Perth Voice Interactive

MAYLANDS Labor MP Lisa Baker will find it tougher to hold her seat following proposed changes to electoral boundaries.

Under a WA electoral commission proposal, portions of Dianella will come into Maylands while Inglewood comes out.

ABC electoral guru Antony Green reckons Labor’s safety margin will fall from 3.1 to 1.9 per cent.

Ms Baker is unfazed and says it’s early days: “The people in my electorate know they can trust me to work with them on issues and they understand my passion for this community. If Dianella becomes part of Maylands electorate I will welcome them and work for them too,” she says.

“I’ll be analysing the data and then decide if I make a submission.”

While Sylvan Albert, Ms Baker’s Liberal opponent at the last election, has boosted his profile by becoming Bayswater mayor he isn’t saying whether he can be tempted to run again.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” he says. “Right now, my focus is on getting re-elected in the council elections later this year.”

In neighbouring Mt Lawley the Liberal margin drops from 9.4 to 8 per cent—which should be high enough to keep Michael Sutherland sleeping soundly at night.

“The changes made to cut a part of Dianella out of the seat and put the whole of Inglewood into the seat was a surprise,” the MP mused.

In Perth, Eleni Evangel’s grip on the once-Labor stronghold improves a smidge, the margin shifting from 2.6 to 2.8 per cent.

That’s because she loses a bunch of Labor and Greens voting constituents in the suburb of Mt Lawley to Mr Sutherland.

The proposal sees voters in Vincent split between Ms Evangel and Mr Sutherland.

MPs can submit objections to the proposals till August 24. Boundary changes are required every few years to ensure population changes do not result in huge variations between the number of voters in each seat.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

A LOCAL gallery has come to the aid of artist John Cartwright after 1000 of his paintings were lost when his Inglewood studio went up in flames last week.

Cartwright, renowned for his landscapes of south-west WA, lost nearly his entire life works when a wood heater in his studio set the building ablaze.

The painter only managed to rescue three paintings from the studio—at the back of Inglewood Hotel—and was pulled from the blaze by a passer-by.

“I lit the wood heater in the studio and went over to my house to eat a quick meal,” Cartwright says.

“Next thing I knew I heard this crackling sound and the building was engulfed in flames.

“I tried to put it out but I couldn’t get the nozzle on the hose in my garden—the flames were 30-foot high and fuelled by tins of varnish and paint.”

“I’m still in a state of shock, I lost over 1000 oil paintings and I estimate the value to be at least $500,000.”

After hearing the news, Studio 281 in Maylands, which has previously exhibited John’s work, offered to help out.

“I gave John a cheque for $1000 and offered him 160sqm of studio space to work in,” says Studio 281 owner Leo Flavel.

“Fortunately, John still has some larger paintings in his house and we will be holding an exhibition of those in four weeks’ time.

“Ironically a couple of days after the fire, we sold seven of John’s paintings: I guess people now think they are scarce and more valuable.”

Mr Flavel adds Cartwright, 64, has been a steady seller at the studio and in one exhibition sold 49 works, a studio record.

Cartwright says he only had home and contents insurance and not business insurance for his studio.

“I’m up in the air at the moment and trying to get the insurance sorted out,” he says.

“They still need to clear the block; sometimes I think I should sell up and move on. I can’t sleep right now, because those paintings were done over 20 years—it’s my life’s work.”

Cartwright is originally from Leeds in England and moved to Australia in 1977.

He specialises in landscapes featuring farmhouses in the south-west of WA.

The heritage-listed studio, at the intersection of Beaufort Street and Central Avenue, was formerly stables for the hotel.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

A SCHEME that penalises shops for not having enough parking is likely to be reviewed.

Vincent mayor John Carey says his city’s parking-in-lieu scheme, where applicants pay $5400 for every bay they fail to provide, is resulting in “perverse outcomes”.

He notes offices don’t attract the fee but shops do, resulting in developers installing boring offices at street level.

“That’s a poorer outcome, because what we want to see on our major streets is active shopfronts, which are retail,” he says. “We do need to change our policy.”

Mr Carey’s comments follow his council’s decision to drop a $23,000 parking-in-lieu fee for a new Charles Street skate shop (Voice, July 18, 2015).

Owner Shane Greenshields had told councillors the fee could have been the difference between him opening the store, or not. He didn’t feel the fee was fair because most of his customers would be school-aged kids who didn’t drive.

by DAVID BELL

THE heritage-listed Polish Catholic Centre in Maylands will get a $300,000 makeover.

