Perth Voice Interactive

LETTERS 6.12.14

December 4, 2014

Wiped out, overnight
I WRITE on behalf of the Italo-Australian Welfare & Cultural Centre Inc (IAWCC) in response to “Language shake-up,” (Voice, November 29, 2014).
For 36 years the IAWCC has run its community language program for Italian in both mainstream schooling and after-hour school programs. Throughout this period, the IAWCC has strictly adhered to all funding guidelines available to all community languages schools. More than 22,000 students currently have access to this program and it is one of the most significant languages programs in Australia.
Contrary to the disappointing perceptions stated by Minister Nahan in your article, the IAWCC does not “hire” teachers, but actually “employs” its teachers. Further to the 790,000 contribution it receives for this program from the state government, the IAWCC contributes an equal amount, if not more, on an annual basis thanks to the assistance primarily by the Italian government, the Catholic education office through its commonwealth government allocation of funding and the Italian community through the IAWCC.
The IAWCC commends the “intent” to provide more monies for all community languages and to seek parity at a national level. However, to do so by deliberately targeting and punishing the IAWCC’s quality program is totally disrespectful to the Italian community, to the Italian government and to the 22,000 plus students (of which 95 per cent are of non-Italian origin) who may no longer have access to the Italian language, let alone another language.
Thirty-six years of genuine investment in a quality program literally wiped out overnight!
What explanation does the IAWCC give to its students, to their parents and grandparents and to its 80-plus loyal and dedicated teachers who may find themselves without employment as a result of this incredulous and damaging decision?
The IAWCC and the Italian community appeals to all members of the state government to allow common-sense to prevail, and to respect the 36-year investment by all concerned for the benefit of all Western Australians, not just those of Italian origin.
Enzo Sirna AM
President, Italo-Australian Welfare & Cultural Centre Inc

Manna must move
AFTER witnessing violence, assault and abuse once more, from my balcony overlooking Weld Park, I felt compelled to write this letter.
I have been a resident of an apartment overlooking Weld Square, the park that edges onto Beaufort and Parry Street, for two years now. Over this time I have seen the neighbourhood start to transform into an exciting residential hub.
There is however one ongoing tarnish to this area, which seems continue to spiral hopelessly out of control for the past two years, and that is the public meals provided to homeless people by Manna Inc.
Manna takes no responsibility for the security of the park before and after it provides meals, leaving local residents to clean up the mess of violence, anti-social behaviour and, not to forget, the litter left behind from the meals.
Today I saw a man beaten by an Aboriginal man who then tried to steal the first man’s dog. Surrounding residents went to the victim’s assistance, bringing golf sticks and weapons in order to protect themselves and the man under repeated attack. This type of anti-social behaviour, which is a repetitive scene, can no longer be tolerated in this area. This type of anti-social behaviour is beginning to sprout racial intolerance. This type of anti-social behaviour needs to be proactively removed.
While I support the overall intention of Manna Inc’s work, it needs to take more accountability for the direct impact its service is having on the residents of this area. This area is not an area under the poverty line; ratepayers are paying high taxes in order to enjoy an inner-suburban lifestyle. However, residents are scared to walk through their own park at different times of the day (let alone the night). Our personal safety is at risk.
Manna Inc. openly admits it is drawing homeless people, people with mental illness and addiction to the area, even having to buy a truck to “protect [its people] from druggies” (Voice, August 14, 2014). What protections are put in place to protect residents of the surrounding area when they pack up and drive away, leaving this disadvantaged crowd in our neighbourhood?
I know this issue has been raised in the past; the service was meant to relocate. Vincent council needs to force this issue into a resolution. Failing to act is leaving this park and residents with an irreparable damage to the neighbourhood’s reputation; a terrible legacy for Vincent to pass on to the City of Perth through the local government amalgamations.
I urge the council to act, or for Manna Inc. to reassess its impact on this area, before the voice and intolerance of the local residents builds and a negative situation is brought before the council and Manna Inc.
Brayden Wardrop
Stirling St, Perth

What policy?
THE story “Falling branches doom Maylands mahogany” (Voice November 29, 2014) serves to highlight the failure of the City of Bayswater to exercise consistent and fact-based control over trees in its jurisdiction.
It has been my experience that implementation of what was described to me as city policy seemed to depend on whim and fancy for, according to an FOI document in my possession, the city does not have an accepted tree policy.
In your report it was suggested that assessments of subject or suspect trees might be obtained from an independent arborist before action is taken, and that seems entirely appropriate.
However, that might be a real challenge for the city for it apparently believes an independent arborist can be one who is a contracted employee and one who is in receipt of frequent and quite significant payments the employer.
By the way, Mr Editor, I can make available those assessments made by that so-called independent arborist: it is in my possession because I obtained it through another FOI application.
You might care to offer an opinion in regard to its professionalism, its reliability and its accuracy. Apparently though the city paid good ratepayers’ money for it.
Vince McCudden
Almondbury St, Bayswater

