Perth police investigate the fatal stabbing of a teenager.in Huntindale

Perth police investigate the fatal stabbing of a teenager.

Teen dead after party stabbing in Huntingdale

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Teen dead after party stabbing

• Jon Bassett 
• From:PerthNow 
• January 16, 2010 8:17AM

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STABBING: Friends gather at the scene of a brawl that left a 16-year-old boy dead. Picture: Marie Nirme Source:PerthNow

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy is dead after a street fight about 12.30am this morning near a gatecrashed Huntingdale teenage party.

``We believe some people crashed the party and then there was an altercation,'' Major Crime Det-Sgt Kevin Bradshaw said.

The boy was stabbed, it is understood.

He died at RPH after being transported in a critical condition by St John Ambulance.

Paramedics also took a man to Armadale Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The fight broke out on Stevenage St, less than 100m from the Harpenden St party being held for a 17-year-old.

There were about 20 party-goers, Det-Sgt Bradshaw said.

News of the boy's death brought many of the teenagers to the scene, sobbing uncontrollably.

Several parents arrived throughout the night to console their grieving children and their friends.

Related Coverage

• Clash amid the flamesHerald Sun, 9 Dec 2009
• Teens hurt in party violenceCourier Mail, 30 Aug 2009
• Man stabbed, women brawlPerth Now, 8 Aug 2009
• Fight for life after stabbingPerth Now, 11 Jul 2009
• Readers' Comments: Dozens of ravers arrested - Herald SunHerald Sun,

About 2am another group of about 12 youths were being interviewed by police at the Warton Rd BP service station, 400m from the fight.

Most were understood to be witnesses to the fight, and two were assisting police with their inquiries early yesterday.

The fight was not linked to an attempted carjacking at the service station onThursday, police said.

Party-goers and their family members were also interviewed by police who established a large crime scene near the streets' intersection.

Forensic officers examined the area before a truck-carried mobile police facility was used as a command centre at dawn.

Party-goers were supplied with blankets to combat the morning chill.

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Video of Treeman receiving letter from City of Gosnells

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Gosnells tree felling applauded

15/Jan/2010

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WHILE a metropolitan council in the south-eastern suburbs was quick to take the axe to 20 big trees it said were dangerous, the City of Rockingham holds a different view to street trees, according to Rockingham resident Roy Rogers.

He said he had been in touch with the council several times in the past three to four years to ask it to prune and shape the sheoaks in Success Drive.

One at the moment has a big dead branch hanging dangerously. When such branches broke, they left spears that posed an additional hazard. Mr Rogers said the council should take note from the City of Gosnells which had recently cut down 20 big gum trees in Hume Road, citing safety reasons because of their potential to drop heavy limbs.

He applauded the Gosnells decision although it has angered some local residents, including Richard Pennicuik who had been sitting in one of the street trees outside his home since December 7 in protest against the decision to remove them.

“Here we have a council in Perth ready and willing to cut down street trees for the safety of ratepayers and others,” Mr Rogers said. “But I am disgusted with Rockingham council.

“For many times during storms or high winds, which Rockingham is noted for, these trees have branches broken off.

“I reported it to council yet they still have done nothing.”

Mr Rogers said the trees were also a fire hazard as they were full of sap and easily flammable.

Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels said the trees on Success Drive had been reported to the parks operations department for investigation and action.

He said all trees along street verges were monitored, but he encouraged residents to report concerns to 9528 8500.

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Tree man given notice to remove tree house

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Tree man given notice to remove tree house
Following a series of complaints from nearby residents about disturbances and a loss of amenity, the City of Gosnells today gave Thornlie tree protestor Richard Pennicuik a notice to remove the tree house structure he has placed in the City’s verge tree.
City of Gosnells CEO Ian Cowie said Mr Pennicuik has placed a range of items in the City’s tree to create a tree house structure without any approval. This is against the law.
As a result, the City has given Mr Pennicuik a Notice, pursuant to section 3.25 of the Local Government Act 1995, requiring him to remove the tree house structure from the City’s tree within seven days.
If he fails to comply with the Notice he will be committing an offence and the City will have no alternative but to commence prosecution proceedings against him.
“The City hopes that Mr Pennicuik will comply with the Notice and avoid legal proceedings”.
“I hope that Mr Pennicuik will come down from the City’s tree so that, through discussion, the matter can be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties” Mr Cowie said.
The City has given Mr Pennicuik every opportunity to come down from the tree to discuss the situation, including providing an opportunity for independent mediation.



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Bottle thrown at taxi driver

Posted 4 hours 38 minutes ago 
Updated 4 hours 31 minutes ago

Damage to a taxi after a bottle was thrown at the driver who suffered an eye injury in the attack. (WA Police)

• Map: Gosnells 6110

A Perth taxi driver has spoken out after a beer bottle was thrown at his moving vehicle injuring his eye.

The attack happened on Corfield Street at Gosnells just before 3:00 (AWST) today.

The driver Ajay Singh says he had three passengers in the car when two men on the side of the road targeted his cab, smashing the driver's window.

"Fortunate thing like is that I was only in a 60 kilometre zone," he said.

"Maybe if I was on the freeway it would have been very dangerous."

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Council drops in with ad

12/Jan/2010

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THE City of Gosnells has gone so far as to publish a full-page advertisement defending its position on the Hume Road tree protest, in a bid to deflect criticism.

The City has been in the spotlight, engaged in a standoff with the Thornlie resident who has been living in a gum tree for the past month.

Richard Pennicuik moved into the tree as loppers contracted by the council proceeded to remove 20 other eucalyptus melliodora from Hume Road.

Two trees remain, one occupied by a rotating team of protesters, and the other by Mr Pennicuik.

The trees were earmarked for removal under a five-year plan to rid the city of dangerous trees.