Father Tomasz Bujakowski says the money will go towards a disabled access ramp, a new roof and re-wiring.

“The hall is used by several community groups, including Alcoholics Anonymous and the children’s choir,” he says.

“So the repairs and upgrades will benefit a large number of people in the local area.

“We managed to secure a $170,000 grant from Lotterywest and paid for the rest ourselves.”

The hall, built on Eighth Avenue in 1914 for the Salvation Army, features stucco brickwork and is in the federation freestyle.

It was re-opened in 1975 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Polish emigrated priesthood in WA, and is now used for social functions and by community groups. Fr Bujakowski says the upgrades will start in the next few weeks.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

PERTH city councillors face making some tough calls at their next meeting over how to spend your money.

No doubt the thousands of dollars in free tickets they stand to receive will play no part in the decision-making process.

At the next meeting the council will consider whether to spend:

• $55,000 for WA Ballet sponsorship, which nets elected members and senior council executives invitations to opening night for each of the three seasons (maximum of 54 tickets for councillors, 30 for city representatives, and the CEO can give out 30). Sponsorship gives council staff a 15 per cent discount for A and B reserve tickets.

• $20,000 for the 40under40 awards run by a local business paper, which nets the council 10 tickets, each worth $320, to the gala function.

• $40,000 sponsorship for the WA music industry association festival, with up to 14 double passes for councillors and staff.

Council executives—who are routinely offered the freebies too—do not regard it to be a conflict of interest for elected members to make decisions on sponsorships from which they materially benefit by getting access to tickets that would normally cost them hundreds of dollars.

• THE Leederville Farmers Markets won its new spot at the Frame Court carpark in the prime heart of Leederville, but the organisers didn’t have any luck getting Vincent council to lower the $20,000 annual rental fee. Market operator Paul Ashbolt was hoping for a bit of reprieve in moving from a private carpark to a council-owned spot, but since Vincent will be losing out on the fees it’d get from people who otherwise park there it figured $20,000 was fair.  The market operators say the new site’s like a Rolls Royce compared to the VW Beetle they used to be in, and they’ll be reopening early September.

• VINCENT councillors seemed lukewarm about a plan for a pop-up rollerskate rink in Leederville’s Frame Court carpark. Mayor John Carey says “it’s a terrific and fun concept” but the operators of the Urban Roller Club (The Event Agency) need to do the hard yards in getting local businesses onside and convincing traders it’s worth giving up the precious car bays (plus, having a small bar would mean roping off a public area right next to a playground). The Event Agency can still put in an application, but Mr Carey hinted he’d rather see this pop up somewhere like Mount Lawley or North Perth town centres which could use the extra activation, compared to the already buzzing Leederville.

• THE Vincent bike network plan is rolling ahead with phase two surfacing to link the hard-to-traverse east-west route through the city. The first round gave us lanes down Oxford Street and Scarborough Beach Road, and this one will run through Bulwer Street. Mayor John Carey, who first proposed the plan after seeing the miserly amount the council was spending on bikes, says this route is even more vital with the state government having cancelled the major east-west bus route it’s a pain to travel between town centres (most of the bus routes now just take you north/south into the city). They’ll go out to consultation shortly with owners along Bulwer Street between Palmerston and Lord Streets and people a ways either side.

ARTIST Mel McVee credits hearty Italian sausages with getting her through wet 10-hour days while painting her stunning mural on the wall of Mondo Butchers.

The artist had been up against some foul weather but managed to complete the giant Inglewood mural on schedule in five days.

McVee says the colourful mural is an homage to the trams that used to trundle along Beaufort Street between 1899 and 1959: “The mural is fun and energetic, a bit like myself,” she laughs.

“I draw the outline first and then hand paint it, so it’s quite time-consuming.

“The cold winter weather was a bit of a challenge, but I was kept going by a week-long diet of juicy roast beef.”

The mural was commissioned by community group Inglewood on Beaufort, which was awarded a $5000 grant by Stirling city council to “activate” the suburb.

“The mural is based on a photo of a tram outside our building in 1950,” says Mondo owner and IOB member Vince Garreffa.

“Mel has done a marvellous job of bringing the dull black and white photo to life and there is a little inscription at the side of the mural with info about the tram.

“The Inglewood line was the last of the tram lines to close.”

The Stirling grant will also pay for another mural, a crate mini-garden, and two planters at the corner of Dundas and Beaufort Streets, with wrap-around benches.

Since forming last year, IOB has gone from strength-to-strength and launched a successful night market on Beaufort Street and is planning a community garden.

