Caring for Our Country

In Local Government we take pride in being passionate about local issues. Does this then make us less capable of thinking about broad, bigger picture matters? Metropolitan Perth has big issues, such as waste disposal, river walls, climate change, education, population growth, transit links, economic development. Some of these questions are too small for State and are too big for Local Government. Even if all our councils are viable, the metropolitan area needs amalgamations to address these and other big question matters. Financial analysis of Councils’ financial sustainability misses this point.

Over the past year it has been my pleasure to work with some amazing people from the Perth regional Natural Resources Management Group. This organisation aims to promote sustainable, coordinated  development to the local Councils of the region. They do this at the same time as working to promote a national strategy devoted to Caring for our Country.

Issues addressed recently have included climate change, waste management around Perth, environmental impact of light industry, sustainable, integrated land use planning, documented systems for environmental management and runoff from building sites and factories into the Swan River.

Some of these high phrases can be described much more simply; in the case of runoff, it is simply ethically unacceptable to let our crap run down the drains and to dump our waste in the Swan River. In the case of light industry, that is where sixty percent of the world’s pollution originates so let’s fix it first.

My own take on this is that people who have access to natural areas are generally happier and healthier. Therefore it makes sense to have the concept of Caring for Our Country as part of the decisions, operations and the processes that we manage every day.

Have your say by clicking on ‘Comments’ below.

Tree Planting on James Mitchell Park

Hooray! After years of consultation, the Council has approved new tree planting on the South Perth foreshore.

SJM is one of the key components to the identity of the City of South Perth, to state the obvious. In recognition of this, the City has commissioned at least 19 reports and plans for the area in the last 20 years. At all stages the City has worked closely with many respected and trusted organisations. The City has also gone to extreme lengths to maintain contact with residents.

Recognising that the park is many things to many people the City has developed a Management Plan for the area. One of the ways that the City of South Perth leads the field of Local Government in Australia, and something that we can be really proud of, is our use of Sustainability Assessment Analysis. City officers have drawn together the threads of diverse demands, expectations, science, history and economy. Many people have been passionate in promoting their particular facet of interest in SJMP. I recognize the genuine feelings of all these people for this iconic component of South Perth, even those who want the trees removed.

Last Tuesday we received a detailed briefing on the Sustainability Assessment report regarding tree planting in SJMP. The report came after extensive consultation and analysis. It involved rigorous study, passionate input from diverse members of the community, and most important of all, a systematic analysis of all inputs.

In reaching this stage the City put out information sheets and Feedback Forms, advertised in the Southern Gazette, placed items on our web sites, held two community meetings, developed an Advisory Group of community members, distributed one thousand information sheets and feedback forms at Fiesta and yet more to residents of Mill Point and Civic Wards. 403 forms were returned. The vast majority of respondents wanted more trees. Other important points raised were about environmental issues, more flowering trees, respect for existing views, more shade near facilities, safety and more lighting.

A petition signed by over 200 people was also received, asking for improved security and safety, better drainage, additional lighting, improved environmental management, new seating, removal of mud from beaches, preservation of open spaces and planting of more trees in other parks.

Key aspects of the selected plan are:

• Additional trees to be located to provide shade for people using recreational areas
• Planting to be in small clusters, maintaining existing view corridors
• Some planting to be near the river to intercept fertilizer run- off and to protect the banks from erosion, a matter of great concern
• Plantings to be in natural configurations, supporting environmental integrity
• Species to be mainly Salt Sheoaks (Belah), Paperbarks (Cadjebut) and Swamp Banksias plus a small number of Flooded Gums and Peppermints.

Recognition of the value of this plan comes from the peak body representing the river, the Swan River Trust, who write that “The tree planting proposal is clearly in line with the values and actions of the Management Plan and is STRONGLY SUPPORTED by the Trust”

I look forward to enjoying summer days in the park.

Please feel free to add your thoughts by clicking on Comments, below.

