Perth Voice Interactive

SOLITUDE and sustainability merge in writer, producer and director Scott McArdle’s Between Solar Systems, at the Blue Room Theatre.

If a bloke in a spaceship, alone but for a computer voice, sounds familiar, the sci-fi aficionado says although it’s been quite awhile since he saw 2001: A Space Odyssey there are elements of the classic in his work.

“It’s a nod and homage to where sci-fi came from,” he tells the Voice.

The bulk of the play was written travelling back from Sydney on the “red eye express”, the playwright inspired by the feeling of hurtling through space in a metal capsule.

Between Solar Systems is the story of Vincent, the sole survivor of a drowned Earth, who was placed on the space ship as a baby: “He doesn’t know who put him there, or why,” McArdle says.

Raised by computers, Vincent is more robotic than they are: “The computer has a bit of a sense of humour, but he is mechanical and dry.”

Vincent has just turned 25 and strange things are happening aboard the spaceship as photos of Vincent and a woman turn up, and post-it notes are discovered, “with the scratchings of a mad man,” McArdle says.

And then there’s the mysterious woman who appears and disappears, is she real or a figment of his imagination?

“Vincent is never sure,” McArdle says.

With rising water levels back in the news thanks to Peter Dutton’s questionable sense of humour, the play looks at questions of sustainability, while also exploring “being different”.

“What it was like to have been born out there, raised out there, and how the normal things for Vincent are strange for us,” McArdle says.

Jo Morris is computer voice Vi, while Emily David is the mysterious woman. Sophie Braham designed the space-age costumes, and the highly impressive sets are by Sara Nives Chirichilli. Drew Krapljanov composed the music, and audio visuals are by Warwick Doddrell.
By Second Chance Theatre, Between Solar Systems is on at the Blue Room Theatre until September 26.

by JENNY D’ANGER

“WHINGER”. That’s the word Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi used to describe a tourist who’d complained about a budget hotel with filthy, semen-stained sheets, cockroaches crawling from under the bed cover, and stinking of urine and marijuana.

Ms Scaffidi co-owns the building the notorious backpackers is housed in.

The lord mayor’s description of the tourist was included in Freedom of Information documents the Perth Voice applied for back in April and received over the past three weeks, with the final few arriving just days ago.

The tourist had written to City of Perth officer Cecilia Firth and the lord mayor in July 2011 to alert them to their two “horrifying days” in Perth and a “ruined holiday” topped off by their stay at the Grand Central Hotel backpackers.

“It was a hotel of 3 stars. Clean and highly rated,” the tourist wrote. Paying $72 they went upstairs “only to be totally sickened”.

“The bed had one filthy sheet on it with obvious semen stains, no towels and cockroaches crawling out from under the dirty bed-cover. The place absolutely stunk of urine, marajuana [sic] smoke and god knows what else.

“[I] immediately went downstairs to demand a refund and was told that they did not do refunds!!! That money was important … and it was only after [I] threatened them with calling the Police and reporting them to the department of fair trading and the health department  that they came and threw the money back… and told [me] to Fuck-Off.

“[I] honestly was reduced to tears for the first time… thinking of how filthy dirty the place was and how rudely we were treated.

“This was our first warm welcome into your city of Perth.”

It is clear the tourist has no idea that one of the people they’ve emailed is a co-owner of the building they’re complaining about.

The lord mayor doesn’t disclose it either, but she does email Ms Firth: “I’ll reply to this Cecilia.”

“It sounds like anything I could say would seem unacceptable because it seems every aspect of [your] recent trip was unacceptable,” Ms Scaffidi told the tourist.

“To try +_ explain some of my thoughts from reading [your] email seems irrelevant so all I can say is that I apologise for your unfortunate experiences.

“I do wish [you] well + hope [your] next holiday wherever [you] choose to visit will make up for this one.”

Ms Scaffidi then forwards the complaint to another person—their identity is censored by the council—and says “sounds like a real whinger… you win some / you lose some”.

Unaware of Ms Scaffidi’s “whinger” email the tourist—apparently delighted with the prompt reply from the lord mayor—emails again: “[I] know only too well you are not responsible personally for what [I] encountered; however your departments are and they need to do something about this”.

Ms Scaffidi replies she’d forwarded the complaint to the operator of the property (that would be her own tenant) and tells the tourist you “get what you pay for… in a city (this is not an excuse) that is booming like Perth demand is so high + we are experiencing supply issues.”