The second season of the Inglewood night markets starts August 3 and has been expanded to cover the Dundas Road to Sixth Avenue stretch of Beaufort Street.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

THE man behind the Leederville Carnival will run for Vincent council at October’s election.

Jimmy Murphy, 34, has helped build a growing turnout to the carnival since 2012, and helped get the Mount Hawthorn festival off the ground.

Known as “Lips” to buddies in the Funk Club, which he founded in Leederville nigh on 15 years back, he’s also a trumpeter and has a background as an events promoter and a dark history he doesn’t talk much about.

“I studied commerce but didn’t want to sell Colgate or whatever,” he chuckles, “so I went to WAAPA and did a year at the conservatory.”

If elected he’d like to see the council offer more support to independent businesses, which have been disappearing in town centres to give way to bars, restaurants and large international chains that can afford big rents.

He says it’s mighty hard to start a business here and red tape ought to be cut to make it easier for small time operators to get in the game.

He also thinks the council should approach the landlords who own so much of the streets and convince them it’s in their long-term interest to encourage a diversified, funky suburb that doesn’t have the same fast food chains as everywhere else.

“The diversity of businesses is important,” Mr Murphy says. “Both Leederville and Mount Lawley are struggling with attracting people to the area during the day. During the night it’s a big entertainment district, but you don’t want to become just a huge bar or restaurant.”

He says he loves the street art going up around town but it’d be good to see more local artists brought in, as recent projects have seen a lot of international talent flown in.

His other big plan if he gets up is for Vincent to set up a capital fund like the “Fremantle Foundation,” a philanthropic organisation where donors give back their local community.

“A lot of what I’m advocating is looking long-term into how we can grow our community and support our community, rather than simply putting up rates.”

Asked who would likely donate, he says people are already giving: A lot of local projects are funded by the town centre communities and there are some wealthy old-money families in the area, but a one-stop-shop would make sure the donations have the most impact.

Mr Murphy, who’s not a member of any political party, has the backing of mayor John Carey.

“If you set up two festivals, Mount Hawthorn and Leederville, you’ve got to be a people person, you’ve got to be genuine and sincere, and that is Jimmy,” Mr Carey says.

“That’s what I really like about him, he has that ability to connect with people and be positive in making changes.

“My view on local government is you get two types of candidates: people who are very community minded, who want to make positive changes and who are already involved in some way, then there are those who step forward because they are angry about something, a planning decision, and I don’t think those people necessarily bring something positive to council.

“Running because you’re angry about something? I don’t think that energises people.”

by DAVID BELL

WA GAME developers have welcomed a Senate inquiry into their industry.

The inquiry was secured by WA Greens senator Scott Ludlam, in response to Screen Australia shutting down its $20 million interactive games fund following federal government cuts.

“Internationally, games companies have experienced strong growth thanks to smart government support and favourable regulatory settings,” he says.

“In Australia, no such luck: the sector has been treated like the poor cousin of the creative industries.

“I don’t want to sound ageist, but sometimes I think the power-makers don’t understand that this is an emerging art form and also a growing and profitable economy.”

According to an FTI report, most video games can be digitally exported to a growing global market worth $93 billion, an opportunity which the FTI claims is being stymied in WA by a lack of funding.

One of the few avenues left is a small $10,000 fund from the FTI. FTI games director Kate Raynes-Goldie says she had 10 gamers pitching for a share of the pot last week: “We have a thriving gaming community in WA and we need to support it with both federal and state funding. Previously federal funds were only available to companies with a proven track record in gaming, but we need it reinstated and opened up to fledgling companies as well.

“It’s a catch-22, because to get a game picked up you have to spend quite a lot on making a good prototype or demo version to show big companies.”

Black Lab Games founder Paul Turbett says it would have been difficult to release hit game Star Hammer without federal funding.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

WA BUDDHISTS have helped put more than 3000 plants in the ground at the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary in Bayswater.

Fo Guang Shan assisted a cast of locals to plant various species in the wetland and dryland areas, including Beaumea and Eucalyptus gomphocephala.

A total of 165,000 plants, shrubs and trees will be planted over the next couple of months.

Cr Chris Cornish also donned his wellies and went down to help.

“It was a great turnout for the community planting day, and to get 3000 plants in the ground is a considerable result,” he says.

“It’s fantastic to see so many members of the community turn out to help with this magnificent project

“I often attend the community planting days and find it a very worthwhile exercise.”

The wetlands is undergoing a $2.9 million restoration that will prevent around 40 tonnes of general rubbish, 1.3 tonnes of nitrogen and 200kg of phosphorous from entering the Swan River every year.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK