Perth Voice Interactive

Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi has slammed premier Colin Barnett’s handling of council mergers as “poorly managed, disappointing and inconsistent”.

And she implies the premier is basing his decisions on what’s in the Liberal Party’s best political interests, rather than sound planning.

Her withering criticism follows Mr Barnett’s support for amalgamating all of Vincent with Perth—despite the formal opposition of the PCC.

The new decision replaces an earlier government plan to split Vincent between Perth and Stirling.

“This is a cop out,” Ms Scaffidi says in a written statement.

“The premier has repeatedly stated that he is keen to take community concerns on board but does appear to have selective hearing according to where his seats are.”

Perth state Liberal MP Eleni Evangel was a key player in Vincent council’s campaign for an “all-in-Perth” amalgamation, helping gather 5470 signatures.

Last week she took the premier on a tour of Vincent to show him it was an urban centre and not a suburb.

Ms Evangel says it’s “a fantastic outcome”: “It really is an example of the government listening to people.”

Vincent mayor John Carey’s reaction was mixed: He’d campaigned hard for the “all-in-Perth” option but will be sad to see Vincent end as a municipality.

Vincent residents had voted overwhelmingly in a plebiscite to keep their municipality alive and he’d only supported the all-in-Perth option as he knew the premier was determined to kill Vincent, and arguing for its retention was pointless. Amalgamating with Perth was “the least bad option”, he said.

“It really is an example of the government listening to people.”

But Ms Scaffidi isn’t keen on the PCC taking on Vincent’s residential hinterlands (it had been happy to take in the commercial centres).

“The [City of Perth] now joins a growing list of strong adversaries to the way this process is being managed while previously they had been very much in sync with the government on this matter,” she said.

She reveals she’d discussed mergers with the premier and WA local government minister Tony Simpson in July and this, “revised announcement is a backflip from those directives and highlights a poorly managed process”.

She’s also unhappy with other aspects of Perth’s new border, including:

• the splitting of the Royal Perth Yacht Club;

• UWA being excluded from Perth’s boundaries; and,

• the de facto creation of a “ward structure”.

“We believe the state has positioned itself to hedge against criticism from Vincent knowing that [the local government advisory board] will make the ultimate decision,” she says.

Also unhappy are residents in a tiny sliver of Vincent known as the Banks Precinct, east of the railway line, which is planned to be carved off and given to the merged Bayswater-Bassendean super-council.

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan has described the merger process as a “dog’s breakfast”.

by DAVID BELL

Heritage buff Richard Offen is optimistic WA won’t repeat the disasters of the 1960s and 1980s when the state governments of the day oversaw the demolition of many of Perth’s historic buildings.

As part of this weekend’s Perth Heritage Days, Mr Offen is presenting a talk titled “Don’t let it happen again,” reflecting on the “destruction and vandalism” wrought on our city.

While an occasional old-timey building does still get flattened, Mr Offen is confident it won’t happen again on the same widespread scale.

“I think people have learnt,” Mr Offen says.

“You hear a lot more protesting now when somebody threatens to knock down a much-beloved building.

Perth’s history is one to celebrate

“With organisations like Heritage Perth and Time Team and popular heritage programs we’re getting on television, people are realising what we’ve lost and they don’t want it to happen again.

“I think it bodes very well for the future that people are becoming aware of their past.”

Mr Offen says Perth’s history is one to celebrate as we’re one of the most historic permanently inhabited places on Earth.

“I argue we’re older than any city in the world, given the indigenous artifacts that have been found,” he says.

“The Nyoongar people have continually inhabited this area because it was good for fishing, good for food, so I reckon we’re the oldest city in the world and that’s something to celebrate.”

Along with his talks on our old buildings, this year’s Heritage Days will delve into historic gardening with events on colonial kitchens and heritage vegetable workshops at City Farm, explaining how to grow the older varieties of vegetables like purple carrots (their original colour).

To see all events across November 16 and 17 head to http://www.heritageperth.com.au/calendar/.

by DAVID BELL

Bayswater city councillor Chris Cornish wants heritage guidelines established for Mt Lawley, which is expected to be folded into the council under the Barnett government’s council mergers.

