Perth Voice Interactive

RAINE SQUARE will be celebrating International Women’ Day throughout March through art, fashion and storytelling.

The stunning avant-garde gowns and headdresses from one-time international showgirl turned designer Janelle D’Souza’s label The Showgirl’s Crown will greet customers to the BankWest lobby, each creation made from recycled materials such as water bottles, insulation, or fencing paintbrushes.

On the ground floor will be an interactive short story machine, featuring a selection of female-focussed stories put together by Dress for Success WA, Night Parrot Press, Community Arts Network and Writing WA.

Upstairs in Bankwest’s retail section will be a collection of portraits celebrating the journeys of female-identifying members of Perth’s community, showcasing the resilience, creativity and empowerment.

There’s also a Shop to Support fashion pop-up, colour theory pop-up with The Lip Lab Perth and a collection drive hosted by Dress for Success Australia where pre-loved corporate attire can be donated to help empower the next generation of young women entering the worforce.

WA Labor has pledged $30 million towards upgrading Dorrien Gardens and the WA Italian Club in West Perth if it wins the March 8 state election, including the construction of 240 apartments along Fitzgerald and Lawley Streets.

The redevelopment was adopted by Vincent council in November 2024 and includes a new public piazza and joint facilities for the WA Italian Club and Perth Soccer Club.

Upgrades to the soccer club will allow it to meet growing player numbers with a new 700-seat grandstand, upgraded pitches, and a new building with change rooms, a gymnasium, physiotherapy and function rooms with a commercial kitchen. 

Catering for the number of women taking up the “beautiful game” is also part of the move to upgrade the facilities.

Vincent submitted funding applications to both the state and federal governments in December last year, and while the two clubs are expected to make a contribution, Labor’s promise is reliant on the remainder of the $75 million total cost to be found from “other tiers of government and private sector contributions”.

Vincent will also be asked to chip in a parcel of land it owns on the site, which is currently managed by the soccer club. 

The proposal also includes a widened pedestrian connection from Fitzgerald Street through the Italian Club site to the piazza, creating a more accessible and vibrant community space. Ground-floor hospitality venues, alfresco dining, and retail spaces will activate the area, with the aim to make it a key destination for locals.

Labor says the project will be a major revitalisation with housing along a key transport route, reflecting its commitment to attract more people and families to live in the inner city.

Premier Roger Cook said: “The WA Italian Club has a significant 90-year history here on Fitzgerald Street and this redevelopment will create an activated precinct that serves our community for the next 90 years.

“The Dorrien Gardens precinct offers a unique opportunity to establish a world-class recreation and cultural hub that services the local community and provides more opportunities to grow young people and women’s participation in sport.

“Importantly, it will also provide Western Australians and families with more choice when it comes to housing and living in the city, with 240 new apartments to be built as part of the redevelopment.

“Only WA Labor has a plan to create vibrant communities and bolster housing supply, supporting Perth’s long-term growth and paving the way for a thriving future for Western Australians.”

Perth state Labor MP John Carey said: “The project has been mooted for a long time – and this funding commitment represents a fantastic opportunity to reimagine the precinct as a vibrant hub for our local community.

“I’m really excited about the creation of a new public square which celebrates local Italian culture and history – and creates better amenity for the whole area.”

by STEVE GRANT

STIRLING council has quietly stuck the knife into locally-owned legacy media and will instead line the pockets of billionaire US technocrats like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg when advertising development applications.

Tucked away in an attachment to this week’s council agenda – which sailed through without a single debate on any item – council staff had altered the City’s planning policy on community consultation to remove a requirement that affected ratepayers are alerted to development applications through an ad in a local newspaper.

Instead, the City has left itself the cheaper option of advertising on one of its social media platforms, primarily owned by US companies such as Zuckerberg’s Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger) or Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).

Community groups, who’d also been on the list of those to be notified of developments big or small, were similarly expunged and ratepayers not welded to their social media will now have to rely on their ward councillors to keep them up-to-date.

Other changes to the policy include removing a requirement that developers reimburse the City for any expenses it occurs advertising complex applications, and doing away with re-advertising applications when minor changes have been made.

The changes to the policy were sparked by a request from councillor Elizabeth Re in 2024 to have tables added to committee agendas showing how close respondents to consultation lived to the development and whether they were even Stirling residents.

