Perth Voice Interactive

A DOSS HOUSE just metres from the WA parliament in West Perth has been closed down following countless assaults outside and the discovery of needles in the carpark of an MP’s nearby electoral office.

Upper-house country Liberal MP Jim Chown says privately owned 3 Harvest Terrace is in a state of disrepair and has housed up to 15 residents who engage in anti-social behaviour and take drugs.

“My staff were picking up used needles on a regular basis from our carpark which backs onto the house,” he told the Voice.

“Visitors coming to my office have witnessed assaults outside the house and we had to call the police on a number of occasions.

“I’m glad it’s been shut down: aside from the anti-social behaviour and danger to my staff, the residents were at risk because the building doesn’t have smoke alarms, fire escapes and is in awful condition.”

Mr Chown says young families have stayed at the slum.

Perth city council CEO Gary Stevenson says complaints were received about the building and its residents. It shut the place down after owners La Cava Holdings failed to make it safe for habitation.

“The city placed a building order on the premises in February requiring rectification of serious building defects and related compliance issues,” Mr Stevenson says.

“The action was taken in the interests of the residents’ safety.

“The necessary work has not been undertaken and the owners have advised that the premises are now closed.”

Mr Stevenson adds council staff had asked the Salvation Army to help some residents find alternative accommodation.

“The city has contacted the owners, requesting that they properly secure the building to prevent unauthorised access,” he says.

The Voice understands the original building was built in the late 19th or early 20th century and has been extensively altered.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

IAN KER is mounting a self-funded legal challenge to the Barnett government’s council mergers.

The former Vincent councillor is hiring John Hammond—a high-profile lawyer and former Cottesloe mayor—to take on the state.

“We’re not simply going to roll over,” Mr Ker says, defiantly.

In recent months the quietly spoken council veteran has emerged as a leader of the campaign to leave Vincent alone. He says the 20-year-old municipality works well as a stand-alone city and there’s no need for it to disappear nor merge with Perth.

The basis of his legal challenge revolves around WA local government minister Tony Simpson’s labelling of most mergers as mere “boundary adjustments” save for the western suburbs group.

“Boundary adjustments” don’t trigger what’s known as the Dadour amendment in the WA local government act, which allows citizens to call a referendum, with the power to veto the proposed merger.

“What I want to see is an appropriate democratic process so the affected communities have a say in their future,” Mr Ker says.

He says the drastic changes proposed—including the disappearance of many municipalities—makes a mockery of the term.

“Clearly changes of the scale that the government is proposing are quite massive, and are even larger in terms of their impact than the sorts of changes than are envisaged in the Dadour provision in the local government act,” says Mr Ker.

He says he’s stepped forward because “nobody else was”.

“I’d been sitting there thinking surely some local government or of coalition of interests will take this on, because it was clear to me that there were process-type deficiencies in what the state government was proposing, but it wasn’t happening.”

He says councils may be reluctant to step up, fearing their replacement with commissioners.

Mr Hammond says the case is on solid ground. They’ll first write to the WA local government advisory board—which will present its plans to the minister for a yea or nay—and then consider court action if the board doesn’t agree to withdraw the minister’s proposals.

While preferring that Vincent stay as it is, Mr Ker says this challenge is about making sure locals determine their city’s future.

Meanwhile Leederville resident and Vincent councillor Matt Buckels is launching a merger challenge in his own way.

Known for getting into online wars on sites like The Worst of Perth and Skyscraper City, he’s launched a new Facebook page Vincent to Perth memes. Several propaganda images feature, including Game of Thrones character Ned Stark warning “Brace yourselves: Stirling is coming,” a stern warning from Grumpy Cat to “don’t split Vincent”, and shiba inu Doge telling Perth “I’m here waiting 4 u only”.

by DAVID BELL

AN architect with 10 years’ experience has labelled Vincent the slowest council she’s ever dealt with.

Ara Casella from AJCD has been representing Anthony Bryson who wants to build a two-storey house on Hunter Street in North Perth.

It’s taken eight months for his plans to be approved, after being deferred twice before.

“I’ve been practising as an architect and building designer for over 10 years and have never experienced this excessive deliberation over a residential proposal,”

Ms Casella bluntly told the council at last Tuesday’s meeting.

“I’m quite dismayed at the lengthy and painful delays that have occurred.

“The approval process has been tactically choreographed from neighbouring residents causing undue costs and delays and distress to all parties involved.

“My work and the work of my consultants has been questioned, and the design has been reviewed endlessly in order to satisfy the demands of neighbours, despite already being compliant.”

Mr Bryson says it isn’t a tricky development: “No bars or yoga or carparking tonight, we just want to start building our house if we can. It’s been about eight months now.”

