Perth Voice Interactive

Vote weighting? Don’t you worry about that!

PREMIER Colin Barnett is refusing to rule out vote-weighting as part of his decision to merge the cities of Perth and Vincent.

The move—likened to a “Bjelke-Petersen Queensland-style gerrymander”—would effectively give voters in the existing City of Perth more voting power than people now in Vincent.

“Vincent residents are not second-class citizens,” says a furious Vincent mayor John Carey, who’d pushed hard for a Perth-Vincent merger.

“Whatever side of the debate you’re on—you might support a split from Vincent, you might support Vincent as is—surely everyone agrees on one basic principle, and that is every ratepayer should enjoy the same rights as their neighbour.”

The premier told the ABC early in the week, “you would not want residential voters to be able to control the CBD”.

One option would be to give Perth CBD businesses more voting power than residents in the enlarged capital’s suburbs. This would also likely lead to a city council more focussed on CBD concerns and less on the issues affecting its new hinterlands, such as Leederville, Highgate and North Perth.

To effect the merger the premier proposes a “City of Perth Act”. Mr Carey says the move means the government can bypass the Dadour Amendment, which would have allowed Vincent residents the option of vetoing a merger.

“It’s groundhog day, we’re back to square one,” he sighed. “We’re back to at last another year of trying to get the best deal for residents, and it’s an uncertain future with a premier that won’t rule out vote-weighting, which disadvantages Vincent.”

Former Vincent councillor Ian Ker, who challenged the mergers in court, suspects the City of Perth Act is because Mr Barnett is fearful “the supreme court will declare the whole process invalid”.

“He will put a Bjelke-Petersen Queensland-style gerrymander in place to disenfranchise the people of Vincent.”

Mr Ker holds out hope the bill will be opposed in parliament, “and he has already had a defeat in the upper house on forced amalgamations”.

He says “it is time to remind Eleni Evangel, MLA for Perth, that her electorate includes the City of Vincent as well as the City of Perth.

“It is time to remind her that two-thirds of her electors are Vincent residents.

“The people of Vincent will not forgive her at the 2017 election if she doesn’t vote against Barnett’s latest denial of democracy, or better still persuade him to give up his latest imperial delusion.”

by DAVID BELL

LIBERAL MP Michael Sutherland is in the sights of local party members aghast at confirmation that some of Mt Lawley is to shift from Stirling to Bayswater city council.

Former Liberal Party branch president Paul Collins claims Mr Sutherland didn’t fight the move hard enough because his wife Michelle is a Bayswater councillor, and that despite being Speaker, he has no influence with the premier.

“Whilst other Liberal party members across the metro area were influential resulting in positive outcomes for their constituents, Michael Sutherland, compromised by his own wife’s election on to Bayswater council, failed his thousands of constituents who attended three public rallies and signed petitions to remain in Stirling,” Mr Collins, a former Stirling councillor, says. “We now know Michael Sutherland does not have the influence within his own party, or with the premier, that the electors of Mt Lawley deserve. I am surprised the WA Liberal Party hasn’t learnt from Victoria and Queensland where similar local government boundary shifting led to the defeat of both state governments.”

Mr Sutherland says he did everything he could to keep Mt Lawley in Stirling, “but now the decision has been made we have to go with it”.

“The heritage protection that applies to parts of Mt Lawley and Inglewood will continue to be respected by the new city of Bayswater council, who have adapted the same heritage guidelines as those in Stirling.”

But the Mount Lawley Society remains convinced heritage will suffer: “Stirling has enshrined the heritage protection area concept for Mount Lawley, Menora and Inglewood in its local planning scheme,” says MLS president Bruce Wooldridge.

“New development must also conform to character retention guidelines. This would significantly diminish if Bayswater’s current system were to be applied.”

Stirling city council is also unhappy: it spent $59,000 fighting the merger and Cr Terry Tyzack now wants it to explore legal options.

Bayswater mayor Sylvan Albert is one of the few WA council leaders who’s happy—his council gets to annex Bassendean and juicy parts of Stirling and Swan.

“We believe that the boundary changes taking place represent a good outcome for the communities involved and will result in the city of Bayswater becoming an even more sustainable, effective and customer focussed local government,” he says.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

FIRST it took St Patrick, now it’s stolen St Nick: Fremantle’s Santa Fun Run has shifted to Leederville.

Having already stolen the annual St Patrick’s Day festival from Freo, the Santa Fun Run to raise cash for Variety will be held during the Light Up Leederville carnival this year.

Vincent council approved it this week (Cr Matt Buckels said voting against it wouldn’t be conscionable) and organisers reckon about 1800 santas of all shapes, sizes and genders will show up on the day for a run down Oxford Street.

Carnival organiser Jimmy “Lips” Murphy proposed letting people park on Britannia Reserve on the day to ease parking congestion around town—there were a lot of complaints from locals who had people parking across their driveways last year.

Cr Ros Harley opposed that saying “I don’t like green spaces being used as carparks”.

But in a narrow and utterly confusing vote it looks like it’ll be allowed.

by DAVID BELL

DOZENS of dog walkers breaking the law every day can now walk their pooches on Charles Veryard Reserve in North Perth, without worrying about ending up in the slammer.

A dog walker who fronted the Vincent council meeting imploring it to make the practise legal said “we are good people [but] what we do at Charles Veryard every day breaks the law”. She said the law needed to change to be in line with common sense: “I’m stressed looking over my shoulder for a ranger.” It was a contentious issue for the neighbourhood: 101 were in support and 75 opposed, concerned about dogs chasing kids and elderly people, or weeing on play equipment.

Percentage-wise, more people responded to consultation on the dog issue than on the new town planning scheme. With adjacent Smith Lake still offering a leash-only zone, it was decided to free the pooches on Charles Veryard.

Disclaimer: Reporter David Bell has been illegally walking his dogs on Charles Veryard for a year or so.

by DAVID BELL

COLIN BARNETT’S controversial local development assessment panels racked up $405,500 in members’ sitting fees last financial year.

The DAPs are unpopular with many WA councils, which view them as an expensive layer of bureaucracy that strips elected councillors of decision-making power on major planning decisions.

The panels consist of five members: two are drawn from the local council but three are appointed by the government, and often do not live in the area they make decisions about.

“This could possibly result in development that negatively impacts the heritage, character and amenity of residential areas that are valued by their community,” Bayswater mayor Sylvan Albert says.

“The DAP process does add another layer in the development application process, resulting in additional application fees, resources and processing time.

“The city needs to be convinced whether the DAP process has been cost effective and a beneficial addition to councils and their communities.”

DAP members are well paid for their time, especially the chairs. Stirling councillors Terry Tyzack, Rod Willox and Giovanni Italiano have been paid $6800, $5200 and $5200 respectively—far above what they receive as councillors.

Mayor Italiano notes a mandatory review of DAPs after two years—required by law—had not occurred.

“It is our view that a review should take place as soon as practicable in order to determine the viability and value offered to the community by DAPs,” he says.

Meanwhile, the government has moved to make it even easier for developers to bypass councils.

The development value threshold for opting to have an application determined by a DAP rather than a council has lowered from $3m to $2m.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

YOUNG architects, urban planners and hobby historians are banding together to campaign for the old Savoy Hotel to be reopened.

Now 100 years old, the federation free classical building was designed by famed architect John Talbot Hobbs, a Great War officer known for anachronistic kindness towards his men in an era of callous commanders.

On its opening the hotel was the talk of the town. Newspapers wrote articles about gatherings there, describing every last detail down to the colour of ladies’ frocks. In 1916 the grand building was described as “The Ritz of Australia”.

But in the late 1980s the place was closed, and in 2009 it was sold to a Singaporean investment firm.

For years its reopening has looked like a forlorn hope, with the assumption being the owners could make more money from just having the ground floor occupied by a shoestore than they’d make with an entire five-storey hotel.

Only in recent weeks have owners Starhill Global Reit contacted Perth city council to start early investigations into reopening the building. But it’ll be an expensive project if they go ahead, with a battle between modern building codes and a century-old structure.

Recently-elected Perth councillor Reece Harley has been looking into getting it reopened for about four years now. He says it’s “one of the most beautiful buildings but sadly it’s been empty above ground floor for four decades”.

The folk from the Perth Urbanist town planning ideas collective are leading the campaign to encourage Starhill to restore the building to a grand old-timey boutique hotel.

Stewart Doran says they want to encourage the owners to spend the full amount to make it grand again and not go for the budget option. Cheap hotels spend about $200,000 a room. The Savoy could take $450,000 to restore it to full grandeur.

While heritage buildings have often been the domain of greybeards, the average age of the group hovers somewhere in the Xbox generation.

“There is a groundswell of support for the Savoy Hotel to be brought back to life, particularly from a generation of younger Perth people who respect and admire our city’s history,” Cr Harley says.

Urbanist Matt Rogers says it feels like they’ve “got a nostalgia for something they never really experienced.

“We tend to make a lot of glass and steel buildings [today] that don’t have that emotional component.”

To show the owners that Perth has a lot of love for this building, they’re hoping people contribute memories and histories of the hotel, along with ideas for its future. Once it’s compiled, they’ll send it off to Singapore and implore the owners to get underway.

Federal Perth Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan recalls working in the bar slinging beers back in the ‘70s and says it would be fantastic to see it reopen: “I used to work there… it was in the days when bar staff were barmaids,” she says.

“Back in the early 1970s, members of the vice squad used to come in and drink ponies.” The smaller pony beer glasses—140ml—didn’t go warm before you could drink them like a larger schooner.

“It had a city crowd that drank there, and my recollection was that in the bar it was mainly a male preserve and there were a lot of coppers and a lot of ex-coppers.

“Back in the 1970s it wasn’t genteel, it was still very much used as a hotel and in fact a lot of country people had been coming there for generations.”

Cr Harley says “I’m looking forward to the days when the people of Perth will once again be able to use the line ‘I’ll meet you at the Savoy’”.

To contribute stories or ideas for the project, head to http://www.perthurbanist.com/savoy

by DAVID BELL

TWO steps forward for the Brookman/Moir Street heritage precinct: two owners in the endangered area have been awarded big grants to help restore their places.

The almost-intact number 16 Brookman scored $21,030 for restorations from the WA government’s heritage grants program, while number 28 gets $100,000 to restore the original facade and remove “intrusive render”.

One step backwards for the precinct: a rogue renovator is painting his heritage-listed house an incongruous white, putting it in stark contrast to the rest of the neighbourhood. The Voice understands Vincent council’s been onto him about not painting over his historic frontage without approval.

The area is a one-of-a-kind example of affordable housing from the 19th century and it’s all protected.

Last week we reported the new owner of No. 4 Brookman had started restoration, after the previous owner was fined $9000 for letting it fall apart.

by DAVID BELL

FEES for juniors playing sports on Vincent ovals are likely to be reinstated.

Back when communist Jack Marks was mayor, Vincent council slashed juniors’ fees and then abolished them altogether. But now clubs are growing, the ovals are getting overused and it’s costly to maintain them.

The effects of 314 pairs of junior soccer boots and all those studs leave fields muddied and bare. Then 4500 beastly rugby players leave footprints like little dinosaurs. Cricket players don’t really affect much because there’s a grand total of 22 in the town and, well, it’s not really a sport, is it.

Many clubs have huge contingents of non-resident members, meaning they don’t even pay for turf restoration via their rates.

Mayor John Carey says “there are some clubs operating with very minimal City of Vincent resident participation at ratepayer cost,” with the WA junior rugby playing on Britannia Reserve being a prominent example.

“Ratepayers should not have to shoulder the cost of damage to that oval.”

Staff initially planned to only charge clubs whose membership of Vincent folk was less than half. Each member would then have to pay $5 a season, amounting to an extra $30,000 a year in revenue.

Cr James Peart points out that’s a little unfair as it punishes Vincent kids who play sports that aren’t popular locally.

Instead, the council will investigate how it can charge only the out-of-towners.

by DAVID BELL

BAYSWATER city council wants Main Roads to cough up $190,000 to compensate for land it took to construct the new Seventh Avenue bridge.

Councillors authorised the city’s CEO to make a claim for 215sqm of land lost during road widening. The council also voted not to give up a 357sqm parcel on Garratt Road to Main Roads. Mayor Sylvan Albert says the land includes green space and parkland: “These discussions have been ongoing since we received the bridge plans from Main Roads.

“It has taken a while, but now we have reached a decision on the level of compensation we want for the Seventh Avenue lot.”

Main Roads’ Dean Roberts says discussions are confidential.