Perth Voice Interactive

Scorching hot demand for more inner-suburbs school places can be met by making better use of state government land throughout Vincent, says a local council candidate.

James Peart, who has a two-year-old, says places are currently so tight that small children are travelling up to 7km for kindy and 3km for primary school.

“Some parents are having to drive out to Floreat to drop one kid off at kindy and back to West Leederville to drop another off at school,” he says.

Ideal

He says the School of Isolated and Distance Education in Oxford Street (virtually opposite the Luna) would be ideal for a new school. It is centrally located, largely idle and distance-education classes run from there could be done from any education department building.

“It’s a prime location that needs a school,” says Mr Peart, known for riding around town on a bike festooned with “All-in, one-in: Vincent to Perth”.

East Perth also has plenty of unused land that could be transformed for school use and, if mergers go ahead and Vincent HQ becomes unoccupied, that could also be modified.

“Since the Liberal government closed down Leederville primary school in the 1990s, local schools have struggled to keep up,” he says. At the time Leederville had small numbers, but Mr Peart says it was short-sighted to not realise demographics can quickly change.

Mr Peart says it’s important children learn to walk to school—to foster independence and physical activity—and that means avoiding wherever possible the need for them to cross major roads.

“I passionately believe that it’s a real handicap for kids if they’re driven to school from a young age,” he says. “They become so reliant on their parents.”

An ex-urban planner who doesn’t belong to any political party, Mr Peart decided to nominate after getting involved with the campaign to amalgamate Vincent with Perth rather than split between Perth and Stirling.

by DAVID BELL

Vincent’s hopes of being incorporated wholly into Perth are looking shaky, with the capital city council said to be reluctant to agree to the plan.

Without PCC support for a holus bolus takeover the premier’s preferred option—to split Vincent between Perth and Stirling—is back in the frame as the most likely outcome. Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi and her councillors are publicly saying nothing, but the smoke signals coming out of Council House are clear—Vincent can’t count on its big neighbour’s support.

Vincent councillor Matt Buckels is furious, saying Perth must take all of Vincent if it is serious about being a real capital city.

“Earth to City of Perth… get with the program—real cities need real people,” he says in a letter in today’s Voice, mocking that the lord mayor needs just 2500 votes to be elected. “The PCC has the electoral clout of centre management at the Dog Swamp shopping centre,” he notes, with a message to Perth electors.

“My message to Perth ratepayers: Vote for councillors who want to lead a real city and not just enjoy the gravy train.”

Cr Buckels believes “self-interest” by serving councillors might be behind the reported reluctance to embrace Vincent, with incumbent councillors fearing for their futures.

If Perth merges with Vincent and the new bigger council elects eight councillors plus the lord mayor, residents of what is now Vincent will have significant voting power, and be able to command half or more of the council. Cr Buckels describes the premier’s preferred split-plan as madness.

“Whichever genius decided Beaufort Street would benefit from having not one, not two, but three local governments in charge, well, they deserve an ‘idiot of the year’ medal and to be put on paper clip-sorting duty for a month, if that’s not beyond them,” he says.

Matt Buckels is hoping for another term at Vincent, warning voters the council’s experience pool is endangered.

With senior-most councillor Dudley Maier standing down and four-year veteran Warren McGrath calling it a day, he and Cr Josh Topelberg are the two longest-serving councillors (with each having just four years under their belts).

Their seats will be hotly contested in October, with 16 candidates vying for four spots.

Cr Buckels says with so many new faces, Vincent’s in danger of losing its experience and continuity.

“There is a risk that there’s a lot of unknown entities running.”

He’s asking voters for a second go, saying locals should keep long-termers on council if they’re happy with what’s been done recently with town centre upgrades, Hyde Park restoration, Beatty Park upgrade and movement on the big picture masterplans and planning scheme.

“We’ve cleaned out the old stagnant regime and embraced progressive change,” the urban planner says.

“I want to stay a part of that and get things done.

“I think council has done some really good things and it would be a shame to lose that continuity.”

The outgoing Cr Maier says continuity is good, but what’s more important is having councillors who are enthusiastic, interested, and available.

“I think the most important thing is that people are connected with the community and prepared to work hard,” Cr Maier says.

He says in his eight years, “I’ve seen councillors who’ve been there for a long time who haven’t contributed a great deal”.

by DAVID BELL

Katrina Montaut (above) an ex-staffer for former state Labor MP John Hyde, will have a tilt at Vincent council.

Since Mr Hyde lost office in March, Ms Montaut says she’s enjoyed a break to “drink coffee and be fabulous,” while accepting some events consulting work.

As an electorate staffer much of her day to day work was helping locals with issues and she believes this will translate well to an elected council role.

“One particular lady used to complain that the soles of her shoes weren’t lasting as long as they used to,” she remembers. “She was gorgeous. We provided her advice on how to follow up with consumer affairs.”

An executive member on the Beaufort Street Network, she co-chaired the street’s festival. A long-time ALP member she wants better east-west transport and says Vincent needs to prepare for a merger with Perth brought down from on high by the Barnett government.

