Perth Voice Interactive

WHAT does it mean to grow up in a war zone? How do you play? Do you dare to dream?” director Melissa Cantwell asks.

From the Rubble is a multi-art performance about women living in conflict zones, inspired by the work of WA award-winning writer and journalist Sophie McNeill.

As a foreign correspondent with SBS Dateline the former Herald/Voice intern travelled to many of the world’s hot spots, including Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Mexico.

“[From the Rubble] stories are sourced from across Sophie’s body of work,” Cantwell says.

She first met McNeill in the Perth Theatre Company office, on her way to SAS training, wearing a flak jacket and carrying a duffle bag.

“She went off to leap out of a helicopter, and I dove into her stories.

There began the process of unearthing the imagery in her work which would form the basis of what we hope will be a compelling and moving immersive piece.”

The performance makes “big departures” from McNeill’s writing–with her blessing: “Sophie has been generous, she said ‘you’re the artists, go to it’,” Cantwell says.

The stories are as varied as the subjects, with some of survival and others of women transforming their environment to make better lives for themselves and others.

“The human spirit in duress is amazing and resilient,” Cantwell says.

The one-hour performance also puts government and the media’s role in reporting on conflict under the spotlight.

‘What happens globally is informed by grabs and sound bites…We are so immune to the news,” Cantwell says.

Fremantle actor Mikala Westall plays a young woman who grew up in a war zone, and escaped.

The dreams and aspirations of her character are those of most young people, just seen through a different lens, Westall says.

“To be safe, to feel she has a voice and to step out of her house without worrying.”

Multi-layered art forms, including performance, projection, animation, puppetry and film footage–created by visual artist Fleur Elise Noble–will transform PICA’s theatre for the performance.

Joining the team is songstress Mei Saraswati, Iranian-Australian performer Tina Torabi, assistant director Ian Sinclair, composer Joe Lui and audio-visual designer Mia Holton.

From the Rubble is at PICA, James Street, Northbridge March 17 to 28. Tix $25–30 at http://www.pica.org.au 

by JENNY D’ANGER

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BAYSWATER mayor Sylvan Albert has blasted Colin Barnett for a “shambolic” handling of now-abandoned council mergers.

The WA government’s plan to slash the number of WA councils from 30 to 16 local was officially cancelled Tuesday, with the premier returning to Treasury $60 million that had been set aside.

“The blame lies firmly with the premier and his failure to provide strong leadership on this issue,” says Cr Albert, who’d run as a Liberal candidate at the last state election. “With clear direction and the right mechanisms, reform could have been achieved.

“The premier has overseen a process that has taken six years to get to this point and what an incredible waste of time and money it has been.

“The premier’s approach in seeking to blame local government just won’t wash.”

Cr Albert is demanding the Barnett government reimburse his council for the $1.2 million it spent in good faith, preparing for amalgamation.

“Our community—families, mums, dads and seniors—should not have to foot the cost of this,” he says.

He scoffs as media spin the premier’s claim local governments were not instructed to spend money on reform: “It sounds like a message developed by his media advisers.”

Cr Albert was one of a handful of mayors happy with the proposed merger outcome, which would have seen Bayswater annex Bassendean and sections of Stirling and Swan.

Meanwhile, Stirling mayor Giovanni Italiano is still demanding his city be reimbursed the $800,000 it spent on the process (Voice, February 14, 2015): “I only wish the state government had listened to what the community was overwhelmingly saying much earlier,” he says. “It would have saved everyone a lot of anxiety, disharmony and money.

“This process has created a lot of damage within the sector that could take years to repair.”

Cr Giovanni and his city opposed the mergers from the onset but spent the money as the government had made it clear it was proceeding.

The wheels fell off the mergers plan when Kwinana, South Perth and East Fremantle residents rejected amalgamations in binding local referenda.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

THE Leederville laneway festival has been cancelled following a Vincent council error, leaving the promoter out of pocket and considering compensation.

Last week the council approved the event by the skin of its teeth, with a 4-4 decision coming down to the casting vote of mayor John Carey (Voice, February 14, 2015).

But this week a red-faced council realised that approval required an absolute majority, not just a simple majority.

In the days between the decision and the error being discovered, Brandon D’Silva from Rough Love events had announced the event and booked flights and accommodation for an international artist, which are non-refundable.

