Foreshore Vision

Everyone smiles in South Perth for different reasons. I really like the Council's vision to preserve, protect and plan for this treasure in the city. I respect that they have recognised the range of concerns of so many people. The developments are low impact and respect community needs. As we lose open space elsewhere this park will be appreciated by all, even those who don’t use it. The park contributes to the smile we all enjoy when we think of our City. As Perth increases in size and density open spaces like this will become more valued every year. With pressures of population, economy and climate this park will be a green gem within a crowded space. Over a million people visit the park each year. They have many reasons for loving it. Everyone smiles here for different reason. Some love to walk the pathways. Others enjoy sailing, quiet meditation, appreciation of ancient and modern heritage, sharing a meal with friends, cycling or walking their dog.

The park is under threat from economic pressure, climate change and development plans. It is also endangered by the difficulty of meeting the diverse needs of our residents and visitors. Consultations have shown how very many possibilities there are for the Park’s future. A danger is that in doing nothing and pleasing nobody the park will revert to a muddy riverbank. What a terrible loss that would be. The most commonly shared expressions for this area at the recent Open Space event that I hosted were around:

• Protection of the environment
• Preservation of low density
• Low-rise buildings, if any
• Strong protection of open space

The Mill Point plans will also improve important cycle access. Over one and a half million cycle trips cross this area each year. Easier cycle access means less traffic congestion, healthier air and less stress for everybody, including car drivers. The Old Mill and Narrows area is really important in the two threads of colonial and indigenous history. Protection and planning here recognises this and the needs of Mill Point residents too. This vision seems to meet all of the expressions of residents and visitors, while being of quite low impact. Residential and large commercial development on the park would rob future generations of the enjoyment of this riverside treasure. Some developers and a nearby Council have plans for our park. Through the City’s plan we can stamp our feet and claim this space for residents and visitors, today and tomorrow. Well done City of South Perth. Here are two links to newspaper stories:

• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-05/new-south-perth-revitalisation-plan-released/5723994
• http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/lagoon-vision-for-south-perth-foreshore-to-become-world-class-attraction-for-swan-river/story-fnhocxo3-1227050083369

Please contribute your thoughts by clicking on Comments, below. Just log in as Name or Anonymous, or email me.

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Where To for WA Councils?

Can we have some useful discussion about Councils now, please?

Local Government influences our lives every day. Surely we can do it better. As the debates become more trivial our Councils are seriously distracted from what they are elected for. The voters just shake their heads and look away. Let’s get better at this.

Councils in WA employ 14,000 people, have 1,300 elected members, receive $M274 in grants, raise more from Rates and have $13 billion of capital assets. Almost no Councils are keeping up a required level of asset maintenance. An Access Economics study concluded that “The long-term finances of a majority of WA Councils look unsustainable.”

The worlds of finance, environment and society have become complex beyond the skills of many elected members and many voters. Way too few Councillors are able to understand the financial and governance issues around overseeing such operations. It’s just not good enough to spend valuable meeting time debating Mrs Jones’ fence, Council boundaries and the flat roof next door.

Current focus on boundaries and amalgamations is far short of a useful discussion about what we want from our Councils. Size is a distraction. What do you think we should focus on?

Some Councils are trying to raise the skills of Councillors by offering training courses. Unfortunately the people who need these skills most are often not the ones who enlist. Compulsory training seems to be too hard to enforce. Here are my thoughts on what it takes to be a Councillor. Perhaps these thoughts should apply to Members of Parliament too.

MUST HAVE

• Interest in long-term direction of the local community.
• Listening skills, prepared to listen more often than to tell
• Prepared to meet with the community, often.
• At least one, and usually two or three evenings a week to dedicate to meetings, workshops and briefings.
• Able to read and understand a big weekly information pack.
• Ability to think strategically about organisational purpose.
• Effective decision-making skills. Not as simple as it sounds.
• Understand the difference between individual and group decision-making.
• Able to work to sustain long-term viability and define values for self and the Council.
• Able to imagine and lead new future directions.
• Empathy.
• Able to discuss widely differing opinions respectfully and to disagree agreeably.
• Able to synthesise direction amidst complexity and conflicting values and objectives.
• Understand the difference between management and leadership (Councillors have no executive authority at all)
• Not be focussed on a ‘single issue’.
• Be prepared to assess your own biases and positions.

SHOULD HAVE

• Ability to read and interpret financial reports.
• Sense of humour.
• Collaborative style.
• Wide range of contacts and life experience.
• Be well travelled and widely read.
• An enquiring mind.
• Risk assessment skills. Risk is a daily consideration.
• Open to continuous learning.

GOOD TO HAVE

• Expertise in at least one relevant field, e.g. architecture, town planning, finance, environment, waste, law, social services, communications, psychology, science.
• Board experience.
• Qualifications such as MBA, GAICD (Australian Institute of Company Directors).
• Preparedness to respond with good grace and respect in all sorts of circumstances.

Please contribute your thoughts by clicking on Comments, below. Just log in as Name or Anonymous, or email me.

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Perth: What Matters to You?

Western Australian of the Year, David Flanagan, spoke about “What Matters in WA” at the awards ceremony on Saturday. Now, what matters to you in South Perth?
You are invited to tell our community, the Council, Government and others about your ideas for South Perth, your suggestions, your concerns and what can be done. This is an Open Space event, with unrestricted topics. There’s another page about how Open Space works (click for details).
You are invited to be part of a discussion about what really matters in South Perth. We’ll begin with a blank agenda; you set the topics. With your passion and with your solutions, things will happen.

Please "Share" or “Forward” this event to bring your friends too. I’d really appreciate it if you could RSVP to let me know you are coming, preferably on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/228677680675385/, or by email, or in Comments, below.
We’ll all be at South Perth Community Hall, corner South Terrace and Sandgate Road, South Perth at 7:00 p.m.on Thursday 26 June 2014.

Our Open Space Event

Our Open Space event has no restriction of topics. Here’s how Open Space works.

First some key points, then the process.

• Those who attend are the ones who came. Whatever gets done will be done by them, or not at all. They will be the right people.
  
• There is a time of beginning and a time for closure. Everything in the middle will be allowed to run its own course.
  
• The One Law of Open Space is the Law of Two Feet. Responsibility for a successful outcome in any Open Space Event resides with each participant. Every person can use their two feet, and always move respectfully to a new place where they can make a difference.

Now the process:

• Everyone joins a large circle. We expect 250 people or more.
  
• The professional facilitator welcomes participants and explains the process, very briefly.
  
• Anyone in the room may propose a topic by coming to the centre of the circle, writing a short description (typically up to 7 words) on a sheet of paper and announcing it to the group.
  
• The person who has called out an issue sticks the paper on the agenda panel.
  
• The person posting a topic is expected to have the passion to be responsible enough to start the discussion on it. That person also makes sure that a report of the discussion is written and posted. (on another panel) for any participant to read.
  
• There’s no limit on the topics, nor on how many topics.
  
• When all issues are posted participants go to the part of the room for their topic of interest, the proposer begins the discussion and groups get to work.
  
• There will be movable chairs, but no tables.
  
• Anyone may attend any topic group and may switch groups at any time.
  
• All discussion reports are compiled in a document and sent to participants, unedited, shortly afterwards.
  
• Reports are passed on to decision-makers and published on the event web site.
  
• We’ll supply tea and coffee. You might like to bring something to share.

Local Government (and Australia Day 2014 Photos)

What do we want from Local Government, why we have it and what it could do? Surely it’s more than just size that matters? Have your say on the Department’s web site or click on Comments, below, or just email me and I’ll get your words submitted.

For more about the process and to make your submission Click Here. The Councils of South Perth and Victoria Park have made a joint submission, based mainly around opposing the Minister’s slicing off the Burswood Peninsular, removing the combined City’s biggest rate payers, gifting them to Perth CBD. Here are details of the Joint Response.

Australia Day 2014 on the South Perth riverbank was just wonderful. Happy volunteers, inspired performers and a cheery crowd made the day memorable. We really have changed the way we celebrate the day. I saw smiles all around and felt a buzz of positive conversation everywhere. Here are links to three of my photo albums from the day:

• Happy People
• Inspired Performers
• Helpful Volunteers

For those who missed last year, here’s the 2013 album

• Australia Day 2013

Please contribute your thoughts by clicking on Comments, below. Just log in as Name or Anonymous, or email me.

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Bollywood at the Cygnet

More new life at the Cygnet in Como! Bollywood movies on a Saturday or Sunday morning from early February.

In recent months Graham Kahn, the Manager, has installed a really good digital projector and funding was obtained for heritage restoration works. There is still a lot to be done to preserve this gem while the owners build offices and apartments next door.

Built in 1939, our beloved Cygnet is a beautiful example of Art Deco architecture. My friends, Don and Pam, tell me of romantic memories of younger days at our local cinema. In those times there was an outdoor show too. You can still see the projection window high on a rear wall.

Perth’s new Cultural Centre in Northbridge will be built around the Museum of the Indian Ocean, with links to Mumbai, Dubai, Jakarta, Mauritius and much more. Meanwhile, here in South Perth we are connecting with the Bollywood culture of India, a home to many of our students in WA. The energy behind these ideas is spreading and will go far to preserve the Cygnet, a link across generations and cultures.

We are working to preserve and safeguard this grand building, its ghosts, its dreams and its future. We’ll need a mix of support from governments, corporate and private sources. What other groups can call the Cygnet their home, can share their spirit here on stage and screen?

Watch this space for more details.

Please contribute your thoughts by clicking on Comments, below. Just log in as Name or Anonymous, or email me.

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