Surprise Treasure

This week I was picking up my post in South Perth, just like on any other day of the year, walking past the same bushes I see every day and was almost bowled over by the sight of this. What I had thought for years was just another Bottlebrush was a Bird’s Beak Hakea in full bloom.

The seed pods look just like small birds keeping watch over the blooms. These flowers, in turn, bloom directly out of the branches, not out of stems like any other plant.

Sometimes the most amazing things are there to be discovered on a perfectly ordinary day. (You can click on the images to expand them and see the bird- shaped seed pods.)

What have you seen recently that took your breath away?

Storm Damage

The recent storms across Perth certainly tested the river walls. Here are some photos of the Como beach area, showing the effect of waves, active erosion close to the freeway and the greater effect of back- flow erosion after waves, with traffic in the close background. (Click on the images to enlarge them.)

Here, too, are some pictures of the palm trees, a few weeks before, and then during the storms. Previous weather events had removed nearly all of the root supports for these trees. The City of South Perth wisely removed the trees when the weather forecast predicted storms. Had they not done so I am sure that the trees would have crashed across the bike path and affected freeway traffic.

  The world is in constant change, and always has been. Our challenge is to manage our place in this change.

Got any thoughts on the issue? Click "Comments" below.

Dogs in McDougall Park

There's been a little discussion around dogs in McDougall Park recently so I contacted the Council on the matter. The Manager, Environmental Health & Regulatory Services for the City of South Perth reports that the Dog Local Law clearly prohibits dogs in McDougall Park.

Some of the signs are not clear on this matter and will be replaced in the near future. Meanwhile it would be good if we could encourage dog owners to walk their pets somewhere else, not in McDougall Park. We all love our park, the wild birds and our pets and sometimes we have to enjoy them separately.

River Bank Storm Damage

Recent storms have brought dramatic erosion even closer to the freeway edge. While the City tries to patch up the river bank protection with ratepayer funds, storms endanger the freeway, a vital link in our State's economy. You can see more photos and details by clicking here.

Further along the shore there is a line of palm trees with almost no visible means of support. The palms are as tall as their distance from the freeway and are due to fall over in the next decent westerly wind, possibly falling into freeway traffic. As with many other parts of the Swan River banks, significant work is required. In this and many other cases the work is important to the State, not just local residents. It is time we made this clear so that high- level funding is made available for protective works.

The older style of protection, with visually attractive vertical walls, has been ineffective, these being undermined and falling over after construction. What is required is an appropriate set of structures that dissipate wave energy. Different methods will be needed in each area.

Where the natural river banks still exist there is often not much of an erosion problem. Where we have moved the river, to accommodate developments such as the freeway, we see significant erosion.

Unless we do something soon the winter storms will be likely to cause much more damage.

A Rubbish Tax

This weekend's fire at Canning Vale Waste Recovery plant illustrates well our successive State Governments' neglect of developments in waste processing. It also highlights the need for significant research and development, which we would expect to be paid from the huge new waste levy.

(Baled plastic bottles in Penang harbour- my photo)

From 1 July Councils in WA will pay a levy of $28 per ton of putrescible (rotting) waste going to landfill, up from $7 this year. Inert (stable) waste will go up from $5 to $12. While the tax on landfill is probably of some use, to discourage us from burying our rubbish, we really would have thought that the proceeds should go towards developing WA's waste management practices. Instead it will go towards general expenses of the Department of Environment and Conservation.

As it turns out with the fire, one of our biggest waste plants has been collecting recyclables with no idea of what to do with the tonnes collected. One hundred sea containers of waste are now cinders and sludge. It might make us feel good to put stuff in the yellow bin but we also expect that the materials perform the boomerang trick of being re- used.

Fortunately South Perth's waste is not part of this fiasco, our truckloads going to the Bayswater facility operated by Cleanaway. We will however be slugged with the Government's new levy, without any direct benefit. We also have little market for recyclables in the current downturn. Big thinking is needed here.

This shows once again that Local Government can be subjected to simple political forces unless we act as a strong lobby, thinking deeply about big questions. We need to address many substantial issues, including how to handle the mountains of waste that we produce. We can do this only if local authorities combine forces and look to the big picture.