“A table would make it easier for both the councillors and the public to ascertain the views of the community after a consultation process on a topic and would show how the issue is considered by those in close proximity to the site and those not located in the City of Stirling,” Cr Re had written about her motion.

Overhaul

Staff then took the opportunity to overhaul the whole document, bringing it in line with other updated policies and regulations, as well as “waiving the requirement for public consultation in certain circumstances, and several administrative improvements”.

“A key feature of the Community Engagement Policy is the requirement for business units to develop consultation procedures for decision-making, communication, and feedback,” a report to the council noted.

“At a minimum, these procedures will include consultation requirements, impacted consultation radius,

how submissions are to be considered and reporting formats for feedback on decisions.”

The amended policy was advertised and received just two submissions, both favouring the policy and one suggesting QR codes on signs and letters directing people to the appropriate page on the City’s website, which got the nod from staff.

Disclaimer and Editor’s comment: While the Voice hasn’t benefited from these style of adverts in the past, it’s clear that as a locally-owned and independent newsroom we’ve got skin in the game; and we’re not the only ones. Local newsrooms such as the SevenWest-owned PerthNow Stirling, WAMN News, WA Today and The West itself are all affected by this chipping away at our revenue base – all while the federal government wrings its hands over Australia’s declining media diversity. It’s convened inquiries, propped up regional newsrooms with taxpayer-funded bailouts, and brawled with Zuckerberg to try and show it’s doing something to protect journalism, but the answer is simple: Supporting local, independent newsrooms through advertising is a better long-term solution than quick-fix bailouts. All spheres of government should also consider whether the social media sites they’ve been fuelling with millions upon millions of taxpayer funds have earned the social capital to deserve that largesse. 

Steve Grant, Editor

by STEVE GRANT

WHEN the apartment block Lucyanna came on the market in 2021, it was an “investor’s dream”; 24 apartments tucked away just behind Inglewood’s main strip.

But neighbours say since the Department of Communities snapped up the property that dream has turned into a nightmare because of the anti-social behaviour of some of its new tenants.

At this week’s Stirling council meeting, a local described being “terrified” and “terrorised” by the antics of some of the complex’s tenants over the last couple of months and implored mayor Mark Irwin to write to housing minister John Carey seeking intervention.

“Amongst many, many other things, residents and their visitors have had sex on the balcony in the middle of the day in full view of three businesses, have terrorised patrons and damaged property at a local cafe with a wooden picket, have left drug paraphernalia in the carpark in the laneway adjacent to the property, and finally, last week visitors to the complex have begun announcing to local businesses that the KGB has arrived in a threatening manner,” Maria told the chamber (the Chook has withheld her surname).

Maria said a group of residents had met with Department of Communities staff on January 23 to air their concerns and to ask for Stirling’s mobile CCTV to be brought back and were advised that was locked in at a meeting between the department, council officers and police.

“It is now February 18 and the CCTV tower still hasn’t arrived in that time,” she said.

The City’s community development director Michael Quirk admitted he was unaware of the City’s commitment from that meeting, but said he’d be happy to see the CCTV tower put there.

“It is important to note that the mobile CCTV is in high demand, so it does rotate around the city quite often, and it certainly isn’t going to be the solution to some of the issues you’ve experienced,” Mr Quirk said.

“The community safety team are certainly happy to work with residents about lots of different strategies that we’ve deployed in similar circumstances.”

Maria says the nub of the problem is Communities’ decision to put exclusively social housing tenants in Lucyanna.

“I believe this whole situation would have been avoided by making the complex of mixed tenure, which is a combination of private, affordable and social housing.

“The City of Perth has two new high-density housing projects, one in Pier Street and the other where Stirling Towers once stood on Smith Street, and they will both be mixed tenure with 30 per cent social housing dwellings, which I believe is a great fit for both the local community and the housing tenants themselves.”

Maria fears things will get even worse when Communities builds another social housing complex just up the road on Beaufort Street opposite the Inglewood Hotel.

“The planned high-density housing project for 969 – 971 Beaufort Street will also be 100 per cent state housing, which, given the effect that 157 has had on the community so far, I believe doing the same for a complex with more than double the occupancy of [Lucyanna], that is extremely irresponsible, and I also think it’s extremely unfair.”