Peddling fiction?
MISLEADING information is presented as fact (Voice Mail, November 29, 2014).
S Cruden says cyclists “are paying nothing towards road use”—in fact motorists are equally paying nothing because roads are paid for by taxpayers.
Rego fee go towards hospital insurance for victims of crashes. Arguably, the cyclists are more likely subsiding the cars.
However, I agree with S Cruden’s sentiments—roads should be user-pays, therefore perhaps only people with taxable incomes over $80,000 should be allowed to drive cars. This approach would solve all congestion problems overnight, and encourage unemployed people to get jobs.
Ben G Host
Mary St, Highgate

Piazza spot is hardly supreme
I SHARE the concerns of those who’ve expressed concern about the Mary Street Piazza and believe full consultation did not take place.
I wrote to Vincent city council agreeing with the concept but not the location. My concerns was the impact on the school drop off zone at Sacred Heart primary school and the knock-on effect on Harold Street.
At no time was I aware other locations were being considered. Surely proper and full consultation should include full details of all the proposed locations? Now I am aware Barlee Street was an option, I strongly believe that is the best option.
To create a vibrant Beaufort Street, the activity should be spread over the entire area, not just concentrated in one area. The area around Mary Street has shade and outdoor activity (The Queens, Two Fat Indians, Must, il Publico, Mary Street Bakery, Elmars, The Merchant) all have outdoor seating.
Locating the piazza at the end of Barlee Street supports the business in that area and the edge of the car park can be utilised. I encourage all residents to not give up and lobby our council to look at a better location.
M Cropley
Mt Lawley

The devil came down to Vincent
THE recent reactions of some local councils that had until now supported the state government’s so-called reform process, upon realising that they haven’t quite got what they wanted, comes as no surprise to many of us.
The saying, “he who sups with the devil should use a long spoon” means one should be very cautious when dealing with dangerous or untrustworthy persons.
It was never more apt than for the City of Bayswater, which has consistently been enthusiastic about so-called local government reform, but now finds itself in the position of trying to defend the rights of 1500 of its residents to remain in Bayswater instead of going to Swan.
At the same time, perhaps Bayswater should reflect on the even larger number of Stirling residents being told that, like it or not, they will be living in Bayswater from mid-2015 as a result of the Bayswater proposal.
One could say the same about Vincent’s “one-in, all-in” campaign that clearly opened the door to a merger with Perth, despite the clearly-expressed view of 77 per cent of those who voted for Vincent to remain as it is.
We are now faced with a merger-cum-gerrymander that goes beyond our wildest nightmares and Vincent council is forced into the position of having to run yet another campaign on the scale of the “one-in, all-in”.
The (non-religious) devil put temptation in the way of local councils that sought to aggrandise themselves and some duly sold their souls in a Faustian pact. Now the devil is calling in the price.
Ian Ker
Mt Lawley
Something Seuss

December 4, 2014

THERE’S so more to Dr Seuss than green eggs and ham, as a Perth exhibition of works from every facet of the great man’s life will show.

It includes rare early works through to iconic illustrations from the Dr Seuss children’s books, along with limited edition prints and bizarre sculptures.

But don’t expect originals: those priceless pieces are under lock and key at the Dr Seuss archive at the Californian University, and never travel, The Art of Seuss director and curator Bill Dreyer told the Voice.

“These are authorised estate editions.”

The late author and illustrator is known and loved for scores of deceptively poignant books including Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax—and, of course, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

His themes touch on the nature of God and the universe, environmental degradation from rampant capitalism, confronting bigotry, exorcising fear and so much more.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was drawing and painting long before his first book made it into print. Working hard at his day job in advertising and PR, he painted at night for his own pleasure: “[His] secret art or midnight paintings,” Mr Dreyer’s soft American accent drawls down the phone line from the US.

The images on display include adult versions of the children’s books’ illustrations, cartoon-like and humorous, but with darker and more edgy subtexts.

“You will see his trademark look and feel [but] it stretches well beyond the children’s books…a feast of visual stunners, dense with ideas,” Mr Dreyer says.

Other pictures are surreal, almost Picasso-like: “cubist, and show a side you might not know or expect.”