What Makes a Good Place to Live

In advance of next Saturday's City Visioning summary session here are some thoughts on things that people value about where they live.

I built this list while thinking over an interview with an author on late Night Live this week. I hope that the list provokes some of your thoughts.

• Physical Beauty
• Diversity, of people in all sorts of ways
• Urban Vibe
• Low Crime
• Open Society, people trust and talk with each other
• Schools
• Clean
• Economic sustainability
• Cultural stuff
• Good jobs
• Ethical Leadership (we notice this only if it is missing)
• Natural Environment
• Excitement

What else is important to you in thinking about the future of South Perth? Please feel free to have your say by clicking on COMMENTS below.

New South Perth Library and Civic Centre Receives Federal Funds

The big news for this week is that our new library will receive two million dollars of federal Funds. Senator Chris Evans was in South Perth today to make the announcement.

The Mayor, James Best, was pretty excited about this, as was the Project Manager, Mike Kent and CEO, Cliff Frewing. The City will now be able to make use of good sustainability concepts to make sure that the building has a much lower environmental footprint, using less energy and water, while being a really wonderful resource for all in the community.

The funding will augment the $1.5 million from WA Lotteries.

The concept of what a library is has certainly changed over the years. This new facility will be many things to many people. There will be infant health facilities, meeting rooms for clubs, heritage material storage, reading facilities of course, and much more.

I'm very happy to be part of a City that is looking to the future. The recent series of Vision workshops show that many other people in South Perth want to contribute to this future too.

Have your say by clicking on "Comments" below.

Perth Needs Councils to See the Big Picture

Last night saw another of the myriad meetings about Minister Castrilli's vision of Council amalgamations. Certainly many of the smaller Councils and rural Councils are not financially sustainable, as shown in the WALGA Sustainability Survey.

However, I think that even if every City Council in the Perth Metro area was shown to be financially viable, the greater municipal area of Perth needs Councils to amalgamate. There are a number of really big issues that we need to address. These issues are too big for small Councils to see and State government is not looking.

When I look over my shoulder I see three tidal waves heading in our direction. We are so busy with small, daily issues that we have not noticed these tidal waves heading our way.

The first of these is population growth. Every time I hear a new figure it just gets larger and faster. We have to find a way to fit all these people into Perth, without having the city become just another conglomeration of suburbs that stretch to the horizon and beyond. As small Councils we just cannot address this issue in a cohesive way.

The second tidal wave is climate change. The Earth has been warming since the last Ice Age ended, about eighteen thousand years ago. Our species has spread across the planet in that time. Whether you believe that we can influence the rate of change or not, the planet is warming and sea levels are rising. Perth is flat and built marginally above water level. They say that wet cement waits for no man. I say that rising sea level doesn't care about property values. Only Councils seeing a big picture can respond meaningfully to such an enormous change.

Tidal wave number three is municipal waste. State Government has put a line at 2020, after which we will not be able to just dump our waste in pits in the sand. Sand, that incidentally, also contains our water supply. As this waste leaks into the groundwater you could say that we are getting our own back. With very many technologies available, limited ability to research appropriate solutions and a disappearing market for our recyclables, we are in bind about what to do with our rubbish.

For Perth to develop in a sustainable way, to still be the most wonderful place to live, we need to have Councils with an eye on the bigger picture, imagination, resources and courage.

Have your say by clicking below on COMMENTS.

South Perth Carnivale

Wow, what a finish to the Fiesta. Sunday was magnificent. Fifteen thousand people, stalls, dancers, hot rod cars, food, jewellery, food, art works and food. A fun day from the same crew that put together Australia Day in South Perth.

The day began with the Esther Foundation Fun Run, featured so many people having fun and a good crowd around the South Perth Vision stand, where everyone got to have their say about how the City could look and feel in 2030.

At sunset the Mayor and local residents opened the new community stairs at Salter Point. Built between Lyndon Lewis, a local resident, and the Council, the steps provide safe access to the beautiful shoreline walk on the Canning River. What a community we live in!

The stairs are now known as Lyndon's Ladder. I will be using them on my next walk. See you there.

Have your say by clicking below on 'Comments'

We're Only Here for a Short Time, Sing as Much as You Can

What a wonderful evening in South Perth yesterday. Ian Moss, of Cold Chisel fame, entertained several thousand people at the City of South Perth free concert on the foreshore. With one of Perth's finest sunsets over his shoulder, Mossy kept families young and old entertained for twice as long as was planned. As he ended on the classic Chisel number, Back in Bow River, spectacular fireworks sprung into the sky over the Swan River.

The quote above, "We're Only Here for a Short Time, Sing as Much as You Can" was the opening statement and set the tone for the evening. That's not a bad philosophy for life either I think. Surrounded as we are by big issues of Global Warming, Council amalgamations, the Debt crisis, urban density and environmental issues and numerous weighty matters, a taste of music helps us keep our balance.

Arranged by the City's very organised events team and paid for by sponsors including Healthways, Como IGA, Waterford Plaza, Karalee Tavern, Cygnet Theatre and others, the event provided a friendly occasion to just enjoy being alive in South Perth.

For the next fifteen days South Perth Fiesta will showcase the best of the City. You can click here for a program of events. Highlights will include the Esther Foundation Fun Run and South Perth Carnivale on Sunday 29th March. I am going to enjoy the run, so please come and join us. See you there!

No Disabled Access at Canning Bridge

Canning Bridge Rail Station is a significant hazard for disabled passengers. Just getting to the station is difficult enough for the rest of us. Disabled people find it almost impossible. One must brave the traffic to get in from the Fremantle side or climb a steep path and negotiate a number of steps and kerbs on the western approach.

There is no suitable drop- off point so drivers just block the left- hand lane while delivering or collecting their disabled passengers on the Canning Highway level. This creates yet more hazard for other road users.

Having got to the top of the station it then gets worse! There is a lift to the south- bound platform but for people heading to Perth City, there is just the set of stairs. The lift- well for north- bound travellers has no equipment in it at all. This makes wheelchair access for City workers impossible and other means of ascent and descent just plain painful.

Oh, there is a lift to the Perth platform, but to get to that facility one must cross the traffic to the centre island; this is only for those who enjoy sweat and adrenaline.

Surely we can do better.

South Perth Train Station

Yesterday evening saw a Community Workshop at the SP Bowling Club, to hear updates and community comments about the proposed station. Consultants presented summaries of work to date, around such topics as:

• Opportunities for travel to the Zoo, without cars
• Proximity to the City
• Landscape and built form
• Transport and parking
• Heritage
• Safety and security
• Development demand and expectations
• Zoning
• Building height
• Mix of residential and commercial
• Environmental issues

There was spirited discussion around:

• No residential on ground floor of high rise
• Building over the station, perhaps to house the WA Natural History Museum
• Integration of cars, public transport, walking, cycling, commercial, tourists, residents
• Power, water, sewerage, telecommunications, storm water
• Proximity of bird sanctuary and eco tourism potential
• Wind effects and wind power
• Car- free zones? Less parking, not more?
• Behaviour management of travellers
• Traffic flow management

I believe that this location presents us with a fantastic opportunity  to celebrate a wonderful location, with vistas of the Swan River, UWA, incoming weather, Kings Park and so on. We can make this the finest station in Australia.

You can make public comments here on the blog by clicking Comments below
and by email to the consultants to kristina@smco.com.au

Como Population

Some population figures for Como really caught my eye today. Did you know that Como covers 7 square kilometres, is 18% parks and has 14,000 people, 15% less than in 2001.

The predominant age group in Como is 20 - 29 years, comprising over 20% of the population. 39% of households are single- parent. Couples with children comprise just 14% of households. Renters occupy 41% of households; 50% of the homes in Como are owner-occupied

These figures came from the real estate web site www.myrp.com.au. You can extract figures for other areas in Australia quite easily.