Never once disclosing her interest in the property, she adds: ”thanks for saying [you] don’t blame me personally… I know that but it’s nice to hear. Its just how some trips go – I’ve had a couple of those experiences myself!”

by DAVID BELL

COCKROACH infestations, semen-stained sheets, fire hazards and even urine leaking from light fittings: the building owned by lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi and husband Joe has been the subject of numerous complaints and still the Perth city council hasn’t shut down the backpackers business that runs there.

While the business is run by a tenant the building is owned by the Scaffidis and its decrepit state has been the focus of many complaints over some years.

As lord mayor Ms Scaffidi often calls for higher standards in tourism and hospitality—she’s called on cabbies to clean their cars, on nightclubbers to stop peeing in public, and on businesses to lift their service game (she once expressed frustration a bakery wouldn’t sell her bread, before it opened).

One of many complaints to the council about the Grand Central Hotel backpackers—obtained through a Freedom of Information request—sums up the kind of welcome it offers travellers: “The bed had one filthy sheet on it with obvious semen stains, no towels and cockroaches crawling out from under the dirty bed cover,” wrote the complainant. That person was privately dubbed a “whinger” by Ms Scaffidi.

Another complainant wrote to the council, “could you please explain why a place such as the Grand Central Backpackers can remain open?”

“The reviews on TripAdvisor are damning, and it does the reputation of backpacker hostels no good at all having a place like that allowed to stay open… this is worth looking into for the sake of our international reputation.”

The Sunday Times did a story on the place in May and stayed there overnight, reporting “the experience mirrored most of the reviews online”.

The Voice asked Ms Scaffidi if it was hypocritical to be telling other businesses to do better given she owned this place. We also asked why she and her husband hadn’t booted out their tenants in a bid to improve Perth’s tourism experience.

Her reply: “No comment.”

Complaints to the city involve a five-year list of repeated violations, observed by both council health officers and Fire and Emergency Services inspectors. In 2011 the WA health department wrote to the council stating a police officer had visited the building and “noticed yellow liquid dropping from the light fitting in the reception area and when she queried it, was told that when someone flushed the toilet on the first floor, the liquid went into the light fitting and dripped into the reception area.

“She said that the smell was very strong and that the staff seemed unconcerned.”

The owners were ordered to fix that, but year after year problems kept surfacing, from mould infestations, a dirty kitchen, staff with no emergency training, and “ongoing concern regarding the structural integrity” of the building with bad cracking on the upper floor (though it apparently passed an inspection last year).

In 2013, council health officer Ahmed Yassin wrote to the business owners regarding plaster falling from the ceiling in occupied rooms and said, “it is disappointing that the city continues to receive complaints about the premises on an ongoing basis”.

Online reviews suggest the place has not improved, morphing from a budget backpackers into a pad for homeless people, drunks, criminals “and people fresh from jail and the mental hospital”.

And despite the environmental inspection tick, the most recent official document we obtained shows that safety problems persist: in March this year inspectors noted emergency lighting wasn’t illuminated “during hours of darkness”.

The Voice has asked senior communications officer Michael Holland three times in August and September what is required for the council to shut a hostel down, and whether this building has been given preferential treatment because it is co-owned by the lord mayor. He has not responded.

by DAVID BELL

THE lord mayoral car was spotted outside this Queen Street Hair Salon on Tuesday just hours before Lisa Scaffidi announced she’s running for a third term.

Bypassing the city’s parking squeeze, her bay had been reserved with orange cones and a bag over the meter warning “City of Perth: NO STOPPING. Authorised vehicles excepted.” The salon’s a seven-minute stroll from council HQ.

We asked Ms Scaffidi if she’d reserved a bay for the haircut and if the new do was to prepare for her re-election launch on that evening’s Today Tonight but we didn’t hear back.

Likewise we asked the council media staff about the rules for using the mayoral car and taking up parking spots — was it for official use only or was election preparation cool too — but also didn’t get an answer.

by DAVID BELL

THE line between Lisa Scaffidi’s private affairs and her role as lord mayor have been blurred over the City of Perth’s handling of media enquiries about her co-ownership of a squalid Wellington Street building.

In documents the Perth Voice has accessed under Freedom of Information laws (the application was lodged April 17), it is clear Ms Scaffidi has been directing officers, who are paid from the public purse, how to respond to media inquiries about her private holdings.

On May 1 this year the Sunday Times newspaper emailed a series of questions to the council about Ms Scaffidi’s ownership of the building, known as the Grand Central Hotel backpackers.

