Perth Voice Interactive

ARE Dockers fans getting a little nervous and Eagles fans a little cocky?

Despite bolting away at the beginning of the season and finishing with their first-ever minor premiership (gaining a prized bit of silverware to rattle around the trophy cabinet along the way), it seems Freo fans haven’t quite got the swagger of their latte-sipping northern neighbours.

In an exclusive poll of Perth Voice and Fremantle Herald readers, the Eagles scored a massive 94 per cent of the vote to knock off North Melbourne in this Saturday’s preliminary final.

But just 64 per cent of readers liked the Dockers’ chances against Hawthorn, following the latter’s demolition of the Adelaide Crows at the MCG in last week’s semi-final. One Freo fan admitted to being “terrified” by the rampant Hawks, given they tore his team apart by 72 points in round 15.

The Voice’s southern spies also reckon the port city is a slightly paler shade of “purple haze” compared to the 2013 finals campaign—with punters perhaps holding onto the bunting for a big splash if there’s a boil-over in Friday night’s clash.

Bookies are solidly on Hawthorn’s side, but a minor premiership’s nothing to sneeze at and ruckman Aaron Sandilands is in scintillating form—detractors who reckon he’s over-the-hill and not enough of an all-rounder forget he’s been running neck-and-neck with Todd Goldstein to set a new hitout benchmark for the AFL. And the pair hasn’t just scratched past Gary Dempsey’s old record of 952; they’ve gone to a whole new level—like running the 100 metres in 8. something seconds. And there’s still a game (or two) to go.

Speaking of Goldstein, the Kangaroo might just be the man to spoil the Eagles’ party. When the two teams met in round 10, he dominated Nic Naitanui, nearly notching up 50 hitouts while keeping his opponent to just 30—one of his lowest for the season. Goldstein topped off a great day and a great win for North with a goal.

Goldstein was also considered such a standout this year, that he was—unusually—the only ruckman the All Australian selectors bothered with when they announced their pick this week.

But since that clash the Eagles have been building momentum with some monster wins, thrashing the Doggies 162-85, pounding Adelaide 126-69, demoralising St Kilda 125-30 and even teaching the Hawks a lesson with a 96-64 win in the first final just two weeks ago. They’re still the bookies favourite to take out the flag, but only just.

The Dockers, on the other hand, have been up and down like the tide in Fremantle harbour, dropping to West Coast and North Melbourne, bounding back for a win against lowly Melbourne, copping a flogging from Port Adelaide before holding off Sydney in a thrilling first final.

But after all this, what are the chances of Sandgropers taking over the G for its first derby grand final? Who knows: as one hopeful Dockers punter put it: “it just depends on who turns up to play on the day.”

WHERE have Hyde Park’s turtles gone?

With the population of oblong turtles appearing to have both aged and shrunk, Vincent city council has called in UWA researchers to study health and their numbers.

A turtle head poking above the water used to be a common sight, but sightings have been down over the past decade.

UWA researcher Blaine Hodgson says a common finding from studies in Claremont, Jualbup and Booragoon is that there are now less juveniles, either because of predators or because adults aren’t breeding as much.

In Claremont and Jualbup, females stopped producing eggs following a dry summer, while in Booragoon foxes and dogs were getting hatchlings, aided and abetted by motorists squashing them.

He says outside the Perth metro area things appear to be normal, “suggesting urbanisation through long-time habitat fragmentation and isolation impact these populations negatively”.

“Turtles are slow-growing and may age with no juvenile recruitment to replace lost individuals without us noticing.

“It is therefore critical to continuously monitor populations to determine early signs of population decline.”

From now until March the team will capture, weigh, measure and microchip Hyde Park turtles, and ultrascan females to see if they have eggs. “Cathedral trap” cages are flexible to let the turtles breathe.

It’s unlikely that red-eared sliders, an aggressive foreign species that took up residence 10 years ago, has resulted in the oblong decline.

