Perth Voice Interactive

ANOTHER increase in fees is on the way for motorists parking in the City of Perth.

Don’t blame us, the council says: blame Colin Barnett.

Parking charges are now getting so high the PCC is reporting a drop in patronage but that’s not stopping it from wanting to push through more hikes.

If the plan goes through at Tuesday’s meeting, anyone parking on the street will soon find there’s a $2 minimum to add to the cost of their quick takeaway cappuccino, plus a 10 cents per hour increase. Short-term parking’s also heading up three per cent.

The state government charges the council a fee for every bay in the city—which is all supposed to be spent on local public transport—and this year that charge soared by nearly 22 per cent.

The PCC says it has to keep raising fees to stop the levy eating into its budget but the higher fees are now resulting in patronage drops. The PCC’s haul from parking was $5 million less than expected this year.

Council staffers plan to have a stern chat with Treasury and planning officials about the skyrocketing slug, but with the government strapped for cash they’re unlikely to get a sympathetic ear.

PCC carparks remain cheaper than Wilson’s.

by DAVID BELL

A CYCLIST has found a postcard, written by a Fremantle WWI digger who’d died from battle wounds, stuck on a fence on Graham Farmer Freeway.

Milton Mavrick had been on his weekly leisure ride to the city when the black-and-white postcard blown against a fence caught his eye near East Parade.

The North Perth man initially rode past, but something about that bit of card made him turn back.

“I was blown away with what I found,” the 61-year-old says.

“It’s not the first time I’ve found something. I’ve found a wallet and a $5 note there before. I have one rule, mainly for safety: don’t stop unless it’s worth more than $2 or more. I pass so many $1 coins.”

Instead of handing the postcard to police, which he usually does with valuable items, Mr Mavrick decided to play Sherlock Holmes.

The postcard—written by Lance Sergeant James “Jim” Turner in 1916 and addressed to his father, Walter, who had lived on Alexander St, Fremantle—has an image of cars and pedestrians on the Paris’ Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, which is now called Avenue Foch.

Part of Turner’s message reads: “We are out of the trenches and we have been ‘on the wallaby’ somewhere in Paris for the last few days.”

He then goes on to talk about the weather and a meal he had just eaten for dinner.

Mr Mavrick misread Turner’s surname and unsuccessfully searched for “Twrner” in the phone book and online for potential descendants. He handed it in to Fremantle council and the postcard is being kept at the Fremantle History Centre until the owner comes forward.

Turner, a 28th Battalion soldier in the Australian Imperial Force, was one of “849 Fremantle servicemen and women” who died in the war. On June 10, 1918, the digger was severely injured during a battle in Morlancourt, a regional district about 140km north of Paris. He was buried in Querrieu British Cemetery, France, in plot B36.

Turner’s name will be honoured on a plaque unveiling at the Fremantle ANZAC Day service at Monument Hill War Memorial, at 5.50am April 25.

If anyone recognises the postcard, call the council on  9432 9999.

by EMMIE DOWLING

FOUR Bayswater organisations are locked in a battle to secure council funding for two 2015/16 street festivals.

The city has allocated $30,000 for two street festivals and received five submissions:

• Noranda Village Christmas or Easter Street Festival (Community Connect)

• Maylands Street Festival (Maylands Business Association)

• Maylands Street Festival (Local Arts and Community Events)

• Bardon Park urban camp out (The Event Agency)

The list of contenders sees the MBA and LACE go head-to-head to run the popular Maylands Street Festival, which has previously attracted more than 10,000 people.

The MBA ran the last of three biennial events in 2012, with a November 2014 festival not happening because the MBA couldn’t organise enough funding or volunteers (Voice, December 11, 2014).

LACE chair Catherine Ehrhardt says the MBA is in disarray: she says it has not held an AGM in two years and has virtually no financial members.

“The ratepayers lost out last year because the MBA was in free-fall,” she says.

“How do we know they won’t get the funds and let down the ratepayers again?

“It is a big risk—they need to be more transparent.”

Ms Ehrhardt used to be with the MBA but left to establish LACE, which runs the Maylands Hawkers Markets.

The Voice contacted MBA president Dominic Cuscuna, but he didn’t get back to us.

The applications come before council later this month.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

SPUDSHED is set to open a massive new superstore in the ailing Coventry Village in Morley.

The potato giant has submitted a development application with Bayswater city council for a 3519sqm outlet.

The plan involves amalgamating seven existing shops and a children’s playground into one store.

According to council officers, Spudshed owner Tony Galati “intends” to relocate the playground to another site within the village if his application is approved.

Big drawcard

Mayor Sylvan Albert says Coventry Village struggles to attract customers and needs a “big drawcard” like Spudshed.

“I think this would bring people to the village and help the smaller shops who are also there,” he says.

“It would create more foot traffic and the smaller vendors would benefit from that as well: there would be a trickle-down effect.

“A centre needs a mix of big flagship stores and smaller shops to attract people.”

The plan ties in with the council’s Morley masterplan, which aims to transform the area into a “strategic metropolitan centre”.

Spudshed is also looking at adding a wholesale/retail outlet to its Hines Road distribution centre in O’Connor.

The application comes before Bayswater city council later this month.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

THE curtain’s coming down on the Bakery, with the last-ever event planned for May 9 at the James Street venue that’s been home to big international acts and worthy local startups.

http://www.nowbaking.com.au has tickets and info for the 20-act show. Local musos, producers and fans are currently trying to set up a new mid-size gig space to fill the void through the Perth Venue Action group on Facebook.

BEAUFORT STREET’S legendary Planet empire receded further this week, with the video rental section of the shop closing up.

Proprietor Haydn Robinson cites “technology” as a big factor.

The rentals part of the business has been running at a loss for 12 months but the recent arrival of internet-streamed movies via Netflix is “the straw that breaks the camel’s back”.

“I think with downloads people have lost the habit of renting movies. It’s been a slow death, if that’s the right word.”

The high cost of rent and staff also contributed.

This is Planet’s third downsize: it moved out of its iconic corner location to get more compact and cut costs, and was replaced by a chain burriro store. Then The Daily Planet restaurant (which started off so-so and ended up spectacularly good) closed last year.

The book shop remains open and seems to be still going strong.

Mr Robinson says customers are sorry to see the vids go but “the ones I feel sorry for are the older ones, who are never going to download anyway, who regularly came in and got a bunch of classics or whatever they wanted to watch”.

by DAVID BELL

PERTH teachers and cultural communities are fighting to save an Italian language program from being cut back.

More than 6000 people have signed a petition calling for the program, run for 37 years by the Italo-Australian Welfare and Culture Centre, to continue receiving about $1 million state funding, with the government adament it wants to spread the cash across other languages.

Dozens of school teachers and Italian community members this week rallied at state parliament, where the petition was tabled by the Labor opposition.

The organisation employs teachers at 81 schools, teaching more than 22,000 students across Perth.

Tuart Hill’s Maria Famiano, who teaches Italian at Como and St Michael’s primary schools, says the cuts will add her to the unemployment line,

“I’ve been working in this role for more than seven years,” she says.

“Most schools won’t be able to afford putting teachers like me on the payroll.”

Fremantle Italian Club president Fred Calginari says 600 of his club members and their families are upset by the funding cut.

“Perth was founded in 1829, and I know for sure Italians were here in 1830,” Mr Calginari noted. “Italian culture has a long history here and it would be a shame for children to miss out on our language in schools.

“We’re not saying that other languages shouldn’t be funded in schools, but just don’t cut off money for kids who want to learn Italian.”

by EMMIE DOWLING