Ms Scaffidi was kept in the loop while a reply was framed — she referred to the questions as “lame” — with senior communications officer Michael Holland emailing “this is what I propose to send” and when the lord mayor replied “seems ok to me” he replied, “thank you, will submit”.

While that initial response restricted itself to “City of Perth operations” such as health inspections and the fact no redevelopment application had been lodged, a subsequent exchange went much further.

After receiving Mr Holland’s reply, reporter Kaitlyn Offer asked him—and copied in Ms Scaffidi— “so the mayor does not want to respond to reviews of the building which her company owns, including that it is “insecure and unhygienic”, “should be condemned” and is being used as a “homeless shelter”?

Less than 30 minutes later, Ms Scaffidi emailed Mr Holland, CEO Gary Stevenson and media officer Jane Grljusich, stating: “Please go back and say there is no need for the lord mayor to respond. Repeat (verbatim) — homeless shelters are the responsibility of state government.

“Add the City of Perth records show structural soundness in the building, other issues are cosmetic and not the responsibility of the city or the owner at this time.”

Having advised Ms Scaffidi, the owner of the building in question, that he was “happy to take your direction albeit my advice is not to get drawn in further” Mr Holland replied, “will do”.

The Voice has since asked CEO Gary Stevenson if it is appropriate for council staff to be advising the lord mayor how to respond to media enquiries about her private affairs and whether there have been any breaches of the law or of codes of conduct.

by DAVID BELL

PERTH lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi has announced she’ll recontest her seat, hoping for a third term.

For the launch, her campaign team uploaded to Youtube a rap poem video, The Scaffidi Factor, by local poet Stevie Belowsky.

“It’s the Scaffidi Facta that attracts ya to a city running fasta,” the slam poetry champion recites, along with “coffee shop infusion no illusion”.

But eagle-eyed viewers have noted the video was filmed across the municipal border, in Harvison Gallery and Cafe, just metres from Vincent mayor John Carey’s house.

“I’m incredibly proud that Lisa launched her campaign for the City of Perth election in the City of Vincent,” Mr Carey hooted delightedly.

“I am proud that she picked a great local cafe, one I visit every morning, 20 metres from my house.

“I’m glad she’s doing what I’m doing by supporting local cafes. It’s great to see.”

Ms Scaffidi hasn’t been chatting to the Voice lately, but in an online video said: “I am seeking to renew my contract with the people of Perth to complete the transformation of Perth into a strong and vital capital city.

“As vibrant and modern as central Perth has become since first promising I would get Perth moving, I believe there is still work to be done.

“Given the change in our economic climate it is now critical to focus on building and diversifying the city’s economy to create a strong and vital Perth,” saying the technology sector was key.

Ms Scaffidi, 55, was elected as a Perth city councillor in 2000 and lord mayor in 2007. In 2013 she was named runner-up in the World Mayor Project’s best mayor competition.

She’s been a big supporter of state government projects like the Northbridge link, Elizabeth Quay and the cultural centre, but has in the past gone head to head with the Barnett government opposing plans to run light rail through the city’s pedestrian malls,

by DAVID BELL

BRENT FLEETON, 28, will contest Bayswater’s north ward at next month’s council elections, bucking the trend of young people shunning local government service.

If elected the Maylands resident says he’ll seek to cut seniors’ rates another 25 per cent, cap rates rises at CPI and give eligible children $100 extra in the Kidsport program.

“I know a lot of seniors are doing it tough, and I think our council is in a good position to prioritise doing more for them,” he says.  “We shouldn’t be spending money on all sorts of arts projects when rates are consistently increasing over the rate of inflation.

“This really hurts people, especially when there are classic examples of waste, like the wooden art project at the bottom of the Seventh Avenue Bridge in Maylands.”

Fleeton is steeped in blue political blood and works as a researcher for Liberal MLC Peter Katsambanis. He has also equerried for Mt Lawley Liberal MP Michael Sutherland and worked on Steve Irons’ federal campaign. “I’m not running to play politics, I’m running to concentrate on helping those doing it tough and to bring some accountability to council,” he told the Voice.

“Party politics has nothing to do with my nomination—I want to serve my local community and to represent their interests.”

Mr Fleeton is up against incumbent Mike Anderton, a Labor party member and former industrial advocate.

Mr Fleeton ran for west ward in 2013 and came last, but says that run was a “knee-jerk” reaction to his house being burgled.

He’s more prepared this time and is in it to win it.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK