Perth Voice Interactive

FORMER Leederville-based Greens MP Giz Watson has dubbed Vincent city council a “training ground” for future Labor MPs.

The former north metro MLC last week told the Subiaco Post newspaper the Greens are backing 11 candidates across the metro area, helping with training and support, but didn’t say where they’d stand (though Vincent is considered likely).

She says it’s no different to the way the ALP and Liberals operate: “The ALP use local government as a training ground for state and federal parliament. The City of Vincent is just one obvious example.”

Since its inception 21 years ago all five Vincent mayors have been ALP members—Jack Marks, John Hyde, Nick Catania, Alannah MacTiernan and John Carey. Mr Hyde went on to become a state MP, Ms MacTiernan is now a federal MP (and was a senior state MP before her mayoralty) and Mr Carey has been mentioned as a likely future candidate.

But Mr Carey dismisses Ms Watson’s claim as “bizarre” noting the two candidates he’s backing for south ward are non-party people, and they’re up against an ALP member.

“Yes, I’m a member of the party, but I’m backing two independent candidates,” he says.

“We want a diversity of views on council but that shared vision of positive reform and change, that’s not aligned to any particular party.”

He says he never received a tap on the shoulder from Labor HQ asking him to run: he’d put his hand up after starting up the Beaufort Street Network and wanting to do more to improve town centres.

by DAVID BELL

A NEW face has emerged amongst the usual suspects running for Perth city council this year, with Curtin university research fellow Jemma Green nominating for councillor.

A city resident researching sustainable modular housing and battery technology, she has a background as an investment banker in London, acting “as a portion of the bank’s conscience” in vetting social and environmental risks of investments.

She says her expertise can help Perth capitalise on the next wave of technology: “There are so many global megatrends unfolding in terms of energy: The growth in renewables and now energy storage is going to change everything in Perth.”

Ms Green also wants to bring in similar rules that Vincent city council uses to give developers more leeway if they design fantastic buildings instead of cookie-cutter stuff.

She’s not aligned to any party or any other candidate, but has been given an informal thumbs up by lord mayoral contender Reece Harley who says she’s “an impressive candidate and I believe she will make an important contribution to council in the years ahead”.

Most other contestants so far are incumbents or familiar faces on the electoral circuit: affable lawyer Lily Chen’s keen to win back her spot and the trio whose terms are about to expire—Jim Adamos, Rob Butler and Janet Davidson—are expected to lodge nominations before closing time.

It’s also no secret that Mathew Clarke’s back in the running: from day dot after losing at the last election he’s declared he’ll run again.

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER’s Patrick Gong could just be the next Garry Kasparov.

Since taking up chess just four years ago, the 16-year-old has won a swathe of state and national tournaments, including the under-16 Australian junior championships and the Perth Open.

In July he became the newest candidate master in WA, after a great performance at the 2015 Oceania zonal chess championships.

The year 10 student has an ELO rating of 1932 for under-10 minute “Blitz” games (an average club player would be around 1500) and is just back from Mongolia, where he played for Australia at the world youth chess olympiad.

“Patrick not only has great passion in chess, also he is trying to promoting chess in local community,” says mum Shirley, who manages the under-16 national chess team.

“With the permission of Chisholm College, he set up a chess club at the school early this year, which runs once a week on Wednesday after classes.

“He hopes more students enjoy the benefits that learning chess can bring. His goal is to become an Australian grand master and world champion.

“Who knows? You never know.”

Ms Sun says Patrick got into the game when the family moved to Bayswater and he enrolled at the local primary school.

“It was a way of getting to know people and fitting in,” she says.

“Patrick now spends around four hours a day practising, but I reckon if I let him, he would play all night.”

The Voice tried to get a hold of Patrick after school for a chat, but guess what? Busy—playing chess.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

LEEDERVILLE cafe owner and council critic Debbie Saunders is running for Vincent mayor.

She says John Carey doesn’t deserve to be re-elected unopposed. She’s previously clashed with him over the rollout of the bike plan (“a disconnected unused waste of money”) and not renewing former CEO John Giorgi’s contract.

Ms Saunders has run the Oxford Street cafe 50ml for four years and is a frequent fixture at council meetings. She’s championing a “back to basics” approach: “Stop all this ‘we need to be innovative, we need to reform, we need to do this and that’. When you’re dealing with ratepayer money you need to do what they say.

“You put it out to consult, and whether you like the response or not, you go with the majority.” She says people don’t bother with consultation because they don’t feel heard.

Mr Carey says “Debbie has a very different agenda” to him: “She has been consistently negative about the issues, even about reform which I find extraordinary.

“I offer reform, I offer a positive vision saying we should always do better and always seek to be innovative.”

He reminded us Ms Saunders is on the public record swearing at staff in emails and in the public chamber when she’s dissatisfied with answers to her questions. Ms Saunders says if she’s mayor at least meetings will be interesting. This week Ms Saunders recanted her erroneous claim that Mr Carey and CEO Len Kosova were friends in high school.

by DAVID BELL

ELEVEN closed shops on a single block in West Perth’s Hay Street shows the area is in dire need of some love, says lord mayoral candidate Reece Harley.

Currently the sole candidate for the job — incumbent Lisa Scaffidi hasn’t said whether she’ll seek re-election — the Perth city councillor says much of the council’s investment and advertising campaigns are too focused on the CBD, with little attention paid to West Perth.

He says the area also suffers from paid parking and the withering effects of the mining slump, with now-empty offices once home to start-ups.

Crime statistics are surprisingly high for the area, surpassing Northbridge for categories such as burglaries and car theft.

Cr Harley doorknocked last weekend and says “all the residents are telling me they’d love this place to be a vibrant urban centre on the weekend”.

He wants to establish a precinct group of residents and business owners, modelled on the Beaufort Street Network in neighbouring Vincent, that would be allocated funds from the council to work on facelift projects. He also wants the area to get more from council-funded advertising and marketing.

He believes the place needs free parking on Saturdays, more business grants, and an end to alfresco fees that discourage restaurants from livening up the street.

“We need to abolish alfresco licensing fees,” he says. “I don’t understand why you’d tax activation.

A $1000 tax might mean nothing to a millionaire but it means a lot to these people,” he says, gesturing to a small eatery on the street.

The strip’s traders the Voice spoke to brought up one issue above all others: paid parking and the threat of fines scaring away customers.

Carol Angove runs St Louis Blues Boutique. She says “half-an-hour free parking would make a huge difference” as it lets people pop in for a browse or buy a coffee without hassle.

Ms Angove says the overall impact of the slowing WA economy and underemployment is hitting the street, as it feels like people just don’t have as much spending money.

by DAVID BELL