing Perth during his historic Earth orbit as a “town” with a “bright light” to the south, which turned out to be a refinery that had boosted its flares.

But in a message on the 50th anniversary of the flight, Glenn said he recalled the display of lights almost daily and thanked Perth’s residents who’d helped “light up the dark side of the Earth”.

Regardless of the term’s origins, Mr Zempilas said light had resonated strongly as a theme when the City consulted with the community over a new brand in 2022.

Shines

“From sunlight to city lights, the campaign celebrates how our glorious city shines, from the sparkling Derbarl Yerrigan/Swan River to the glittering light-filled skyline, we truly live in the most beautiful place on Earth.”

The new campaign was shot across 10 city locations, including Elizabeth Quay, Wolf Lane and His Majesty’s Theatre.

“The City of Perth has just had its biggest summer season ever, and

it’s a sign of bigger things to come – with Boorloo Heritage

Festival kicking off next week, Lightscape locked in for winter at Kings

Park and Plateful Perth back for its second year in August,” Mr Zempilas said.

“There’s no doubt our city is shining bright and this new campaign

will remind people the city is the place to be. It’s full of things to

do and see all year round.”

The campaign hasn’t been without critics, with some noticing the city seems a little deserted apart from the dancers, while WA Music board member Kristina West questioning the choice of music.

“I am totally bamboozled why, when you have a plethora of current Perth bands like Old Mervs or DICE the Band or Dear Sunday to pick from, you choose the Moving Still from the central coast of NSW to soundtrack this ad,” Ms West posted on the City’s Facebook page.

“You had a perfect chance to highlight and support local talent (just as the WA government did with South Summit in their tourism ad.”

The post got a hugging heart emoji from DICE, who followed up with a concise message of their support: “period!”

by STEVE GRANT

A HISTORIC cottage in Northbridge has been trashed by squatters after being left vacant for years.

The state of the Shenton Street cottage has Museum of Perth secretary Ryan Mossny concerned it’s both a safety hazard and a sign of a broader problem with the protection of the city’s historical buildings. 

Mr Mossny said “some people have commented that it has been weeks” that squatters had been living at the property.

The City of Perth says it has been unable to contact the owners of the 1920 cottage on Shenton Street, making it difficult to get the property secured. 

“WA Police and the City made numerous attempts to contact the owner of the property, without response, in relation to the ongoing issue of trespass,” the City said in an unattributed statement to the Voice. 

The City confirmed it was first alerted to the squatters mid-January and received another complaint on the weekend.

“On Tuesday, the City of Perth’s community health team attended the property with WA Police.”

The cottage was found to be “unfit for habitation” and notices ordering the owners to board up the property were posted by the front door.

“The City then began working with WA Police and Department of Communities regarding this private property.”

Mr Mossney said “usually when this kind of thing occurs with older properties it’s because they’re heritage listed.”

“Sometimes property owners would love nothing more than to see the place go up in flames because it makes it a very good case for the demolition.”

Heritage properties have added protection and he says it’s not uncommon for owners to let a property sit until it’s beyond restoration and they can argue that the only option is a demolition order.

But Mr Mossney said “that wouldn’t be the motivation here… because the property doesn’t have any heritage protection so it really is just a mystery.”

The empty property is also a sign of another issue facing Perth; while people on low incomes are struggling to find affordable housing and homelessness is at record levels, it’s one of many homes without a tenant.

According to 2021 ABS data, 21.9 per cent of houses in Northbridge are unoccupied. 

But Mr Mossney says despite being vacant, it’s not appropriate for squatting.

“The main issue there was that there wasn’t power and water connected,” he said.

There was also the issue of how trashed the squatters had left the cottage.

by RUBY NESA-CLIPSTON

AUSTRALIA’S prospective nuclear submarines will be up for discussion next month by medical professionals  who’ll put the former Morrison government’s controversial AUKUS deal under the microscope. 

The Medical Association for Prevention of War will be hosting a panel focusing on how the AUKUS deal will impact Western Australians as part of a global trend of “rising militarism”. 

The AUKUS deal wagered between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States will bring locally-owned nuclear submarines to Garden Island by the 2040s, while more frequent visits of foreign-owned subs will start within a decade. 

The MAPW says potential exposure to radiation makes the submarines a threat to Australians’ health, although the risk of naval-based nuclear disasters is considered low. 

Communities should be able to give informed consent about nuclear-powered submarines in their backyards, says MAPW, which is difficult given secrecy protocols around the vessels. 

MAPW Western Australian convenor Peter Underwood says the Fremantle community “is a very positive place” to protest the AUKUS deal.  

“There’s always been a very strong peace movement in Fremantle, and that’s something that we should be proud of,” Dr Underwood said. 

“Many people might think we are peaceniks,” he said of MAPW, “but even many people from the right side of politics have seen just how bad the AUKUS agreement actually is.

“It is going to dominate a huge amount of our budget for a program that we don’t think will work, and which is much less likely to do what we want, which is to produce a peaceful and effective world.” 

Resisting Militarism in the AUKUS Era will be held at Walyalup Koort in Fremantle on April 12 at 5pm. It is free but requires booking. Search ‘MAPW presents Dr Sue Wareham in Perth’ on the TryBooking Website.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER

MAPW president Sue Wareham will be speaking as an expert on peacekeeping and disarmament. 

The Canberra-based former GP is an anti-war advocate who has written extensively about war, politics, and AUKUS as part of her advocacy. 

Dr Wareham says it is “extremely important” that local communities are aware of the risks of having nuclear technology in their backyards, which is difficult given the military secrecy surrounding the subs. 

“It’s not even possible to gauge the extent of the safety risks and we have every right to be concerned.”

Dr Wareham says while she does not want to “overstate” the risks associated with the submarines, the presence of nuclear power near the community is a cause for concern. 

“The thing about nuclear power is that the stakes are pretty high if things go wrong,” she said. 

“There are risks of radioactive contamination of the surrounding area, and that carries risk to health and the environment too.”

THE Fairbridge Festival flame will keep flickering after its shock cancellation earlier this month, with a showcase of touring artists being staged at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Sunday, April 7.

The festival was cancelled just a month before it was supposed to kick off, with organisers citing lagging sales, increased costs and a struggle finding enough volunteers. It was also being held in Pinjarra for the first time, after the managers of Fairbridge Festival pulled the pin on large gatherings in 2023, saying the infrastructure wasn’t coping with the crowds.

Festival artistic director Jon Cope said the decision to cancel had been devastating for artists, so he’s put together the showcase at the arts centre under his own company, Kaleidoscope Multicultural Arts Management.

“As a former touring artist myself, I know how important these festivals are for musicians and performers,” Mr Cope said, adding Covid had been particularly brutal for the industry.

“We’re delighted to showcase some of the world-class artistic talent that is touring to WA in April at this special Fairbridge Festival Showcase concert event in Fremantle.”

Mr Cope said one of his aims was to provide the performers with a fee that would go some way to compensate them for the sudden gap in their schedule.

Flag

Tristan Glover is one of the founding members of international act The Chipolatas, who’ve performed in 45 countries since forming in 1992.

While the full band won’t be able to play the showcase, he’ll be there to fly the flag, saying Fairbridge was a special place for the Chipolatas.

“Fairbridge was our first ever Australian contract in 1996 – we were the headliners,” Mr Glover said.

“We fell in love with the Fairbridge Festival and Western Australia, and we’ve been to Fairbridte 10 times over the year and it is one of the best festivals in the world – and we’ve done a lot of brilliant festivals over the years.”

Mr Glover said the showcase would be important for performers, organisers and festival attendees.

“This is a chance to come together and celebrate the importance of live performance in our day-to-day lives; for our community spirit, a peg in the sand on the path to visioning a way forward in the post-pandemic economic environment,” he said.

The Showcase will also feature performances from Danish outfit Himmerland, Canadians Gordie Tentrees and Jaxon Haldane, Shark & Fox, and a specially-commissioned ode to Fairbridge by poet Peter Capp from New South Wales.

It’s being held at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Sunday April 7 from 4 – 10pm.

Tickets from oztix.com.au; search for Fairbridge Festival Showcase.

by STEVE GRANT