Gin-drinking in his university dorm in Britain can be thanked for Geisel’s famous pseudonym.

ºHe and nine mates had been caught by the Dean, who subsequently banned the 21-year-old from working on a college magazine—so he continued, working under the pen name Seuss.

Back in the US, Geisel’s first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, (1936) was rejected by scores of publishers. On his way home to throw it in the fire he met an old uni friend from the UK, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Geisel’s fame exploded at home and internationally when in 1954 he was asked by the US education director to write a book using the 250 words he felt were the most important for grade one kids to learn. A report had concluded youngsters weren’t reading because books were boring.

Nine months later The Cat in the Hat was in classrooms and the way kids read was revolutionised—so much so that Geisel’s birthday (March 2) is National Read Across America Day.

This delightful, must-see exhibition is open Monday to Friday, December 8–23, at Central Park Lobby, 158 St Georges Terrace, Perth.

by JENNY D’ANGER
A world away from home

December 4, 2014

THE smells and sounds of Korea rippled around the walls of the Cori Anna Restaurant and my lunch companion and I enjoyed the feeling of being in a world away from home.

Kimchi is a staple of Korean cooking, and the fermented cabbage features in a number of dishes on this menu.

We kicked off with kimchi dumplings ($6.50), which can be deep-fried but on the advice of our delightful waiter we opted for the traditional steamed version.

The slightly chewy wrapping of the mini-parcels concealed a delicious mix of vegetables and were wolfed down.

As was the kimchi pancake ($8) a thin, golden orb of deliciousness, with a savoury sweetness and a light texture.

An entree of vegetable and prawn tempura ($7) was pure decadence and no doubt contributed to artery hardening, but it was worth it.

I’m not sure what possessed us to order so much food, but we ploughed on, undeterred by feelings of gluttonous guilt.

There’s fried kimchi and tofu ($16.60) for a main, or spicy kimchi soup with pork ($14), but having kimchi’d out on the entree I went for the spicy stir-fried squid ($14).

The sauce was fantastic, and chilli-spluttering warm, while the squid was so tender it almost melted in my mouth.

A beef bibim-bab ($14) stopped my mate in her tracks, the huge serve of rice, beef, mushroom, fried egg, zucchini, bean sprout, spinach, carrot and sesame seed and sesame oil defying her usually loquacious description of her food.

It’s a signature Korean dish and literally means mixed rice. The various ingredients are virtually layered to be stirred through just before eating.

It came with miso soup and a trio of pickled vegetables, including—wait for it—kimchi.

Kimchi on its own as a side dish has a chilli kick that knocked us back on our seats and was treated with cautious respect thereafter.

Cori Anna is your typically low-key Asian eatery, simple decor, gentle, pleasant service with great food at ridiculous prices.

For a mere $50—I mean, come on, really—we left stuffed to the gills, and even took home a doggy bag.

by JENNY D’ANGER

Cori Anna Korean Restaurant
347 William Street, Northbridge
9227 7299
open 7 days 11am–9pm
Life’s a blockbuster

December 4, 2014

ELSTREE Film Studios is known as the birthplace of Star Wars, and over its 87 years has been the studio of choice for legendary directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

Well, any director looking for a picture-perfect setting for a wholesome family movie, perhaps with a dog and happy, contented children, may well yell “Action!” when they see his home in Elstree Avenue, Menora.

From the street it exudes gingerbread cottage appeal, with its arched portico, peaked roof pitches and lovely lead light windows.

There’s even the perfect shape and sized living Christmas tree in the delightful front garden just waiting to be decorated, and the glorious roses are so perfect they make your teeth ache.

Everywhere you look in this gorgeous four-bedroom/two-bathroom home you’ll see decorative lead light doors and windows (including a couple of bayed ones), sparkling like Christmas decorations, even in the addition.

There’s no shortage of original bakelite, from light switches to door handles on a couple of cute jarrah linen cupboards.

Throw in a picture rails, a couple of fireplaces and plenty of ornate ceilings and you’re in art deco heaven.

The rear extension, however, is pure 21st century, albeit designed to complement the home’s heritage. It’s a sweeping space with floor-to-ceiling jarrah-framed doors and windows.

Crisp white cupboards and drawers in the generous kitchen contrast with the red-brown of slender twin, jarrah pantries flanking the stove.

A huge hatch overlooks the spacious family/dining area through to the lush garden of this 910sqm property.

Kicking back on the covered patio it was easy to lose track of time as this secluded oasis, with its lovely mature trees worked its magic. You’d barely know you had neighbours from this vantage point.