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER council’s four-year battle to stop a concrete batching plant is set to hit the supreme court.

The council rejected WA Limestone’s first application to build the plant on Collier Road in 2011, citing concerns over dust pollution and proximity to houses and Joan Rycroft Reserve.

Since then the application has been back and forth between the powerful state administrative tribunal and the city. WA Limestone’s latest modified application was rejected Tuesday night in front of a packed, rowdy chamber.

“We are now faced with choosing between two versions of a plant we don’t want,” boomed Cr Barry McKenna.

“It’s like being asked to chose between the electric chair or hanging.

“The bottom line is we don’t wan’t this plant and need to take out an injunction and go to the supreme court.”

Less desirable

Mayor Sylvan Albert warned that by rejecting Limestone’s latest revised application, the council could end up with its previous proposal, which many councillors believed was less desirable.

“SAT have ruled that the plant can go there, so we only have a choice over what type of plant we get,” he told councillors.

“We have a duty of care and need to divorce ourself from emotion and deal with this as a planning matter, or we could end up with the default worst-case scenario.”

Despite his plea, the council voted to reject the revised application, which essentially limited the consistent use of front-loaders and reduced dust and noise emissions.

“We have to take this as far as we can, or we are not doing our job,” Cr Martin Toldo said.

“Money doesn’t matter; this is a health issue.

“We need to go to the supreme court.”

Deputy mayor Mike Sabatino walked out of the meeting prior to the debate, saying the alternative motion to reject the plant had been tabled too late for him to assess it properly.

Ratepayer Barry Kramer, who was in the crowd and spoke against the plant at question time, criticised Cr Sabatino’s decision to leave.

“Because of his actions one would only assume he is in favour of the concrete batching plant being built and operated on our front doorstep, regardless of the health risks to ratepayers,” he said.

The matter will now go back before the SAT on November 26.

The SAT—an unelected body of officials with the power to override the decisions of locally elected councils—had warned that if the council rejected the latest modified application, it could face paying the bulk of legal costs as well has having no control over the type of plant it will get.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

BAYSWATER city council will provide residents with a fact-sheet explaining its use of the herbicide glyphosate.

Cr Chris Cornish pushed for the decision and was delighted to win the support of his colleagues. He’s now keen to see “cafe strips, schools, playgrounds and around water drains” become glyphosate-free areas.

Glyphosate herbicides (Round-up is a popular brand) are sprayed worldwide to kill weeds, in varying concentrations.

In March the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer sparked panic when it declared glyphosate was ”probably carcinogenic”. Manufacturers, distributors and civic authorities are adamant the product is safe if used as directed.

Cr Cornish accepts no-one can say with certainty if the chemical causes cancer in humans, but he wants residents fully briefed on its use, so they can make informed decisions.

“I am concerned that when an area has been sprayed, subsequent human contact would be dangerous to the person’s long-term health,” he says.

“It can take up to two weeks for the sprayed plants to turn brown and hence people have no idea whether they are in an area which has recently been sprayed.

“I personally think café strips, schools, playgrounds and around water drains should be glyphosate-free areas, but this motion is simply designed to be transparent and accountable in when and where we use glyphosate-based products and to lead to guidelines which minimise its use and alerts the public when it is in use.”

Mayor Sylvan Albert says the city has seven highly trained and experienced staff, with WA health department licences, who regularly use glyphosate.

“Any spraying around café strips is carried out early in the morning prior to any businesses opening and no spraying is carried out if pedestrians are visible,” he says.

“Kerbs and paths around schools are sprayed during school holidays or when no children are in sight. Signage is always erected when glyphosate is being applied.

“Spraying around drains is not conducted if rain is imminent and is mainly carried out during the dry months of the year, through the months of September to April, with the occasional spot spraying during the colder months.”

Glyphosate has been linked to tumours in mice and rats — and there is also what the IARC classifies as “mechanistic evidence”, such as DNA damage to human cells from exposure.

Several European countries, including Holland, Denmark and Sweden, have banned or restricted the use of glyphosate herbicides by local authorities because of alleged links with a variety of health problems — not just cancer — ranging from birth defects and kidney failure to celiac disease, colitis and autism.

Defenders of glyphosate say it is biologically degraded over time by soil microorganisms into materials that are naturally occurring, including carbon dioxide and phosphate.

But in 2013, Friends of the Earth Europe commissioned an independent laboratory in Germany to test urine samples from people in 18 countries for glyphosate. The results showed traces of the chemical in 44 per cent of samples on average.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

FOR the first time in decades Bayswater will stage a candidate forum ahead of the council elections.

The October 17 forum will be held at the Bayswater bowling club September 29, and so far nearly all the candidates, including mayor Sylvan Albert (seeking re-election to his ward seat) have confirmed attendance.

The format will include a brief address by candidates, followed by Q&A style questions submitted via social media and from the floor.

The forum was organised by community group Bayswater Collective, which has been covering the election build-up on its Facebook page.

“After posting mini-biographies of candidates we received a lot of interest and people asked about the possibility of an election forum,” says collective member Kylie Elsegood-Smith.

“In general, there seems to be a lot more interest in this election than previous ones.

“I think part of that is down to candidates using social media more and engaging with a large number of people online.”

The voter turnout for council elections is notoriously low, with the 2013 poll — held in the same year as federal and state elections — garnering a pathetic 27.8 per cent average turnout, down from 30.9 in 2011.

This year, many councils report an increase in the number of candidates applying for seats (in the past several seats were not contested).

The forum starts 6pm.

Confirmed attendees:
South ward: Cr Sylvan Albert, Catherine Ehrhardt
West ward:, Dan Bull, Paul Shanahan, Cr Martin Toldo
Central ward: Hadi Assanteh, Cr Chris Cornish, Sally Palmer
North ward: Cr Mike Anderton, Jacquie Kelly, Cr Michael Sabatino

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

POLICE are appealing for public help over the suspicious death of Robbie Bennett, 42, who died after falling from a third floor balcony last Saturday September 19 in Cheriton Street, East Perth.

The major crime squad is asking anyone who was in the area between 7pm and 10pm that night to come forward with information.

Detectives are also trying to establish Mr Bennett’s movements during the day and are keen to talk to anyone who knew him. Police believe he went everywhere on foot and was well known locally. The unit complex is close to the train station.

Mr Bennett was 175cm with a slim build, brown hair (cut short since this photo was taken), brown eyes and a fair complexion.  He was taken to Royal Perth hospital Sunday, and police confirmed he died.

BEAUFORT STREET’S letting the dogs out with a doggie market next Sunday October 4.

The area’s so deadly serious about its pooch culture (at the last council election just about every candidate pointed out they were a doggie person) the Beaufort Street Network’s turning the usual art market into Dogtoberfest.

The strange street even has its own “celebrity dogs” that everyone seems to know: network chair Pam Herron says “local stars like Grover, Riley, Jeffrey [and] Lola” will all be vying for best-looking dog, and there’ll be a doggie photographer, treats galore, a mobile wash for smelly pooches, and Rotoract’s raising funds for charity with a sausage sizzle (not sausage-dog sizzle, Ms Herron clarifies for those who might enjoy such exotic cuisine).

The non-profit art markets run the first Sunday of the month down at the Barlee Street corner.

by DAVID BELL

IT’S now a collector’s item—an “Up Yours Abbott” t-shirt.

The Perth branch of the Socialist Alliance says it only had one t-shirt left in stock when the former prime minister was usurped by Malcolm Turnbull. The tees normally sell for $20 at the SA bookshop in Northbridge, but member Alex Bainbridge says the last one will be discounted to $10 in a bid to shift it.

“The design is a play on the Rosie the Riveter propaganda posters that were used during World War II,” he says. Since the end of the war, the iconic image has been used as a symbol of feminism and women’s economic power.