Mr Irwin agreed to write to Mr Carey putting the community’s concerns, saying local councillors and the community had made him aware of the problems in the last week..

“I don’t disagree with you at all,” Mr Irwin told Maria.

by STEVE GRANT

FARRINGTON Road is set to become less dangerous after the WA government announced safety upgrades for the stretch east of Bibra Drive. 

The upgrade will include a signalised pedestrian crossing near the intersection of Aulberry Parade, which services the nearby Leeming Senior High School and the local shopping centre on Farrington Road. 

Additionally, the speed limit on Farrington between Bibra Drive and the eastern end, over the freeway, will be reduced from 70kmh to 60kmh. 

A group of community members, including Leeming residents, parents, Melville and Cockburn council staff and councillors, state member for Jandakot Stephen Pratt, have been advocating for the changes since 2019. 

Leeming resident Con Abbott was part of the group of community members pushing the changes, and says they are a “really good outcome” for an area which has been a “nightmare” for pedestrians and drivers alike. 

“You can never stop reckless drivers, but you can assist people who are sensible and apply common sense, and that’s what these crossings do,” Mr Abbott said.
“Does it mean the road is perfectly safe? Of course not, but we’re really pleased that we’ve been able to tick of a number of the key initiatives that the community identified nearly six years ago.”

A request had been made to the State government in September last year, which was knocked back by deputy premier and transport minister Rita Saffioti who said the 70kmh speed limit was “appropriate” and “in line” with other roads in the Leeming area. 

However, following strong advocacy from the group, the Government appears to have reversed its decision in what Mr Abbott calls a “common sense approach” to improving Farrington’s safety. 

“Governments are a bit like aircraft carriers, they take a while to change position, so we’ve had to be patient,” Mr Abbott said. 

“Patience has its reward, and so does the advocacy efforts of everyone involved… unless you’re pursuing it, change doesn’t necessarily happen.

“The world is run by people who show up, and results are achieved because people are willing to advocate, and if they receive a knockback, advocate all over again.”  

Mr Abbott says he is keen to see the Road Safety Commission become independent from the state government “with its own statutory authority” in order to more effectively address road safety issues statewide. 

Enforcement

“Road safety is more than just law enforcement, more than just education, and more than road design, it’s all those things and more,” Mr Abbott said. 

“[An independent Commission] would actually drive the safety agenda, rather than being a subset of another public sector organisation, and would have the governance to drive change. 

“If there was a school shooting in the middle of Perth, it’ll be on every news service for the next week, but if three people die in a road crash which happens all the time, there’s a blush of news and then it’s gone… road safety needs to become a far higher priority.”

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER

THE sudden and totally unexpected closures of the cafes at the Fremantle Arts and Leisure Centres is an unmitigated disaster for the City of Fremantle’s competitive leasing program.

It is too simplistic to only blame operators Gavin and Penny Wilcock of GAP Kitchens for their naivety in taking them on without cafe experience. 

They were granted a lease for both premises in 2023, the Wilcocks relocating from Alice Springs to Fremantle to run their two new ventures.

Council records show they were chosen as the preferred applicants by the selection panel, and council unanimously endorsed the staff recommendation.

The public EOI started when Fremantle City staff refused to renew the lease for the Canvas cafe at the FAC for Triet and Loan, who had been successfully operating it for 11 years. 

They were told the City could not simply renew their lease and it had to go out to public tender, although the  operators had offered to renovate the cafe’s kitchen at their own expense.

And so the disaster we are having now started. 

The FAC cafe was vacant for nearly two years, but finally, in September 2023, mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge announced the arts and leisure centre cafes had been leased to the same company. 

“The chosen operator has a track-record of working with communities to create appropriate and interesting menus and I think they could be a real asset to Fremantle,” the mayor said.

“Council’s decision reinforces our desire to attract new business to Fremantle.  Gavin and Penny are making a lifestyle choice to relocate here and dedicate themselves to this new opportunity.” 

Catering

GAP had been operating a catering business in the Northern Territory for five years and Mr Wilcock had been an executive chef at the Inter Continental Hotel Group before that for 18 years. 

They opened the Freo cafes in June last year. The GAP website indicates the business is still operating in Alice Springs.

So why did the cafes in Fremantle falter?

I am active on social media, but never noticed any promotion or advertising for the cafes in the eight months they were open. 

When I was at the Fremantle Arts Centre last week an A-sign inside the courtyard advertised coffee and sandwiches and that the cafe was open to the public. Why was it inside the FAC and not outside on the street?

Fremantle council stated that they had offered the operators more support. What? Offering more financial support to a company that was already enjoying a rent-free period? 

What Fremantle City should be doing is demanding rent for the eight months GAP Kitchen leased the premises.

They signed a 10-year lease and can just walk out after the rent-free period without being penalised for it? 

Fremantle council also needs to have a good hard look at its competitive leasing program. 

Why does it let successful operators go, to make way for others who have less or no experience? 

One also has to question why that competitive leasing program does not appear to apply to cafes such as Gino’s and Moore&Moore. Why are they exempt?

Freo City stated that they are talking to cafe owners, to see if any of them is willing to run the cafes on an interim basis.

It will then again engage in an Expressions of Interest process, I assume. The big question is if any of the current staff members are qualified and competent enough to select the right applicant. 

History shows that we should be worried about that. 

The city needs to stop reinventing the wheel, stop trying to fix things that are not broken, and stop punishing successful small businesses, by forcing them out, to make way for unproven new ones, that regularly fail!

Roel Loopers/FREOVIEW

SOME call her the Queen of Fremantle, and it’s an apt name given Rosslyn de Souza was crowned Community Citizen of the Year last week for her long-standing contribution to Fremantle’s arts and culture scene.

A 30-year resident and art curator, Ms de Souza was the driving force behind the Outside the Box Gallery in Woodsons Arcade, which platforms young artists from schools around Fremantle alongside disability arts group DADAA. 

Ms de Souza also managed ArtWalk Freo, the biannual opening of Fremantle artists’ homes and studios for the public to access their work, ideas, and creativity. 

It’s all part of Ms de Souza’s effort to make her hometown better, more beautiful, and therefore more welcoming to both its residents and the people who drift in and out of the port city. 

Effort

“I have always felt that in order to live in a town, you have to make an effort, you can’t just sit back and let the bureaucratic system do it for you,” Ms de Souza said. 

“I also believe in the empowerment of making beauty, especially when there is so much sadness in the world.”

Living by the old Irish adage that “slow water weareth the stone”, Ms de Souza can often be seen with a bucket and sponge outside her beloved Street Gallery shopfronts, scrubbing graffiti, painting, and making sure the glass is gleaming for patrons to peer through. 

It’s this passion for accessible beauty that inspired Ms de Souza to reinvigorate Woodsons Arcade with the Outside the Box Gallery, which she describes as a “project of the heart” where so many of Fremantle’s youth are able to showcase their art in an otherwise underutilised space. 

“We did an incredible makeover on a very small budget, because everybody came together and it was a community effort, and no money was changed,” she said. 

“It was a project of the heart, and what I like about it is that it’s brought together DADAA, the Studio School next door, so those students will take over from me as a succession plan.”

At the award ceremony last week, Uncle Gerard Shaw delivered a “wonderful” Welcome to Country which addressed the meaning of life, which struck a chord within Ms de Souza. 

“The meaning of life is to find your gift… the purpose of life is to give it away,” Mr Shaw said.

“I’m putting it in my own words, but the message was that it’s up to the individual to recognise their own gift, to explore it, burnish it, use it, share it, and give it away,” Ms de Souza said.

“Everybody has something that they can do so easily, and so often they disregard it… If I have a gift, it’s organisational, and I have a gift of connecting people.

“If I can introduce people for no ulterior motive other than to synergise, I can get something else, and that really resonated with me.”

Ms de Souza has decided she will be wearing her medal around town to acknowledge the “unsung heroes” around Fremantle who work tirelessly to transform it and to make it more beautiful, so its residents can love and appreciate their home. 

It’s people like these who make Fremantle so special, according to Ms de Souza, who says she is “so hopeful” for its future. 

“There’s a village within our city, and it brings together like minded people – not everyone is like minded, but a cross section of people are very tolerant, and very generous,” Ms de Souza said. 

“You can pick up on it, not just because we know each other, but it’s a soul thing…there’s a feeling of care for the environment, a feeling for each other, and if there’s some problem, they all band together and support each other. 

“Other places are perhaps monoculture, but this isn’t.”

Ms de Souza, who is a “firm believer in community and its empowerment”, says she was “so touched” to be nominated for the award and had not expected to win. 

“There was a lovely buzz of anticipation at the ceremony…when I heard all of the other nominees, I was thinking well gosh, I’m in great company here, and I was really proud,” she said. 

“When the mayor started to read our all of the things that the winner has done, I was so thrilled, because I thought, wow, that’s what I’ve been doing. 

“It was really super.” 

More information about the Community Citizen of the Year award, including Senior Citizen of the Year Robert Chapman and Young Citizen of the Rosie Chute, is available on the City of Fremantle’s news and media page.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER

THE state candidates for Fremantle faced off in a tumultuous and entertaining “great debate” at Notre Dame on Wednesday evening. 

Natashia Boland from the Animal Justice Party, the Greens’ Felicity Townsend, independent Kate Hulett, and WA Labor’s Simone McGurk were all brave enough to face a 300-strong crowd full of Fremantle’s passionate voter base. 

Liberal Party candidate Serena Kipling, Legalise Cannabis Party WA’s Dave Foley, Nicoletta Raffaelli from the Shooters, Farmers, and Fishers Party, and Peter Watt from the Australian Christians were no-shows. 

Moderated by Freo Chamber of Commerce CEO Chrissie Maus, the debate was a game-show style where the fact checkers – Notre Dame dean Martin Drum, Fremantle Shipping News editor Michael Barker, and Christian Mauri from the Fremantle Network – also had the power to give yellow and red cards to disorderly audience members. 

Animal Justice Party candidate Natashia Boland appeared to be a fan favourite, saying she was “scared” but “excited” to be debating her competition in what will be her first election campaign. 

Ms Boland says Animal Justice are “absolutely not a single-issue party” and highlighted policies aimed at people and environment, while also highlighting the party’s eagerness to win seats in the Upper House and not just Fremantle. 

Longtime member for Fremantle Simone McGurk was peppered by questions from the audience about everything from fracking to social housing while the other three were at times a little neglected. 

In her introduction, Ms McGurk highlighted her experience as “an advocate” for the seat of Fremantle, as well as her current portfolios as minister for industrial relations, water, and formerly for the prevention of domestic violence. 

Ms McGurk responded to a question from Ms Maus on a potential ban fracking in the Kimberley by highlighting that the government would prevent new exploration licences in the area as well as a right of veto for traditional owners. 

This was rebutted by independent Ms Hulett, who labelled the vetoes “flawed”. 

Ms Hulett highlighted her vision for “an economy that works for everyone” a “thriving environment”, and “safe and cohesive” communities. 

When asked whether her position as an independent would hamper her chances of getting things done, Ms Hulett said she would “negotiate” and will work “with anyone that comes up with a good idea” in the state parliament. 

The Greens’ Felicity Townsend highlighted her party’s environmental policies to address the climate emergency, as well as housing affordability, saying Fremantle has been “completely ignored by Labor” since it came into office in 2017. 

When asked about whether the Greens will take responsibility for “difficult decisions” if they are able to achieve a balance of power at the election, Ms Townsend appeared ambitious when she said the party would not support any policies which “don’t align” with its values 

Audience members were given the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates, where the debate decorum of some – including a single anti-vaxxer and a person questioning the legitimacy of the Voice to Parliament referendum spending – became a tad unruly. 

Several audience members walked out before candidates had finished speaking, adding to what was described by some as “humiliating” to the candidates who had put in effort to present a decent debate. 

Overall, The Chook – represented by a journalist with a degree in politics and keen to hear about the candidates’ policies – didn’t learn too much, but the debate was certainly entertaining.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER

THE newly-announced Liberal candidate for Fremantle says she will push for $500,000 of “critical” funding to restore the Round House. 

Serena Kipling, who was revealed as the Liberal candidate less than two weeks ago, says the funding will “support both colonial and Indigenous” historical interpretation as part of the restoration. 

“Long-overdue” conservation works for the Round House are also included in the proposal, according to Ms Kipling. WA’s oldest surviving public building is visited by 100,000 people annually. 

“This is about ensuring the Round House remains a treasured part of our history for future generations,” Ms Kipling said. 

“While others ignore our colonial history and let this iconic landmark deteriorate, I am focused on delivering real outcomes for Fremantle, strengthening tourism, and preserving our shared heritage.”