“It’s cost me a lot of money, so I’m going to seek legal advice,” Mr D’Silva told the Voice.

Any claim may be complicated by the fact no official planning approval was granted: Mr D’Silva made his arrangements on the informal thumbs-up of a staff member who’d simply relayed to him the results of the council meeting.

Perth city council has offered Mr D’Silva a laneway for March 28.

by DAVID BELL

WITH council mergers dead and now half-buried, we caught up with some of the street coordinators who’d volunteered to run Vincent’s campaign to not split.

Eighteen months ago they joined more than 1000 locals opposed to the northern half of Vincent being shipped off to Stirling and the south going to Perth. Geoff Cooper, Joel Birch and Geraldine Box signed up as street coordinators to spread the word, take petitions, lobby the pollies and hand out signs and posters for houses and businesses to put up. Volunteer efforts partly meant Vincent’s merger preparation costs were around $90,000, a tenth of nearby councils.

Atmosphere

Joel Birch, who teaches teachers, says he got on board because he used to live in Stirling and when he moved to Vincent he liked its community atmosphere.

He says in other areas he lived in “you only ever heard from council at rates and bulk rubbish collection time” but after he moved to Vincent, “I actually met councillors!”. He volunteered because “it was better than complaining with my friends later when it had happened”.

Mr Cooper, who once trained as a mediaevalist before working in acadaemia, says after such a long struggle with so many twists and turns, it was “strangely anti-climactic” when the premier ran up the white flag.

“What started off as a protest of losing my local council became more than that, it became about Barnett’s arrogance versus people power.”

Ms Box says she got involved “because I lived here for over 30 years and I saw Vincent when it was a part of the City of Perth.

“When we became Vincent, I realised what a good local government could be and how residents should be involved in local government.”

A bike rider and long-time civilian-member of the council’s transport advisory group, she says she’ll stay involved, “always, whether it’s positive or negative I’m very happy to be involved with council, community groups and consultation. If you’re not you can’t complain.”

Mayor John Carey says the first proposal to split Vincent was defeated because of the loud voice of the community opposing it, with two rallies having big turnouts. He reckons if the second plan to merge with Perth had ever been tried at the polls it would’ve received a walloping too.

———

Nail in the Colin

A SPECIAL council meeting was due to run Thursday February 19 to put a formal end to Vincent’s merger process.  Mayor John Carey says a motion will be put to council to formally state its position to remain as a stand-alone council rather than merging with Perth. He says reform will continue in his council, but it won’t involve shifting borders: It’ll keep plugging away to tighten up some historically sloppy governance processes and improve accountability.

by DAVID BELL

SEVEN bike repair stations have popped up around Vincent so riders can do a little tune up on the fly. They’re fitted with screwdrivers, wrenches, allen keys, tyre levers and a pump and cost Vincent council $5500 and the WA transport department $3500. They’re operating now at Woodville Reserve, Oxford Street, Beatty Park, Forrest Park, the Bourke Street shared path and Banks Reserve. Cyclists asked for the stations during bike network planning in 2013.

MELBOURNE, Sydney, Brisbane, even in the Perth CBD: just about everywhere in the civilised world, scooter parking is free or mega cheap, but you’ll still pay full price at Perth train station carparks.

Authorities often offer cheaper scooter and motorbike parking to acknowledge they don’t produce as much congestion or pollution as full-size cars. UWA lets riders park for free because “compared to vehicles, motorcycles and scooters take up little space… are cheaper to run and emit far less greenhouse gases and pollution than single-occupied vehicles”.

Scooter man Michael Cuhani reckons that kind of thinking should be right up the public transport authority’s alley and can’t understand why they’re still slugging his moped the same $2 that was introduced for cars last year.

The PTA, which boasts its passengers reduce greenhouse gases by 232,000 tonnes a year by taking public transport, won’t budge on the charge which was handed down by the WA government in July 2014.

Feisty media man David Hynes says “taxpayer funds have made a significant contribution toward purchasing the land Transperth passengers park on, the cost of constructing the parking areas themselves, and security to enable the park and ride to operate safely.

“For this reason, it is only fair that all users—scooter and motorbike riders included—contribute a modest upkeep of all these facilities.”

by DAVID BELL