Tuesday 18 August 2009

Police raid alleged Kenwick drug lab (The West Australian)

Police raid alleged Kenwick drug lab (The West Australian): "Police have arrested a Kenwick man for allegedly operating a clandestine drug lab in Perth's southern suburbs."

Yet another Email the to the Member re: Toilets

School Toilets? Third World Standard!

Having received the letter from the sitting member, I must say that I am not assured that he has grasped the importance of this issue (lack of soap and adequate drying facilities in school toilets), I realise that as a sitting member he does have contact with schools, I guess that he may of asked various Principals if their toilets adequately cater for the students needs in this area, but I assure him that they do not, if he was to inspect them himself (without warning) he will be appalled by the lack of soap and facilities provided to the children. Thornlie Primary School is currently trying to sell some hand dryers that were purchased several years ago but were never installed, the parents at that school saw the need and stepped up and purchased this equipment, but of course the dryers could not be installed due to a poor power supply (even though they spent 50K on optical fibre for their Intranet), my eleven year old that attends this primary school will not use these toilets, my older daughter who attends Thornlie High School assures me that there is never any soap (prob rarely) and that she has to hunt for toilet paper. Both of my daughters attending school at the moment tell me that their teachers are constantly telling them to wash their hands regularly, but I must ask how can they whilst at school (the usual standard reply is "they should bring their own"). If you were to ask the principal or staff they will prob reply that of course there is soap, and they will handball the problem to the cleaners, and if you question the cleaners they will tell you that they do supply some, but that the kids waste it, I know that there is no specific budget to cater for this expense (time spent on P&C and School Council) so I must ask you "are schools provided with a specific budget item that caters for these supplies and if so why is it not used? I again ask you to please take the time to inspect these facilities for yourself, why provide public toilets if they can not be used for the specific task they are designed for?"

Peter Evans
Thornlie

New eye offers hope after bus attack

as posted here

The bus driver who lost an eye after a vicious attack was overjoyed at getting an artificial replacement yesterday, but says the incident has left him with ongoing nightmares and a heightened fear for his safety.

Gerard Sin, of Thornlie, said he was pleased with the life-like appearance of the prosthesis after it was fitted yesterday.

But while the physical scars are healing, Mr Sin said he was still having nightmares that started immediately after the rock attack. "On my first night I dreamt a group of people were pounding on me," Mr Sin, 59, said.

"They were jumping on to me and I got so scared I tried to kick them. My wife woke me up and I was delirious. I even asked my wife to make sure the door was locked."

Mr Sin was driving along Church Avenue, Armadale, on July 31 when he was hit in the face with a rock after refusing to let a group of men get on the bus. Doctors removed his left eye five days later.

Mr Sin reiterated yesterday that it was unlikely he would return to the job because he feared his mononuclear vision would put passengers at risk.

The father of two was also reluctant to put his wife Camilla through more anguish after she had long begged him to give up the dangerous work. The devout Christian said he might do some part-time work for his Presbyterian Church and was considering a request from his wife to become a "househusband".

He said he hoped to have counselling one day to cope with the trauma, but in the meantime, was managing to maintain his sense of humour.

Ocularist Jenny Geelen, from West Perth's Artificial Eye Services, said muscles around the eye socket had grown around an implant which was installed when the eyeball was removed. This allowed his artificial eye to move at the same time and in the same direction as his right eye.

The Christmas Islander and Friends Association is taking donations for Mr Sin at any Westpac branch. A morning tea fundraiser will be held at 9.30am on Friday at Westpac's Armadale branch.


as posted here

Monday 17 August 2009

Damp Perth robbed of daylight

Damp Perth robbed of daylight: "PERTH is in the grip of the longest wet spell in two years - with 10 consecutive days of rain and wet weather forecast for the rest of the week."

Saturday 15 August 2009

Wild weather damages 37 homes across Perth

as posted here

Nearly 40 homes in the Perth metropolitan area were damaged in severe storms overnight.

Emergency services volunteers were called out to 37 homes across Perth to help repair damaged and leaking roofs caused by falling trees and destructive winds.

The weather bureau said a wind gust of 93 km/h was recorded at Jandakot at 2am this morning.

Most of the damage caused by last night's storm was minor, FESA said.

Today, the weather bureau cancelled the severe weather warning it issued yesterday saying the worst of the storm had passed.

Showers and isolated thunderstorms and possible hail is forecast for the city today.

Temperatures are expected to reach a maximum of 15C in Perth today, warming up slightly tomorrow when the mercury is expected to reach a high of 18C


as posted here

Man runs in to burning house to offer help

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A 19-year-old Perth man has risked injury to run into a burning house in Langford to save another man.

Paul Yokoju was visiting a house in Osten Drive last night when he heard cries for help.

He ran outside and saw the neighbour trying to control the blaze with a garden hose.

The man then ran inside the house which was well ablaze.

Mr Yokoju says he knew he might have been injured, but followed the man inside.

The house was badly damaged by the fire.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known


as posted here

Langford home gutted by car fire


as posted here

AN elderly couple's Langford home was partially destroyed by a fire that started in a garaged car about 9.30pm last night.

The 68-year-old husband, the only occupant at the time, went back into the blazing Osten Dve house after attempting to put out the fire with a garden hose, neighbour Paul Yokoju, 19, said.

Mr Kokoju followed to get the man out.

``There was smoke everywhere. When I asked him if there was anyone else he said `no','' Mr Yokoju said.

The fire destroyed the garaged small hatchback, the lounge room, a bedroom and the brick and tile bungalow's kitchen

Losses included family items from Cambodia which the couple left before arriving in Australia in the early 1980s, the couple's daughter Latine Leng said

``They've lost a lots of things. Everything in there,'' she said.

Welshpool and Canning Vale firefighters took 15 minutes to extinguish the fire before hosing hot spots.

Canning Vale FESA station officer Syd Davies said the fire was throught to have started in the car.

Damage to the house and car was initially estimated at $150,000.

Family is now housing the couple, it is understood.


as posted here

Friday 14 August 2009

Cannabis set up found

as posted here

Police seized more than 100 cannabis plants from a southern suburbs home yesterday morning.

East metropolitan tactical investigation group officers executed a search warrant at a Storey Road home in Thornlie where they allegedly found hydroponic cannabis set ups in two bedrooms and a backyard shed.

One bedroom allegedly contained more than 50 plants.

Police also seized hydroponic equipment worth more than $20,000.

A 26-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman have been charged with drug offences.


as posted here

New cat laws to force desexing

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WA's 184,000 cat owners will have to sterilise and microchip their pets by the time they are six months old under laws expected to be drafted by year's end.

Jandakot MLA Joe Francis, who is working on the Bill for the Government, said yesterday he hoped the move would ensure that in 10 years, every cat in WA would be on a national database and the epidemic of thousands of unwanted, healthy kittens being euthanased each year would end.

Mr Francis said he would report to Premier Colin Barnett on his consultations with vets and animal welfare groups.

"I hope it will be a fairly simple, short Bill that will basically address the issue of mandatory desexing of all kittens by a certain age and the compulsory microchipping of all cats by a certain age," he said.

Mr Francis said the most effective and safest age limit in both cases would be six months.

Animal welfare groups, which have long campaigned for tougher rules on cat ownership, welcomed the moves.

Mr Francis said his research showed 14,000 healthy cats were put down in WA last year.

No official data exists on WA cat ownership but national estimates show 23 per cent of households have a cat, making the figure about 184,000 WA homes.

The Local Government Act allows WA's 139 local councils to introduce cat control regulations, but Mr Francis said only 13 had done so.

RSPCA national president Lynne Bradshaw said State cat laws were long overdue but she also wanted a "dusk to dawn" curfew for all cats.

"We're keen for this to be taken up as quickly as possible," she said. "That leaves fewer cats to be bred and fewer cats to be euthanased for no good reason."

A parliamentary committee headed by Mr Francis has asked Joondalup City Council to scrap several key elements of its proposed local cat laws, including compulsory sterilisation.

Mr Francis said Joondalup council was not legally empowered to enforce the laws it had proposed.

"It's one of the reasons why we need a Statewide Act," he said.

Cat Haven operations manager Roz Robinson said until the State laws were drafted, the committee should back Joondalup.

She said compulsory sterilisation was essential. At peak breeding season over summer, the haven had to euthanase up to 100 kittens a day.

Joondalup mayor Troy Pickard said while the city was comfortable with most of the Government committee's suggestions, it would strive to convince MPs to allow the local laws


as posted here

MPs recommend WA schools focus on grammar

as posted here

BIG changes to the way children are taught reading and writing in schools have been recommended by a WA parliamentary committee.

The committee’s recommendations also include making the Baby Bonus dependent on parents attending post-natal classes, making pre-primary compulsory and ensuring all child care workers have a TAFE qualification.

Committee chairwoman Alannah MacTiernan said the most important proposal was for children to be taught reading and writing the old-fashioned way – by focusing on grammar and phonetics.

The committee found literacy levels were inadequate in WA and many children were not prepared when starting primary school.

“We found many children were presenting at school with a large number of developmental vulnerabilities, and it seems that these numbers were getting worse,” Ms MacTiernan said.

She said many parents’ basic knowledge about how to help babies develop had been lost.

“We need to strengthen parents’ understanding of child development because they’re the best people to deal with it, so that means creating better programs for parents.

“Instead of just handing a book to new parents, it should be perhaps a more exciting DVD - a medium that more people will want to look at - that explains what’s really important.”

“One of the things we’ve suggested is that the Government consider using as leverage the baby bonus to get parents attending a few post natal classes so they engage with certain issues.

"People might think parents instinctively know this stuff but what we’re seeing is that parents often don’t," Mrs MacTiernan said.

Other recommendations included introducing more school-based playgroups for children from 0-3 years and boosting the number of child health nurses.

“I had my kids 25 years ago or so and I could go to the child health nurse as often as I liked, but they haven’t increased the number of child health nurses for decades so the service has become highly rationed and there’s not enough support for parents who need it,” Mrs MacTiernan said


as posted here

Thursday 13 August 2009

Two more WA deaths linked to swine flu

as posted here

WA health authorities have today confirmed two more deaths linked to swine influenza, both occurring in the past two days.

A 78-year-old man died at Royal Perth Hospital on Monday and a 39-year-old woman died at Armadale Kelmscott Memorial Hospital today. Both had significant underlying medical conditions.

WA has now recorded 12 deaths related to human swine influenza, A/H1N1.

Nationally 29,000 people have tested positive to the virus.


as posted here

Pollies miss pay rise but get allowance boost

as posted here

WA's politicians look set to miss out on a pay rise next year, although they could get an increase in their electoral allowances after Labor revealed it had backed a boost in the payments in its submission to the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal

The independent tribunal, which takes into account submissions from the public and political parties, will announce its wage determination on Friday for the next financial year.

In its submission, the Barnett Government called for a freeze on both wages and electoral allowances because of the tough economic times.

Politicians' wages rose 4.2 per cent last year, taking a backbencher's salary to about $129,000 a year - slightly above the nation's other parliaments.

They received a similar increase in their electoral allowance, which helps them to manage expenses such as offices, to about $50,000 a year.

With other stipends such as car and travel allowances, the average backbencher collects more than $200,000 a year.

A Labor spokeswoman said a rise in the electoral allowance was warranted by the increasing technology and training costs facing local MPs.

Nationals leader Brendon Grylls said he supported freezing MPs salaries because the Government had asked the public service to "tighten its belt" and politicians should take the lead in these matters, but it had not made a submission.




as posted here

First past the post for council elections

as posted here

WA's local government elections in October will be carried out using the first-past-the-post voting system after State Parliament last night voted for the amendment, two years after Labor scrapped it.

Proportional preferential voting was introduced in 2007 despite criticism from WALGA, which said it was not consulted and the system was too complicated.

Local Government Minister John Castrilli introduced an amendment to return to the old system and called on Parliament to expedite the Bill for the October council elections.

"This important amendment has the capacity to deliver a simpler, less factional-driven electoral process to the local government sector," he said earlier this year.

WALGA has said the first-past-the-post was simpler, it stopped candidates running as a ticket and it helped stop factionalism.

WA Local Government Association President Cr Bill Mitchell today applauded the Government for pushing through the change.

"There was very little time and significant resistance from the various government departments to have this change made in time for the October elections but the Minister has pushed through all that," Mr Mitchell said.

"Given that the legislation had lapsed previously and that the timeframe was down to just two days, the Association was preparing the sector to accept that the change would not be made in time."

Mr Mitchell said under the first-past-the-post system candidates needed only to win the support of their local community whereas under the PPV system there was a greater focus on running mates and back room deals that mostly suit the organised, larger political parties.

"The move back to first-past-the-post returns control of Council elections to the community and lessens the influence and potential manipulation by the major political parties," he said.

The elections will be held on October 17.


as posted here

Mild earthquake rocks Wheatbelt

as posted here

A mild earthquake rocked WA's Wheatbelt last night.

Geo Science Seismologist David Jepsen said the magnitude 2.4 earthquake hit about midnight, 33km east of Northam.

"It was a very mild event," Mr Jepsen said.

"We would not expect any damage or injury."


as posted here

Troy Buswell to demand a bigger share of GST for WA

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TREASURER Troy Buswell says WA has been cheated on its share of the GST and will demand a bigger cut for the state at a showdown in Canberra today.

The heads of state treasury departments are preparing for a confrontation on the division of GST revenues today, with resource states WA and Queensland claiming the tax should be used to help build their infrastructure.

Changes to the formula for distributing GST that have been proposed by the Commonwealth Grants Commission have been the subject of heated debate among the states.

The commission has accepted arguments from Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory that their rapidly growing populations are putting strains on infrastructure for which they need compensation.

Queensland argued that over the past decade, its population had grown by 22.5 per cent, compared with 10 per cent in New South Wales and 12.6 per cent in Victoria. This meant it had to spend more on transport, water, power, schools, hospitals, police stations and prisons.

NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT argued that the fair division of GST required only that it should enable all states to deliver equivalent quality services on an annual basis.

But the commission accepted the argument of the resource states in its draft recommendation. It said the division of grants was not just about the annual budget bottom line, but about the financial net worth of states.

A joint statement by Mr Buswell and Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said they were being cheated by the existing formula.

"Queensland and Western Australia were Australia’s economic engine rooms leading into the global recession, and we are best-placed to lead the nation out of it," they said.

"Both have outpaced the national rate of economic growth over the last dozen years, and both have had lower unemployment rates than the national average.

"However, Queensland and Western Australia are both donor States.

"On a per capita basis, Queensland and Western Australia will both receive a GST allocation well below the average per capita GST distribution.

"And despite the protests of the southern States, Queensland and Western Australia will both receive a lower GST per capita than both NSW and Victoria.

"Presently Western Australia receives around $910million less than its per capita share while Queensland misses out on $700million.

"The current formula recognises the provision of services - but common sense would suggest that the provision of services requires not just people, but buildings and other infrastructure too."

WA and Queensland receive lower GST per capita because their resource richness gives those states greater taxing power than other states, for which they are penalised by the commission.

However, NSW and Victoria have argued that the commission's proposed changes would greatly damage their ability to provide services


as posted here

All making an effort

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LOCAL councils are all doing their bit to protect the environment, particularly in waste and water management, according to a new survey published last week by an eco-watchdog group.

The Serpentine Jarrahdale Shire excelled in natural resource management scoring 100 per cent in survey responses while Gosnells and Armadale scored highly for waste management with 9/10 and 8/10, respectively.

The survey, published by HowGreen Is My Council, assessed the performance of metropolitan councils in a range of categories including access to information, climate change and sustainable transport, environmental sustainability and natural resource, waste and water management.

HowGreen spokeswoman Brenda Conochie said councils have “enormous potential” to affect the planet’s air, soil, water, biodiversity and climate at the local level.

In the access of information category S-J received four stars out of four, followed by Armadale with three and Gosnells none.

But Gosnells received six out of 12 stars in the climate change and sustainable transport, followed by Armadale (4) and SJ (3).

None offset their vehicle fleets’ carbon emissions, publish energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions or have addressed peak oil risks and vulnerabilities.

They have all purchased green power and participated in the Cities for Climate Change program.

Ms Conochie said the survey, which was online at www.howgreen.net.au was a “user-friendly” tool for residents, councillors and staff of Perth’s metropolitan councils.

“Our site recognises local governments’ efforts to protect the environment, while also drawing attention to gaps and, we hope, raising the bar to encourage further innovation and best practice,” she said.

There are plans to extend the service for country councils.

More detailed responses from the surveys are on the website.


as posted here

Central area plans proceed

as posted here

A PLAN to revitalise Maddington moved a step closer with the Central Maddington Outline Development Plan and an associated town planning scheme amendment being approved by the City of Gosnells.

The approvals came after public consultation through which 129 submissions were made regarding the plan to subdivide and develop about 150ha of land near Maddington railway station.

Matters raised in the submissions related to proposed increased residential density, new roads and areas of public parkland.

Mayor Olwen Searle said the approved plan reflected a series of modifications to the plan that was advertised for public comment, with many of the changes made in response to landowner submissions.

“Approval of the proposals has paved the way for further work to be undertaken to establish detailed design guidelines for the area,” she said.

“The City will now prepare a development contribution plan, which is needed to fund infrastructure works such as new roads and land acquisition for new parkland to facilitate the proposed redevelopment.

“This will be a challenging aspect of the planning for the Central Maddington area given there are approximately 550 individual properties and 470 landowners affected.”

Cr Searle said the proposals would now go to the WA Planning Commission for consideration and adoption.

Landowners could comment on the changes made to the plan adopted by the council. Such comments would be forwarded to the commission.

“While the approval by council is an important milestone there are still several steps to be taken before approval of applications for subdivision and development in the area can occur,” Cr Searle said.

“A positive decision of the commission as well as the required development contribution plan are critical requirements to allow this to occur.”


as posted here

Trial sparks change in electricity use

as posted here

HOMEOWNERS in Thornlie and Canning Vale are being invited to take part in an Australian-first trial by energy retailer Synergy, aimed at helping change electricity use in the home.

Synergy managing director Jim Mitchell said the Advanced Metering Proof of Concept study aimed to revolutionise the way households consumed energy and monitored their energy use.

“This will be the first study in Australia by an energy retailer delivering such a comprehensive customer experience, as we test and measure the effectiveness of innovative technology, alternative time-of-use pricing and customer support,” he said.

Mr Mitchell said the study involved communicating with customers, including through an In-Home Display, an interactive website, email and SMS, to encourage behavioural change.

“The advanced meters, with the associated communications support, are a new technology which give householders the power to control their energy use and see the cost of their energy consumption in real-time,” he said.

“Using these, households can make positive changes to the way they use energy.”

Synergy will test three different technologies – advanced meters enabling more detailed and up-to-date information on electricity consumption, in-home display units providing instant information on energy use and costs, and the Power to Change website, which provides a detailed and personalised energy analysis.

Gosnells Mayor Olwen Searle said the study was an exciting development in WA’s energy market and encouraged residents to participate and be the first in WA to use technology.

Synergy will invite 500 residents to participate in the study, which is by invitation only. Thornlie and Canning Vale were chosen for the trial because of the demographics of the area.


as posted here

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Two more swine flu patients die

as posted here

The WA Health Department has today confirmed two more deaths linked to human swine influenza.

A 62-year-old man with significant underlying medical conditions died at St John of God Hospital, in Murdoch, on August 8.

A 37-year-old woman with no underlying medical conditions died at Royal Perth Hospital a day later.

The deaths bring the number of people with swine flu to die in WA to 10.

The number of confirmed cases in the state has now passed 3000. Of those, 43 sufferers are being treated in hospital, including 11 who are in intensive care units.


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More spent on home-brand foods

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The number of Australian households buying cheaper home-brand groceries has grown in the wake of the global economic downturn, according to the latest Nielsen survey.

They now account for almost one-quarter of all grocery sales.

The average household spent a record $172.80 on home-brand products in the past quarter — a jump of 5 per cent or $8 compared with the same quarter last year.

The increasing popularity of the products across all the major chains has been driven in part by their appeal as a cheaper alternative in the global financial crisis, Nielsen said.

In the online survey, done in June, 57 per cent of consumers said they had switched to cheaper grocery brands to save money in the past year and more than one-third said they would continue to buy cheaper grocery brands even when economic conditions improved.

An earlier Nielsen survey found that 60 per cent of households believed private-label products now were much better than five years ago and that young families spent the highest proportion of their grocery money on home brands.

Mother-of-six Rachelle Dickson, who was doing a quick shop at Woolworths Subiaco Square yesterday, said she tried to buy home-brand products as much as possible.

“It is often the cheapest and I have got a big family,” she said.
PHILIPPA PERRY


as posted here

Six-car Kwinana crash delays morning run

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A six-car crash south bound on the Kwinana Freeway is causing delays for motorists this morning.
The crash is near the off ramp to Roe Highway and the right lane is blocked.
Tow trucks are at the scene and motorists are advised to take care through the area.

A crash citybound on Shepperton Road near Miller Street and a set of blacked out traffic lights at Mounts Bay Road and Spring Street in the city are also causing delays for motorists this morning.

Heading into the city, traffic is very slow on the Mitchell Freeway between Ocean Reef Road and Scarborough Beach Road while the Kwinana Freeway is building from Berrigan Drive all the way into Perth.

The Northbridge Tunnel is slow west bound but is moving well east bound.

Busy spots include Loftus Street through Leederville, Shepperton Road onto the Causeway, Wanneroo Road at Reid Highway, Tonkin Highway at Roe Highway, Tonkin Highway at Horrie Millar Drive and Kewdale Road, Tonkin Highway at Collier Road and Karrinyup Road at Marmion Avenue.

PERTH
JAYNE RICKARD


as posted here

Man jailed for machete hold-up at petrol station

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A 20-year old man who threatened to kill a Huntingdale BP petrol station customer with a machete if the attendant did not hand over cash was jailed for two years in the District Court yesterday.

The court was told Alexander Phillip Walsh grabbed a customer at the petrol station on April 17 last year, holding a machete to his neck. He threatened to kill the customer if the attendant did not hand over money.

The attendant refused to comply and fled into a back room, locking himself in. The hostage managed to free himself as Walsh attempted to force his way behind the counter, but eventually gave up and left.
GIORDANO STOLLEY


as posted here

Day one ..

the following reply was given ...

Thankyou for your enquiry. Council meetings are conducted under the provisions of the City of Gosnells Standing Orders Local Law 2003, a co...