“We need to maintain and strengthen our community before we go into the shadow of the high rises,” she warns.

There could be a second copper on Vincent city council next month, with senior police officer Tony Brackenreg hoping to join traffic enforcer John Pintabona.

Mr Brackenreg says he’s running because he enjoys working with the community in his policing role, and Cr Pintabona encouraged him to put his hand up.

“I was a bit reluctant to start with but he was keen for me to get on board,” he says.

“I started as a police cadet and went into uniform at 19, and did a bit of country service.

“The most rewarding job I had was when I was officer in charge in Toodyay. I got involved with the community and made some positive differences.”

Mr Brackenreg, who’s not a member of any political party, lives on Stirling Street and has seen first-hand how the street prostitution problem boiled over.

He says another major issue for locals in the area is city commuters clogging streets and leaving residents completely parked out.

“I see it every day: People getting out of their cars in suits and walking into the city.”

He says Alannah MacTiernan did a good job as mayor and he supports her move for a plebiscite to ask locals who they’d prefer to merge with.

Vincent council’s longest serving member Dudley Maier is calling it a day.

First elected in 2005, Cr Maier says he needs a break and plans to do some bike touring with partner Sally Lake, a former councillor: “I thought I could keep working the next couple or years and then go cycle touring, or take a break now.  I’m physically tired.”

Cr Maier, who turns 60 next year, says, “It was a very hard decision and I had lots of sleepless nights over it”.

He had his 150-word candidate statement ready to submit Thursday morning but ultimately decided to put it back in the drawer. “Sometimes I think I regret it, but I can’t go back.”

North Perth primary P&C president Kirstyn Johnson has nominated for Vincent’s hotly contested north ward, saying she wants to expand her work in the community.

As part of the P&C team she’s fought hard for safety improvements in the area, including getting the school crossing for Charles Street (a problem that had lingered for 20-odd years).

“I love a good letter to a politician!” Ms Johnson says. “I wrote letters to everyone I’d ever heard off. My husband joked that I got a PhD in road safety.”

With Ms Johnson at the helm the P&C also secured a school zone for View Street, getting new local MP Eleni Evangel on board to bend the Barnett government’s ear and slow speeding cars.

She also helped turn around the ailing Loftus Community Centre, which was deep in deficit when Ms Johnson and a couple of others joined the management community.

Ms Johnson says if elected she’ll support festivals, cultural events, farmers’ markets and continued investment in play spaces, as well as pedestrian and cycling access, describing Vincent as having “a walking culture”.

Retiring councillor Dudley Maier, who’s done an eight-year stretch at Vincent and is looking forward to parole, reckons Ms Johnson’s the best person for the job: “I’ve seen her work in the community at the Loftus Community Centre and the North Perth primary school and she’s just done a fantastic job in both of those roles and never sought any recognition.”

He says she worked tirelessly to secure the crossing.

“She just didn’t give up: She persisted and understood how you have to deal with state government bureaucracy and she organised well.

“I’d be very comfortable with her representing me.”

Ms Johnson, who has three kids, says she hopes there’s a big voter turnout. A supporter of the campaign to merge a united Vincent with Perth, she’s optimistic the plebiscite asking residents about mergers will encourage more people to send in their council ballots.

Manufacturing business manager Angelo Merlacco will take on Vincent councillor John Carey in the race for mayor.

Mr Merlacco is promising an end to money being “wasted” on public art, baulking at the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the Beaufort Street lettering, big blue head and alternative street signs.

Most of the cash comes from developers who must put aside one per cent of the cost of big projects into the arts fund, but Mr Merlacco says that money could be better spent, such as on free parking. “I love art, don’t get me wrong, but you have to draw the line somewhere.”

Cr Carey says it’s a cheap swipe and would gut the fund’s intention. The acting mayor says the amount spent is “a very small component of our overall budget”—about 0.7 per cent—and reckons art livens up the area and attracts visitors.

While Cr Carey’s first preference is to keep Vincent as it is, he’s decided the more practical route is to campaign to get the entire city taken into Perth, to avoid the community being split down the middle. He says the all-in to Perth plan has more chance of winning WA government support.

But Mr Merlacco says he’ll oppose any change at all.

“If elected I’ll fight this until I’m blue in the face.”

Cr Carey is an ALP member while Mr Merlacco—who’s clashed previously with Ms MacTiernan—is not, but says he’s a Labor voter.

“John Carey is a very good councillor and a very good candidate,” Mr Merlacco says. “I just feel that I’ve got a lot to offer: I’ve got a drive and I’m results driven.”

• The makeover of Prince Lane is complete. Some $800,000 was spent as part of Perth city council’s ongoing laneway revitalisation program to do up the once-tired alleyway. Six WA artists were hired to come up with designs inspired by neighbouring King Street, and new gutters, granite kerbs and lighting were installed. The PCC’s hoping it’ll attract more investment in the area (which is predicted to take off with the sinking of the Fremantle line), and pieces by local artists have proved to keep taggers away. It’s the fourth laneway to be spruced up after Wolf, Howard and Grand Lanes each received fresh coats of paint. Photos by Jeremy Dixon