There’s a swathe of grass for kids to play, and the peaked-roofed timber garden shed is too cute for words.

Elstree Ave is close to a slew of shops and eateries, so much so when I asked the vendor for a recommendation for lunch the choice was so vast she floundered to select just one.

Coolbinia primary school is two streets away, and Mt Lawley Senior High School and Edith Cowan University are just down the road.

16 Elstree Avenue, Menora
$1.49million
Jody Missell
0401 770 782
Acton Mt Lawley
9272 2488
Lucky streak

November 28, 2014

LUCKY the guinea pig has taken a bigger battering than John McClane in Die Hard.

A cruel owner had abandoned the tiny cavy, suspending him from Shelley Bridge in a plastic bag and leaving him to suffocate and cook in the hot sun.

He’d tried to claw his way out but fell from the bridge, plunging into the water and ingesting nearly half the river before being rescued and taken to a vet in Riverton.

“He’s a little fighter, he’s such a sweetheart,” new owner Daniel Bagley says. “He’s obviously been through a lot.”

The panicky rodents have been known to turn up their toes if a cat even looks at them funny, but Lucky’s a plucky one.

Mr Bagley, who lives in Yokine, was volunteering at the Armadale Community Animal Rescue Group when he heard of the little fella’s plight.

“We went there on the bus and the train,” he says, despite strict ‘no animal’ rules on public transport.

“We don’t have a car, and had to go all the way back. The train guards were asking us what we were doing with the animal.”

• Daniel Bagley, right, with his sister Jasmine, brother Robert and plucky Lucky the guinea pig. Photo by Matthew Dwyer

At his new home, badly malnourished Lucky was fed and put on weight but then Mr Bagley noticed other injuries.

“We took him to the Unusual Pet Vet in Balcatta, Doctor James Haberfield,” he says.

“The guy is a genius. They specialise in anything that’s not a dog or a cat.”

Lucky had sustained broken ribs in the past, had worms, was pooping river water, and had elongated teeth (his poor previous diet meant he was unable to grind down his incisors). “Too-long teeth can cause entrapment of the tongue,” Mr Bagley says. “They can’t drink and they can’t eat and they eventually pass.”

An operation to fix the teeth would have cost $500, too steep for the hospitality student to afford.

The Perth Vet Bill Assistance charity agreed to take on his case and Dr Haberfield chipped in too, halving his fee.

A much cheerier Mr Bagley told the Voice Wednesday he hopes to one day join the PVBA as a donor so he can repay its kindness.

“When we get back on our feet we’ll be donating,” he says.

You can follow Lucky’s journey at the Facebook page Lucky Cavy.

by DAVID BELL
Tree trim scam alert

November 28, 2014

WA Consumer Protection has issued a warning about a tree lopping company it’s charged with trying to fleece an 88-year-old Coolbinia man out of $1000.

Talbot Bashall, 88, was flustered when men from West Australian Tree Services knocked on his door, demanding payment for pruning a tree on his verge.

Mr Bashall (right) claims he had not engaged anyone to do the job but the men insisted he owed them $1480. They allegedly took $1000 from him on the spot via a mobile Eftpos machine.

When Mr Bashall’s friend John Gatward found out he complained to the WA consumer protection department.

It turns out the company and its principal are already the subject of several warnings and “enforceable undertaking” orders after previous court appearances.

Last year the company was “named and shamed” for the third time following a spate of complaints about allegedly bullying behaviour over demands for payment.

Dumped mulch

Father Tim Deeter from Catholic St Paul’s in Menora said WATS dumped mulch in his carpark three times when he refused to pay.

The WA consumer protection department has several legal actions pending against WATS in the magistrates and supreme courts.

“While legal actions initiated by us…are yet to be finalised, I would warn WA consumers to consider very carefully whether to have any dealings with West Australian Tree Services and its employee Mr Sean Weinthal,” said WA consumer protection commissioner Anne Driscoll.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK
What letter?

November 28, 2014

EVERY council was supposed to get one, but Perth city council reckons it never received a letter from Byron mayor Simon Richardson asking it to support marriage equality.

The NSW-based mayor has been writing to councils across the nation to try to get them on board with an equality proclamation he wants to submit to prime minister Tony Abbott.

Cr Richardson chuckled when we’d told him Perth claimed to have never received its letter.

“We could send another one,” he offered, saying he’ll “give them the benefit of the doubt” and assume it might’ve just been lost in the post or buried in paperwork.

Bayswater confirmed it had received the letter, but all the info we could get out of mayor Sylvan Albert was an emailed line saying “Byron shire’s letter has not been formally considered by council”.