Mayor John Carey blamed under-resourcing in the planning department and says the council is working on it.

Carlie Eldridge quit as planning chief last year so manager Petar Mrdja stepped up as acting director. The council is searching for a permanent planner.

Despite the existence of model planning clauses and development assessment panels, Mr Carey says planning workloads are increasing as the WA government demands more dense housing and bigger buildings across the suburbs. These lead to more disputes and complaints from neighbours who don’t want to live in the shadows.

“There is no doubt that we are seeing an increase in conflict between developers or applicants and neighbours,” he says.

by DAVID BELL

THE Classroom’s bartender Andy Bennett has been labelled best in town.

A co-owner of the Charles Street small bar, he says the Shaken and Stirred local competition is “by bartenders, for bartenders”.

“With so many more bars and bartenders flocking to Perth, competition in the industry is getting more intense,” he says. “We’re an industry that isn’t completely without egos. Everyone loves the one-upmanship and trying to come up with the best ideas and newest trends.”

To take out the top gong he had to devise a twist on a classic, and create an original. For the classic he took a margarita with silver tequila, and “I put a little bit of aloe vera juice to freshen it up.

“Aloe and tequila are great bedfellows, each coming from various forms of cactus… it’s super-refreshing.”

For his original he took inspiration from one of his favourite authors, Ernest Hemingway, known for creating a few drinks of his own: “He had so much to give the world of literature and the world of bartending, everything from the Hemingway Daiquiri to the Death in the Afternoon.

“I chose five of the most popular drinks he’d either invented himself or had a hand in, and I took an ingredient from each one.”

With rum from Hemingway’s beloved mojitos, absinthe from Death in the Afternoon, coconut water from his green Isaac, luxardo from the daiquiri and orgeat to sweeten (Hemingway had a lifelong fear of diabetes and abhorred sugar), Mr Bennett presented it in a hollowed-out book filled with Cuban cigar tobacco. It won over the judges, and he beat out bartenders from bars like El Publico, Varnish and the Mechanic’s Institute.

Meanwhile co-owner Daniel Sterpini was also honoured with a 40 under 40 business award, picked up for his work growing Cocktail Gastronomy and the Classroom, awarded a gold plate for best small bar in 2012. A year shy of the 40 age limit now, at 25 he was the youngest executive chef in WA, working at Chifley on the Terrace.

“I was the only person representing hospitality, so it was good that someone from hospitality got into the top 40.”

He says the night is a razzle dazzle affair, and he was so taken aback when he won he couldn’t remember all the nice things the announcer said about him.
“It’s quite overwhelming when you rock up,” he says.

by DAVID BELL

MT LAWLEY shop owners are losing patience with Beaufort Street roadworks that have taken nine months so far, with no sign of being completed anytime soon.

The works are scheduled to finish in July and include widening to accommodate bus lanes, upgrades to drainage pipes and new footpaths.

Memory Lane owner Gail Pether says some shops are without power and the piecemeal nature of the roadworks has hurt trade.

“You can put up with roadworks for a day or two, but when it’s going on for three months it becomes really difficult,” she says.

“We had to deliver to our corporate clients because it took them too long to get here, and we had dust and dirt blowing into the shop a lot.

“The most annoying thing is that they don’t do it a section at a time, they kept doing a bit, then coming back a week later to do another small bit—it’s never-ending.”

Kevin’s Deli owner Kevin says business has taken a hit.

“It’s definitely had an impact on our sales.”

“This is the kind of shop where people stop to make an impulse buy,” he says.

“So when they see roadworks, some of them will drive on and stop somewhere more convenient.

“It’s definitely had an impact on our sales.”

A Rock Inn staffer says awnings and signage had to be removed over Christmas.

“It was a bit of an inconvenience during our busiest time,” he says.

“We had to put covers over the windows to protect the guitars from the sun.

“We’ve also had problems with our telephone lines recently, but I couldn’t say if it was directly related to the roadworks.”

Stirling council director Geoff Eves says disruption to business is unavoidable.

“All of the elements are being carried out within carefully planned traffic management processes to ensure the safety of construction staff, pedestrians and motor traffic,” he says.

“While some disruption to business in the area is unavoidable during these major works, the upgrades should prove a benefit to local business on completion by providing a better transport route and improved pedestrian access.”

The works are part of a trial to create a bus route that will ultimately extend along Beaufort Street, through Perth and to UWA and the QEII medical centre.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

TERRY KENYON has requested an urgent meeting between Bayswater city council and residents of Mertome aged care village.

“Residents want to know if the village is going to be sold or if there will be a commitment to the future tenure of the village,” the former mayor told council.

The council is considering a $175 million redevelopment of the aged care site: four options range from 257 to 396 apartments, over five to seven storeys. Some $22 million is required to fund the first stage.

The council has $9m from the aged persons home and is looking to fund the $13m shortfall.

The Winifred Road home was established in 1972 and accommodates 213 people in 200 units.

It was the first of its kind to be constructed by a council and pioneered councils’ involvement in aged care. Many are now getting out of it.

Mertome’s tired facilities and pressing demand have prompted the redevelopment.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

A FITZGERALD STREET developer has lost a bid to include a 24-hour gym in a project Vincent mayor John Carey calls a “horror development”.

Narrowly approved under the Nick Catania-led council in 2007, the four-storey commercial development has been problem-plagued from the start.

First, hairdresser Jason Outten showed the Voice photos of cars belonging to staff and clients splashed with cement and a street choked with dust. Shortly after he’d complained to the council, all the cars in his carpark were scratched.

Ten-litre paint tins fell from the third storey to stain the road and parts of the building weren’t compliant with council approvals.

A structural engineer said stone slabs the developer had promised to finish the building with were too heavy, so tiles were laid instead.

Then public art the owner was supposed to pay for, using one per cent of the project’s cost, went missing.

“For their public art component it looked like they’d purchased something from Mitre 10,” John Carey says.

“It got stolen… and then another one appeared.”

The mayor says locals refer to the site as the “horror development”.

“It is without a doubt an appalling development project. A project of this kind would not be approved by the current council.

“This building is a shocker, it’s a major detriment to the North Perth town centre.

“Unfortunately we as a community and council are now suffering for it.”

Town planner Joe Douglas apologised to the council on behalf of his relative, Innocento Tizzano, for the way the project had proceeded.

“As a town planner with over 20 years of experience, most of which has been in local government, I fully appreciate the concern that the developer’s action and inaction to this point have raised,” he told councillors. He was helping Mr Tizzano with the project in an unpaid capacity.

“I sat down with the developer personally and read him the riot act in terms of compliance and significant legal powers the city has at its disposal.”

He says Mr Tizzano had suffered from being poorly advised in the early stages, was inexperienced with a project of this size, didn’t understand the processes and was pressured from the bank to finish on time.

Former mayor Nick Catania has confirmed to the Voice he’d also stepped in some months ago to help Mr Tizzano “on a friendship basis”, with no financial reward, but was no longer involved. He said he’d known the family for many years and had been happy to help for free.

When asked if he’d declared his friendship in 2007 when voting he said he couldn’t remember. According to a council agenda of the time, Mr Catania supported it.

“There’s very few people who live around that area that I don’t know,” the local community bank branch chairman and former Labor MP said.

“If I had to declare a conflict of interest for every bloody item, I’d have never got anything done.”

The council rejected the gym application unanimously, expressing scepticism of claims it would only be patronised by small numbers and wouldn’t add to parking problems.

by DAVID BELL

THE number of courts at Maylands Tennis Club has been slashed from 17 to 11 in a cost-cutting drive by Bayswater city council.

A council review revealed the club has just 78 members and costs ratepayers around $1400 per head per year. The council is responsible for most maintenance of 14 grass and three acrylic courts.

Following the review’s announcement the club launched a recruitment drive, boosting membership from 60 to 78, including a two-for-one summer deal.

Cr Terry Kenyon says the costs are still too high: “Half the courts are under water in the winter,” he says.

But that’s “complete bullshit” according to club president John Hogben who is “devastated” by the loss of courts.

“We have boosted membership by 30 per cent over six months—that is a great start,” he says.

“I understood that if we demonstrated we could increase our numbers we would be granted a reprieve.

“This cut will impact our ability to host interclub tournaments and I don’t think it will save the city much money at all.”

But Cr Kenyon says club numbers are too low: “Clubs across the city with low membership numbers need to look at amalgamating to save money, provide better facilities and attract more members—that’s reality.”

Council staff say the unused courts will continue to be mowed and may reactivate if membership increases.

Mr Hogben says the 1930-era club is one of a dying breed in Australia with grass courts. It has been at Clarkson Reserve since the early 1980s.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

MAYLANDS commuters have waited two years for a new bus shelter—but it’s in worse shape than what it replaced. One local wonders whether the same thing ever happens in Nedlands and Subiaco.

The original Clarkson Road shelter “disappeared” without warning in 2012 and was replaced six weeks ago.

Mike Coffrey, who’s caught the bus to work from the stop for six years, describes the replacement as a joke.

“The new one is in worse nick than the last one—the bench is snapped and the concrete is all cracked,” he laughs.

“After two years of waiting and this is what we get—I wonder if they would do the same in Nedlands or Subiaco?

“After the first shelter suddenly vanished two years I chased up Bayswater council, but after several phone calls back and forth, nobody seemed to know where it had gone.”