“We don’t have plans for a Malcolm Turnbull t-shirt yet, but I’m sure one will be in the works soon,” Mr Bainbridge says.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

TWO historic properties on West Perth’s Cowle Street, categorised “conservation essential”, have been ruined by fire.

Much of the street’s history has already been lost: in 2014 developer Giorgi Group knocked down three houses dating back to 1890 to make way for the 48-unit Dorrien Gardens development.

Numbers 68-70 Cowle Street were some of the few to be saved before fire gutted them: developer Match was going to retain them as part of its new project.

But on Sunday September 13 smoke bloomed over West Perth and the places were gutted. A 52-year-old man was charged with starting the fire, allegedly with a lit cigarette he’d tossed onto a pile of papers in the house.

Match managing director Lloyd Clark says “we are extremely disappointed”.

“As many are aware, the rejuvenation of heritage-listed properties for modern use is core to our business, and our plans for this site were stunning and exciting.

“Match’s design team is currently assessing the project and will endeavour to honour any existing or lost heritage fabric in the development of distinctive boutique apartments located in this very special heritage precinct environment.”

Andrew Main lives nearby, and has watched with dismay developers roll through Cowle Street.

He says more should have been done to secure the site. It was well known that homeless people hung around these and other empty properties in the area, and he said they should’ve been better boarded up.

In a heritage report on the duplex, experts deemed it to have “considerable aesthetic value as an exemplar of a semi-detached late colonial Georgian style pattern” design for a working class house.

The property, dated back as far as 1894, was considered to be in fair condition and there’s only a small number remaining.

by DAVID BELL

SEVEN CCTV cameras are being installed in Maylands in a bid to clamp down on anti-social behaviour.

Three cameras will be installed on Eighth Avenue and four on Guildford Road.

In 2012, then-mayor Terry Kenyon held a crime crisis summit with WA police, residents and traders.

Traders are mixed when asked if things have improved.

Oscar Kebab and Turkish bakery owner Shaida Habiby says she still keeps her tables and chairs inside.

“We used to have them outside, but then someone picked up a chair and smashed a display cabinet with it,” she says.

“We still get people swearing and shouting and intimidating our customers.

“I wouldn’t say that things have improved over the last few years, but I welcome the CCTV cameras.”

In 2013, Home Spirit owner Mohammad Khan reported up to 20 people were drinking outside his shop most days.

“It comes and goes, but I would say in general that the situation has improved,” he says.

“In addition to CCTV, I would like to see more police patrols in the area.”

Mayor Sylvan Albert says he’s been lobbying for the cameras for years and is happy to see them finally go in.

“I think the cameras will help the police prosecute more people who are engaging in anti-social behaviour,” he says.

The project is funded by the federal government’s “Safer Streets” program.

The cameras are expected to be installed by the end of the month.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

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• CORRECTION: LAST week we incorrectly listed Perth city council candidate Mathew Clarke as the owner of Bar 399. He actually owns Bar 138. Sorry, we’re words people and numbers are hard.
• NORMALLY it’s a terrible idea to let children fly planes but Perth city council’s Paper Planes lets kids design their own and test them out at “flight school”. After making their planes they’ve got to try to fly them five metres through a hoop. Success puts them in the running to win a remote-controlled aeroplane if they can throw their design more than 10 metres. It’s free in Forrest Place for the holidays, September 28 to October 10 from 10–2pm.
• PERTH city councillors have approved $365,000 in funding for next year’s Perth International Arts Festival. There’ll be big expectations and big shoes to fill as it’s roughly the same amount as last year which brought us the ridiculously successful and widely-praised Giants event, but a lot of the highlights are still confidential.
• THE cash-strapped oil and gas industry will get $50,000 from Perth city council ratepayers after a unanimous vote to finance the Australasian Oil and Gas conference and exhibition, set to return to our convention centre in 2016. Lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi says the 2015 event drew a record attendance of more than 14,000 people and the resulting $31 million that was spent here made the city’s sponsorship well worth it.