Cr Cornish has tabled a motion for Baysy to emulate Stirling city council’s heritage program and incorporate official heritage rules into its town planning scheme.

It’s seen as a way to deflect criticism from groups like the Mt Lawley Society, which are critical of the suburb’s proposed move from Stirling to Bayswater.

“I would have thought the answer is obvious; because of the recent vociferous support of Stirling’s heritage guidelines by the [society],” he says.

“If the MLS are fully supportive of these guidelines then why wouldn’t we adopt them? I’m certainly not too proud to adopt a policy, procedure or plan just because it is from a different local government.”

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

Interminable internet speeds, crackly phone lines and stuttering VOIP feeds are plaguing Bedford locals relying on an ageing copper network.

Shaftesbury Avenue resident Annette Park says the internet is hopelessly slow in her area and internet service providers have told her little can be done because the copper is so corroded.

Her phone frequently drops out, her daughter can’t do research for school, paying bills and banking requires a saint’s patience, and watching videos online is near-impossible.

Her federal Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan says there’s no way the Liberals’ broadband plan can work because the country’s copper infrastructure is so degraded.

“Parts of the network are beyond remediation,” she says. “Obviously we need fibre-to-the-home in these areas as a matter of priority.”

The Liberals’ NBN-lite—labelled “fraudband” by critics—will use optic fibre to the “node” (a box in the street), with copper between the node and homes.

Labor’s NBN had optic fibre going directly to homes, maintaining high speeds and ending reliance on the ageing copper network.

Along with dismal speeds, the limited capacity of copper is also becoming a problem: In Ms Park’s neighbourhood, no more connections are possible. If anyone subdivides and needs an extra phone line they may be out of luck.

Meanwhile as suburban areas see increasing infill, the copper-dependent internet is slowing due to increasing demand.

People relying on wireless are learning that the more people there are trying to bounce signals off a tower or dish, the slower the service gets, often dramatically.

Ms MacTiernan says the system is already struggling and will be hopelessly outdated before we know it.

Federal communications minister Malcolm Turnbull maintains the copper network can deliver 25 to 100mbps, despite heated criticism from IT experts.

However the Coalition concedes it will have to get rid of a small amount of copper that’s too degraded to carry its NBN-lite project, and instead provide those areas fibre-to-the-premises.

Under Labor’s plan, connection costs were borne by NBN Co. Under the Coalition, anyone wanting fibre to the home must pay, with some estimating the connection cost at between $2000 to $5000.

The Abbott government believes only nine per cent of the copper network will require replacement: Ms MacTiernan says that’s a huge underestimation. She’s calling on locals with sub-par internet speeds or crackly phone lines to contact her office on 9272 3411.

by DAVID BELL

For more than a decade Benedict Moleta has been plugging away, working on his music.

There was a time when the North Perth muso had dreams of fame, sending out press releases nationwide and gigging hard at pubs just about every weekend in a bid to break the big time.

With his eighth album The Magical World just wrapped up, these days he’s more low-key.

“I find it pretty unrewarding exerting a lot of energy on promotional strategies,” he says.

“Quite frankly, having done eight albums and pursued various promotion strategies over the years, with this one I’ve reverted to the approach I had before I got into the music scene, which is a quite innocent and simple approach to marketing. I haven’t done a whole lot of emailing or marketing across the whole country.”

Playing in noisy pubs where music can’t be heard and owners gauge your success by how many beers they sell is also something he’s not missing. “In 2005 I started organising gigs outside the normal music venues, like in town halls and art galleries.

“The environment being nicer, being quieter, it’s much more open to a broader group of ages: Kids can come, which doesn’t happen in pubs… [and] also older people who don’t want to put up with the action at pubs.”

He used to hear from older friends with kids, “I’d love to come to the gig, but there’s no way I can come to the Rosemount at 11pm, so I’ll have to miss out”.

With that in mind he’s planned his launch for The Magical World at the Maylands Yacht Club, a venue he’s played at a couple of times in the past and really enjoyed for its family atmosphere.

The largely acoustic storytelling record is steeped in local culture (and sung in a Australian accent, oddly rare amongst local musos). Moleta writes about local experiences, about his friends, and Happy Girl is a song about his dog Midnight, a striking black kelpie cross that’s a regular sight around North Perth.

The launch is November 16, 7.30pm.

by DAVID BELL

Manna Inc must move its free food service from Weld Square within 12 months following a decision by Vincent council, but founder Bev Lowe says she’s pleased the council will help the group find a new venue.

“This was a wonderful outcome for us, for them to give us an extended time in the park but also to pledge to help us find another venue to best help people,” Ms Lowe says.

For 18 years Manna has been feeding 200 to 250 people at a time from the square, the vast majority either homeless, poor or mentally ill.

Following complaints from neighbours about noise, squabbles and rubbish, the council this week reviewed the arrangement.

Council staff monitored operations for a week and recommended Manna be told to move on after six months.

Deputy mayor Ros Harley moved for the extension, and a pledge the council will help find an alternative location.

“It was certainly very encouraging, their response,” Ms Lowe says.

“I think the councillors were marvelous.

“One of the councillors is even going to come and volunteer in the kitchen.”

Mayor John Carey says Manna is not the sole source of problems at the park, with late-night behaviour a problem when Manna isn’t there.

Some rubbish left around the place also appears to be from the nearby McDonald’s, and the council has asked the corporation to clean up the mess left behind by its customers.

by DAVID BELL

The Beaufort Street festival is back for its fourth year Saturday November 16. The community-driven event attracted more than 100,000 to the shopping strip last year.

Along with a return of the hugely popular dog show (there are categories for puppies, cutest dogs, best costumes and meanest/ugliest pooches), there’s music all day across four stages, kid zones, fashion, and the Bouncing Orange food stage on Harold Street with a line up of chefs across the day.

Pictured here are dog fashion show entrants Molly and Chewie with festival organisers Amy Stokes and Christa McLintock. All the info is at http://www.beaufortstreetfestival.com.au

Following low voter turnouts across WA’s council elections last month, Vincent mayor John Carey wants compulsory voting introduced.

“Often people are most passionate about local issues, and given this interest in people’s daily lives it seems bizarre to me that we have compulsory voting in state and federal regimes but we don’t for local,” he says.

“When you speak to state and federal politicians it’s quite interesting that when they go door-knocking often the number one issues raised are local government issues: Parks, parking, footpaths…”

Notre Dame University politics lecturer Martin Drum says compulsory voting in council elections increases turnouts, which helps to add, “legitimacy to those elected, as they more genuinely represent the wider community sentiment if more people vote”.

“Furthermore, compulsory voting forces our elected representatives to seek broader support for their positions, rather than catering only to specific sections of the community.”

Mr Carey would also like to see online voting given a go, to make it easier for people to have their say.

The Barnett government has ruled out compulsory voting for councils.

by DAVID BELL

A poor turnout for the first-ever Pride parade to be held during the day has been blamed on the midday heat.

Ben Bowtell is musical director of Wasamba, who marched on the day. He says the band will carefully consider whether it’ll march in future daytime events.

“We have to run it by our members and see what the consensus is, but generally for health and safety reasons we are leaning towards not doing it if it’s going to be a similar heat because there was a lot of people who were struggling, almost fainting,” he told the Voice.

“Even though we made our members drink a lot of water and put a lot of sunscreen on, a lot of people were dehydrated and sunburnt at the end.”

Pride co-president Daniel Smith issued a statement saying “like all of us, we would like to see more participants in the parade, and we would like to see the massive crowds the event used to attract years ago.

“The truth is, participation in the parade, float quality and spectator numbers have been falling for about 10 years. For many, the parade had become a negative representation of our community.

The parade had become a negative representation of our community

“What we have started, this year, is a long-term strategy for addressing this.

“By staging the parade during the day, we aimed to send a positive message about LGBTI Western Australians—that we live our lives in full sunlight, in every aspect of society, not just in the clubs and pubs of night-time Northbridge.

“We want to make the event accessible and enjoyable by people of all ages, and of all backgrounds.”

His statement said shifting the parade to a cooler time of year heightened the risk of parade-destroying rain. Organisers will consider water stations along the way if the daytime slot continues.

Disclosure: The Voice’s Jenny D’Anger is a founding member of Wasamba and she reports crowds are usually five-deep at the barriers. This time around numbers were “distinctly sickly”.

by DAVID BELL