• Simon Richardson asked all four councils in Voiceland to support marriage equality. So far just one has.

Will it be considered? Cr Albert didn’t get back to us before deadline.

Over at Stirling there was a bit of confusion. We were first told “it is not under consideration at this time”.

We asked why not, and whether it was staff or members of the elected council who’d made that decision not to consider it. The waters got muddy: turns out the first response was in error, and the mayor’s assistant took the bullet for it. Mayor Giovanni Italiano is out of the state but we hear that following our inquiry last week the letter’s since been distributed to councillors.

Vincent passed the pro-marriage equality proclamation last week, with mayor John Carey saying it represented the community’s views.

Cr Richardson says so far about a dozen councils have signed up across Australia.

“For me it comes down to a simple matter of equality,” the cheery mayor says. “It just came down to that basic human right. We’ve got young kids who are committing suicide because of their sexuality… bottom line is I’ve got a title next to my name, I might as well use it.”

by DAVID BELL
Language shake-up

November 28, 2014

EIGHTY PER CENT of funding for community language education is being spent teaching Italian in Catholic schools.

WA multicultural minister Mike Nahan, who’d ordered a review into the $1 million program, has criticised the WA education department for the imbalance, saying it has “not run this program well”.

“The Italian community has an after-school program, and that is great,” Dr Nahan told the WA parliament.

“However, 80 per cent, or just shy of $800,000 of that $1 million goes to the Italian insertion program run by the Italo–Australian Welfare and Cultural Centre, which hires teachers to teach Italian in Catholic schools and in eight public schools—not after school, but in schools.

“That is a large share of the money.”

• Maylands MP Lisa Baker with representatives from the Polish Ethnic School. Photo
supplied

The Polish Ethnic School in Maylands is “cautiously optimistic” a proposed shake up will see education for other languages better resourced.

School coordinator Monika Dudek-Brown says the report “identifies what Polish Ethnic School has known for a long time: there is a disparity in funding received by community language schools in WA compared to other Australian states”.

“There is an urgent need for community language schools to receive more education support in the form of access to teacher development and training and curriculum expertise,” she says.

But Ms Dudek-Brown doesn’t want to see the “well-established and successful” Italian program’s “demise”, saying the WA government should consider continuing to fully fund it, it via another channel. Maylands Labor MP Lisa Baker wants the overall language program budget increased.

The not-for-profit Polish Ethnic School was established in 1952 and has 55 students. It receives $65 per child in WA government funding, capped at 47 students this year, a fraction of what Victoria ($190), SA ($140) and NSW ($123.40) pay per student head.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK
Protest fails

November 28, 2014

A SUPREME court appeal by local councils to prevent amalgamations has completely fizzled, with chief justice Wayne Martin swiftly dismissing all four points of the plaintiffs’ arguments.

A morning of arguments saw Mr Martin return from lunch with a near-instant discounting of the councils’ case.

Lawyer Chris Shanahan had argued that WA local government advisory board chair Mel Congertoon was biased, as he’d declared support for the government in emails.

But Mr Martin said there was no bias in the mind of a reasonable person and dismissed the argument.

Mr Shanahan had also argued that WA local government minister Tony Simpson had engineered some mergers so they wouldn’t give locals the right to vote to oppose them via the Dadour amendment.

But Mr Martin pointed out that claim didn’t apply to any of the councils Mr Shanahan was representing, and the court wasn’t there to entertain “busybodies” getting into other people’s business.

The order of submissions was also challenged, but not deemed grounds to call the whole thing off.

Former Vincent councillor Ian Ker—who’d delved deep into his own pocket to fund the case along with a handful of councils—says “the issue of the legitimacy of the minister’s proposals has not been resolved” despite the findings.

He said the action had cost him and the councils involved “a lot of money” and no-one was sure where to go from here.
Vincent city council’s fate isn’t to be decided by an ordinary merger process, but instead by a special act of parliament, the “City of Perth Act” which will squish it together with Perth.

But chatter is increasing that the government may be losing its resolve, and the merger may not happen. In Vincent council chambers, the talk has gone from “when” the council gets merged to “if”, a significant change over a month ago.

by DAVID BELL
Stirling blinks

November 28, 2014

THE Voice understands Stirling city council will not pursue legal action against the WA government over boundary changes.

The council sought seek legal advice on a boundary change that will see some of Mt Lawley and Inglewood, move into a new Bayswater mega council. But the Voice understands that in a closed-doors meeting held Tuesday, the council decided not to pursue a legal challenge.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK