RENOWNED stoneworker and winner of multiple Sculpture by the Sea awards, Jina Lee, has created new stone sculptures honouring the iconic long-neck oblong turtles of Jackadder Lake. Lee was born in South Korea and studied at the Kaywon School of Art before moving to Australia in 2013, and she now works stone out of a studio at Fremantle’s J-Shed.
• One of Lee’s hatchling emerges from its Donnybrook sandstone egg.
Stirling council commissioned her to create the artwork as part of a public art masterplan focusing on nature-inspired works, which was the most popular theme among locals.
The work features two large turtle shells cut from local granite, five eggs sculpted from white Donnybrook sandstone, and one bronze baby turtle emerging from its shell. Lee titled the piece “Nest” and says the work symbolises families living and growing together.
Shown is artist Jina Lee holding flowers at the opening with Stirling councillor Stephanie Proud, mayor Mark Irwin, and councillor Elizabeth Re.
A HUNDRED historic photos and a small library worth of stories have been entered into the Vincent Local History Centre archives, a bounty collected from a bumper year at the local history awards.
Among the more ancient entries is a 101-year-old photo of the Norwood Hotel which once stood at the corner of Windsor and Lord Streets.
• Emanual Rudnicki’s images from the Pickle District’s Art Crawl 4.0.
The image reveals a very different standard of men’s dress compared to modern pub attire: The Windsor attracted large crowds of suited men, all in hats, as going out uncovered was almost unthinkable in that era.
Images of modern history in the making were also entered into the archives: The most recent entry to merit a nod at the awards was taken by photographer Emanual Rudnicki on September 22, 2023 at the Pickle District’s Art Crawl 4.0.
• Perusing this year’s haul of history by Matt Biocich
Donor Andrew Kailis won a special mention in the contemporary category for the offering, which depicts the old industrial slice of West Perth brought to life at night with arty offerings.
Change
The photo was taken on the eve of huge change on the horizon for the small creative hub, which is fated to be transformed by massive developments including a Bunnings store to replace the warehouses and a seven-structure village to be built over the tired old car yards.
• The choir mistress conducts the children North Perth Primary School on Goonderup Day, named for a Noongar place name recorded on early maps of the area.
Among the written pieces, the first prize in the “Life in Vincent” category was awarded to WAFL amateur historian Rick Vredenbregt for his work “The Fred Book Grandstand – Contrasting Events of Celebration and Tragedy” about the building of the Perth Oval grandstand.
• North Perth Primary School entered images of principal James Moore’s Tree Wardens in the 1940s.
Another Perth Oval tale saw Peter Gall awarded first prize in the “History of Place” category for his piece about the April 1, 1928 event when Bert Hunkler made a perfect landing on the oval in his biplane, marking the first solo England to Australia flight.
The 100 photos and 18 written entries are available for viewing at the Vincent Local History Centre inside the Loftus Street library, and the photos are also in the online archive at cityofvincent.imagegallery.me
• Long before the Matildas drew the eyes of the nation, the Azzurri women’s soccer team were playing at Dorrien Gardens in 1959.• North Perth’s staple cuisine for decades: Josh Wells’ photo of Danny Lenzarini making pasta at Golden Ravioli, 265 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth in 2021 won first prize in the contemporary category.
IN this week’s Speaker’s Corner we hear from environmental scientist MARY GRAY, who was awarded an OAM in 2022 for her tireless conservation work. Here she writes of a new “CCC” – the Climate Crisis Christmas, marked by hotter summers, fires and floods, and gifts us with some practical local measures to turn the tide.
WITH bushfires now burning in outer Perth suburbs, and the unprecedented rainfall events with flooding in and beyond Cairns in Queensland, we will unfortunately be celebrating a ‘Climate Crisis Christmas’.Some may say yet another ‘CCC’.
Dr Carolyn Orr’s article in last week’s Perth Voice clearly explained the reality of climate change extreme events of oil and gas driven heat waves, bushfires, droughts and flooding, and the need to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with renewable energy.
The Doctors for the Environment’s call for the WA government to end all new oil and especially new gas projects in WA is strongly supported. We all need to speak up for this in the public interest.
The existing WA gas industry already causes huge greenhouse gas emissions.
• Doctors for the Environment rally against WA’s expanding gas industry.
WA is the only State with emissions increasing.
As recently explained by The Australia Institute’s principal advisor Mark Ogge, Woodside’s proposed Burrup Hub expansion alone would add more than 100
million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, the equivalent of 15 new coal power stations.
And there are other new gas projects under development which will double the existing emissions from exports.
At the local government level, action on climate change is also essential.
With some new councillors and a new mayor in the City of Vincent, there is hope that there could be, and indeed will be, more action to address climate change issues.
In the State of Victoria, new buildings and extensions are now not allowed to have gas connected.
So this is a role model for the City of Vincent which could similarly require no gas in new buildings and in renovations.
Further, there could be local government incentives introduced to support ‘gas free streets’, as many householders have only one gas appliance, usually being a gas cooktop.
These can be replaced with electric cooktops.
Notably gas cooktops and other indoor gas appliances also produce air pollution emissions which have health impacts.
Solar
Gas hot water heaters can easily be replaced by solar hot water heaters with electric boosters.Encouraging more roof top solar panels is also needed.
Once over the initial capital cost of these units, electricity produced on roof tops is free, and the health impacts of emissions from gas appliances are removed.
As individuals, we can all act in this way to remove our gas appliances, and reduce our electricity costs while reducing our emissions.
IF you need a left-field antidote for all those saccharine Christmas family movies, then check out the “nastiest, sick and twisted” film festival in Perth.
Now in its 26th year, Trasharama is known for screening horror shorts with lots of gore and pitch black humour.
The festival was founded in 1997 by South Australia’s Dick Dale, who fronted nihilistic punk bands in the 1980s before turning his hand to making horror shorts and bad taste comedies.
He says his love of the macabre started when he was a school boy.
• Horror auteur Dick Dale (above) will do a Q&A screening of his “magnum opus” feature film Ribspreader in Perth.
“I was inspired by my love of VHS rentals from the 1980s that I used to hire out when I lived in Queensland,” Dale says.
“Then there are the movies you only heard about, in whispers down the back of the bike sheds or having a dart behind the boy’s loo – video nasties. Banned films.
“What unseen terrors were on these movies that were too much for our delicate Queensland eyes?
“The Queensland Censorship Board was an overzealous lot so a lot, not all of the movies were overrated anyway. You’d end up watching them on some third-generation bootleg video dub.
“They were bad quality with heaps of static and rolls and it made the films even more grimy.”
Seven years in the making, Dale’s award-winning debut feature film Ribspreader will be screening at Trasharama and he’ll be hosting a special Q&A.
The dark comedy follows Bryan Burns (Tommy Darwin), a former tobacco advertising icon whose life is in ruins.
After his mother dies of lung cancer, he is tormented by a talking cigarette from an anti-smoking billboard who blames him for his mother’s death.
Bryan’s already fragile mental state can’t handle the abuse and he snaps, transforming himself into The Ribspreader – a killer stalking the city streets, extinguishing smokers one-by-one and cutting out their lungs to make his macabre smoking jacket.
But in a city of murderers, freaks and perverts, The Ribspreader isn’t the only killer out there and it’s not long before a turf war erupts into a horrific showdown of explosive violence and bloody carnage.
“I thought it would be a great idea if an ex-cigarette icon goes completely bonkers and decides to make a ‘smoking jacket’ out of lungs!” Dale says.
“It’s inspired by my love of 1980s horror and gore movies with lashings of my yobbo low-brow straylian humour!
“It really is a comedy. If you are entertained for 90 minutes I am happy. There’ s a lot going on in this movie. I have a phobia of boredom.”
Ribspreader was an epic labour-of-love – it took seven years to make and Dale coaxed heaps of industry folk into working on the film for free.
He even used his old punk network to persuade The Damned drummer Rat Scabies to appear in the movie, and there’s also a spot for actor Laurence R Harvey, who was in the infamous Human Centipede 2.
“Myself and my many talented friends who made Ribspreader , just had to see it to the end,” Dale says.
“It’s the craziest film to ever come out of South Australia – the home of Bad Boy Bubby and Wolf Creek.
“So I pushed on and more people got involved and it snowballed!”
Dale will host a Q&A screening of Ribspreader and will be on hand to sign blu-rays of his film.
The 18+ Trasharama Film Festival and the screening of the feature film Ribspreader are on Saturday January 6 at The Backlot, Simpson St in West Perth from 4pm-9pm. Tix and the full program at www.eventbrite.com.
WHAT better Christmas present than a top-floor penthouse flat?
This five bedroom three bathroom apartment in West Perth is sure to put a big festive grin on your partner’s face.
It’s luxury personified with a heap of indulgent features including spa bath, elegant timber flooring, premium finishes and two balconies with gorgeous views of the city, river and Parliament House.
Whipping up meals will be a breeze in the huge gourmet u-shaped kitchen with stone benchtops, stainless steel appliances and tons of cupboards and drawers.
And where better to enjoy all those delightful canapés, than on on the huge balcony, which is an entertainer’s dream.
I imagine your friends will be dying to come over for sundowner drinks on the balcony, where they can enjoy those magnificent vistas.
The apartment is really well designed with lots of light-filled living areas, as well as a formal dining room and a more casual open plan dining area for a bite to eat. The king-sized master suite features an ensuite bathroom with a spa bath, wall-to-floor tiling and a stone vanity top.
There’s also two large bedrooms with built-in robes, and two rooms which could be used as bedrooms or as a study/home office.
This 300sqm home includes high ceilings, laundry, ducted reverse cycle air-con, new security intercom, and two secure car bays and a private storeroom in the basement car park.
Situated in the exclusive Waterside Kings Park complex, you have access to top-end facilities including a rooftop terrace, swimming pool with spa, sauna and a gymnasium.
From this Malcolm Street address it’s a short walk to the CBD, Swan River and Kings Park, and Subiaco isn’t much further.
So let Xmas come early and treat yourself to this swanky West Perth penthouse.
2 / 69 Malcolm Street, West Perth Hartanto Properties 9364 2788 Contact agent Eric Hartanto 0421 272 152 for a viewing
FORMER Bayswater councillor Sally Palmer is seeking a comeback at the upcoming extraordinary election for North Ward after complex political manoeuvring saw her left without a seat at October’s vote.
Ms Palmer got the second highest votes in North Ward at the bi-annual elections, and a provision in the Local Government Act would have allowed her to step into the empty seat left by councillor Filomena Piffaretti stepping up into the role of popularly-elected mayor.
But the LGA didn’t cover the unusual situation that unfolded just before the election, when Ms Piffaretti resigned but went on to win the mayoral role (“Piffaretti’s manoeuvre ousts critic,” Voice, October 28, 2023).
That meant instead of a simple next-in-line replacement, an extraordinary election has to be held in March to fill Ms Piffaretti’s now-empty ward seat.
• Sally Palmer will re-contend the by-election in March 2024
“There was no warning whatsoever,” Cr Palmer told the Voice this week. “This was four days before the result, and after everyone spent their time and money.”
In her time on council Ms Palmer had voted against the mayor on some key issues, but she told us “I’m a tough fighter when it comes to council motions, but I’d never be rude of disrespectful.”
Ms Palmer not being on council has given a five-month stretch where Cr Piffaretti’s regular supporters hold the balance of power, and has already affected at least one key council decision (“Childcare plan tied up,” Voice, December 2, 2023).
At the December 12 council meeting Ms Palmer stood up during public question time to ask Ms Piffaretti: “With the $70,000-plus cost of the forthcoming by-election, which you caused, to be held in March 2024… where will the cuts occur to pay this approximate $70,000?”
Cuts
Ms Piffaretti referred the question to CEO Jeremy Edwards, who said it come from savings found elsewhere in the budget and it’d be considered at the upcoming mid-year budget review.
Along with costing the city, this scenario has also meant Ms Palmer will pay for two election campaigns.
While not providing exact numbers, Ms Palmer said “just in costs alone, in paperwork, signage and so forth, let’s assume that costs $7,000 or $8,000.
“[Then] assume that this next election will cost $7,000 or $8,000.”
Ms Palmer says her priorities if she makes it back on council are to ensure Embleton Golf Course remains intact and to get more of a share of council funds spent on north ward projects.
PERTH councillors have voted to spend $290,000 to become the “presenting partner” of the 2024 Kings Park Lightscape, which was a sell-out last year.
Councillor David Goncalves raised concerned about giving so much money to a ticketed event that would go ahead either way.
Last year the council gave $100,000 in cash and $100,000 worth of marketing to Lightscape, which is jointly run by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (a state government agency) and Sony Music (a multinational recording company worth about $170 billion). 184,000 tickets were sold to the Perth event, with adult tickets going for $40 a head. Sony runs similar events around the world.
Cr Goncalves said: “My main issue is that instead of being asked to fund demonstrable outcomes for the community, we are effectively being asked to fund an increased marketing budget for an event that is consistently sold out anyway.
“Besides our own marketing and goodwill, I struggle to see ratepayer value in subsidising a fully-ticketed event that has the means to go ahead anyway.
“Only a mere 28 days ago did we sit here listening to deputations from a series of community-run organisations that were all appealing against the lower-than-expected funding for their events”.
At that meeting the council doled out limited standard events funding, with some projects missing out completely (“Rebranded Targa hits funding wall,” Voice, December 2, 2023).
The Lightscape money will come from a separate “Major Events Activation Reserve” set aside for big name partnerships like Lightscape.
• Visitors on the 1.8km trail of lights through Kings Park in winter 2023.
Privatisation
Cr Goncalves also pointed out “the model that Lightscape uses, although wildly commercially successful around the world, has repeatedly caused consternation in what is effectively the privatisation of already public spaces.
“Recently the timing of Lightscape in Sydney during Vivid saw local MPs point out that public space that was previously used for free events were now costing families significant sums in ticket prices without any equity measures.”
He argued Lightscape was “exciting and commendable” but the council should prioritise funding events that are “homegrown, community-controlled and where creative capital is retained in Perth”.
Lord mayor Basil Zempilas spoke warmly of the winter event: “Kings Park, for years during winter, has been empty” before Lightscape, when “Perth people were so captivated by it they came in the middle of winter, in their heavy jackets and scarves, and we demonstrated for everybody that if you put the right event on, people will come, even in the middle of winter.”
Mr Zempilas said “we want to be the big event city. We’re demonstrating that we can do it in summer, but the great cities do it in winter as well, and that’s what Lightscape allows us to do.”
After hearing out his colleagues’ arguments Cr Goncalves, a newcomer elected in October, ultimately changed his mind and voted in favour of the $290,000 spend.
Only Cr Viktor Ko lodged a no-vote, having foreshadowed a proposal to spend a lesser amount of $150,000.
That would’ve seen the City of Perth named a “major partner” rather than getting the top “Presented by” credit.
STOP AUKUS WA was due to stage a peaceful protest at 11 am yesterday, Friday December 8, outside the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The demonstration coincides with The Future of Defence in WA – AUKUS, Defence Industry and the UK’s role in the Indo-Pacific luncheon, featuring a keynote address by UK minister of state for Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
Stop AUKUS have raised concerns over the militarisation of Australian universities, citing Curtin University’s involvement in the AUKUS Workforce Alliance alongside NSW and Adelaide unis, aimed at providing skilled-up workers to build and maintain the subs.
• Stop AUKUS are opposed to nuclear submarines crossing Cockburn Sound to reach Garden Island.
Stop AUKUS say the military alliance with the US and UK aimed at “containing” China, labeling is a highly aggressive posture that threatens regional stability.
Long-time anti-nuclear campaigner and former Senator Jo Vallentine said nuclear power was “never safe”.
“It is a fallacy to claim nuclear-powered submarines act as a deterrent,” Ms Vallentine.
National Union of Students member Phoebe Burrage said Universities should be publicly-funded institutions “geared towards the social good, rather than expanding Australia’s military capacity”.
THREE in a row: Another contentious development has been approved in Vincent by the Joint Development Assessment Panel, with the state-government appointed members outvoting local elected members to approve Celsius’ rejigged North Perth apartment project.
Celsius Developments first proposed a 16-storey apartment project on the Fitzgerald Street site between Alma Road and Raglan Road, before later revising the plans down to 13 storeys.
Vincent council’s planning rules set the standard maximum at six storeys, and the 13-storey version was rejected in December 2022.
• Two years since the first plans were floated, the newest version of the Celsius apartments by Space Collective Architects have been approved.
Shortened
A year on they were back in front of the JDAP with another shortened version, this one measuring in at nine storeys.
This time round Vincent’s planning staffers, who prepare the recommendation for the JDAP members, decided nine storeys was a satisfactory “level of discretion”, given that the top three floors were set back and the building would mostly appear to be six or seven storeys from street-level.
The staff report acknowledged “off-site impacts related to overshadowing and visual privacy would not be minimised to an acceptable level” but still recommended approval.
Vincent mayor Alison Xamon is not a sitting JDAP member, but took the step of attending the November 30 meeting to speak against the proposal, armed with a PowerPoint presentation chocked with reasons the JDAP ought to vote no.
Ms Xamon said the nine storeys was inconsistent with the six-storey maximum locals envisioned for the area’s future, and that the extra 1,394 vehicle trips per day (most of them using a small right of way behind the development) would impact the safety of existing residents.
Outnumbered
Local councillors are outnumbered on the JDAP by design, with three members appointed by the state government and a maximum of two local members voting on decisions – a makeup intended to streamline big development applications.
At the November 30 meeting only one councillor was available, Alex Castle, and she voted against the project. A second local vote wouldn’t have made a difference as votes of approval were lodged by all three state government-appointed members: Francesca Lefante, Lee O’Donohue, and John Syme.
It’s the third time in the space of a month that the locally elected vote has been outnumbered by the appointed majority members (“JDAPPED AGAIN,” Voice, December 2, 2023).
The JDAP previously granted split-decision approvals to seven storey apartments on Oxford Street at their November 10 meeting, and to a drug crisis support centre on Stuart Street at the November 24 meeting, with both projects being heavily opposed by locals.
STIRLING council has backed down from a plan to scrap a policy that requires big developers to spend money on public art.
The council’s Public Art on Private Land Policy is less than a year old, and is similar to those at other municipalities that require developers of big projects to spend an additional 1 per cent of the cost on public art to beautify the area.
In August mayor Mark Irwin proposed a 12-month moratorium on the art policy, along with pausing similar rules requiring developers to spend money on public open space and on upgrading laneways when building adjacent to them.
Mr Irwin’s written justification for the removal said: “The current market conditions have resulted in a number of developments being placed on hold or cancelled as they are no longer feasible to construct.
“This is making the delivery of housing and other development in the city increasingly difficult.
“In order to assist the industry, it is considered appropriate that any additional costs that a development is required to pay are reviewed and placed on hold temporarily.”
Stirling staff investigated the polices, and at December’s meeting recommended the art contribution as the only one councillors should scrap.
The idea caused consternation in the art world, with public art consultant Helen Curtis urging the council to give the policy more of a chance. She also questioned whether any developments had truly been stalled by the impost, given the many art-incorporating projects going full-steam ahead elsewhere in the state (“Report into art scheme stall,” Voice, August 26).
At the December 5 meeting where councillors were to make the final call, ratepayer Roland Hadley said “this is not a good image for you, Mr Mayor. What benefit for the City’s ratepayers, we ask?
“The existing policies for building within the City of Stirling remain and developers should accept this.
“Which poverty-stricken developers are in need of urgent financial relief?”
Mr Irwin said he no longer supported revoking the policy, and recommended council “note” the staff review and take no further action. His colleagues agreed, and the policy remains for now.
The policy came into effect in January 2023, but didn’t apply to applications lodged before that date, and only applies to larger multi-dwelling developments worth more than $2 million.
So far there’s only been one eligible project subject to an art contribution policy, and the staff report states that “to date, no public art has been delivered through the development process”.
Perth Voice Interactive 