A tree of the same species and age in Hume Road dropped a one-tonne limb onto the road in 2008, sparking the removal program.

In the ad, published in today’s Comment News, the City says the evidence shows the trees in Hume Road were all planted at the same time and were all reaching the age when limb drops might be expected.

It also says local residents would now be consulted over the decision to replace the gums with jacarandas, due to community concerns raised.

Mr Pennicuik has spent more than a month in the gum tree and even enlisted a public relations officer of sorts to push his cause last week.

He maintains the council has failed to prove that the tree outside his home is dangerous, and says if it was deemed to be a public threat then he would allow it to be cut down.

Comment News understands a council expert deemed 22 eucalypts in Hume Road to be dangerous because they were about the same age as the one that dropped the heavy limb.

Trees were not individually inspected.

The City has refused to talk to Mr Pennicuik or give him the expert’s report until he gets out of the tree.

However the City has promised to retain the tree until at least March so discussions can be held.

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Councils off their tree

12/Jan/2010

Gwen Moppett, Doubleview

Comments:

RICHARD “the human koala” Pennicuik now knows what we all know – shires can be a cranky lot.

I want to get rid of a tree – my tree on the shire verge – however, I am not allowed to.

A friend wants to plant a tree on her verge to prevent sprinkler damage: she isn’t allowed to because it will hinder pedestrians.

If you take responsibility for any death or damage to people or property caused by the tree will the shire then let you keep it?

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Upgrade for reserve

29/Dec/2009

Comments:

WALTER Padbury Reserve will get a big upgrade after a City of Gosnells council decision this month.

More than $315,000 will be spent removing the internal car park and green waste bins and replacing them with turf, providing a veranda for the Cassidy Road Pavilion and adding an all-ages children’s playground.

The money will also be used to remove internal fencing and replace with a retaining wall near the Hume Road Oval.

Cricket practise nets will also be replaced. Picnic shelters, barbecues and a new toilet block will be added later.

Mayor Olwen Searle said the improvements planned for Walter Padbury Reserve would give local families a great area in which to relax and have fun as well as boosting facilities for the football and cricket clubs.

“The new improved playground will be great for local families and will be designed for children over pre-school age,” Cr Searle said.

“Under the plans the area will be made safer and illegal dumping will be addressed.

“The cricket club will benefit from an extra pitch as well as better training facilities and Gosnells Football and Social Club will welcome the new veranda.

“Offering top class recreational facilities is important to the City of Gosnells and these improvements fit the bill.”

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Perth's most prized suburbs

• Beth Rivers 
• From:PerthNow 
• January 10, 2010 1:43PM

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CANNING Vale was in demand in 2009, with more houses sold in that suburb than any other, but Guildford delivered the biggest median house price rise.

Landgate Valuation Services' figures show Canning Vale was way out in front with 506 houses sold, ahead of Thornlie with 340 and Ellenbrook with 330.

Real Estate Institute of WA president Alan Bourke said the result was to be expected because of the first homebuyer's boost stimulating outer-metropolitan suburbs.

Business migrants Roland and Lina Ting said they decided to rent when they arrived in Australia in 2008 to see what Perth's property market was like.

``Having stayed (in Canning Vale) about a year we decided it was a very good suburb,'' Mr Ting said.
The couple moved their three children, Melissa, 20, Stephanie, 17 and Nicholas, 16, into the property they bought in August last year.

Related Coverage

• Think small for bargainsHerald Sun, 11 Dec 2009
• Families ride housing waveCourier Mail, 4 Dec 2009
• Best performers in the east, westHerald Sun, 11 Sep 2009
• Expect a bargain in the westHerald Sun, 5 Sep 2009
• Realty bites on home frontHerald Sun, 2 Sep 2009

``We looked around a lot of suburbs and found Canning Vale was a newer suburb -- more organised. It didn't have neglected gardens, was very family-friendly and peaceful.''

The best performing suburbs in terms of median price rises last year were Guildford, Mt Richon and
Victoria Park.

From 2008 to 2009, Guildford saw a rise in its median house price of 17.26 per cent, from $565,000 to $662,500. The median in Mt Richon increased 16.86 per cent from $422,500 to $493,750, and Victoria Park's median increased 15.65 per cent, from $575,000 to $665,000.

The suburbs whose median prices were hit the hardest were North Beach, with its median price falling 35.38 per cent ($1.22 million to $790,000), Ascot, which fell by 32.14 per cent ($766,250 to $520,000), and Mt Lawley's median price fell by 28.28 per cent ($1.22 million to $875,000).

Mr Bourke said North Beach was just one example of the many top-end suburbs ``hurt'' during 2009.

``There was more activity in the bottom end of the market so the median moved down (in the top end),'' he said.

``There was also a lot of land released across the road from the Ascot Racecourse, which would have pushed the median price down there.''

Peppermint Grove retained its crown as being Perth's most expensive suburb, with a median house price of $4.2 million, while Medina, near Kwinana, was the least expensive suburb with a median of $230,000.

Most recent REIWA data showed more than 31,500 properties were sold last year.

About 80 per cent were houses and 20 per cent multi-residential, including apartments and units.

Properties in the Fremantle area took the longest to sell with an average of 86 days on the market, while Joondalup, Beldon, Craigie, Duncraig, Greenwood, Hillarys, Kallaroo, Kingsley, Marmion, Mullaloo, Padbury, Sorrento, Warwick and Woodvale, had the quickest turnover with an average of 44 days.

Housing stock also dropped last year from about 16,000 properties available in December 2008 to just over 11,000 last month.

Mr Bourke said the next financial quarter was traditionally WA's busiest for real estate.

``We're marginally under supplied . . . so buyers are really going to have to hunt hard and make decisions quickly to secure the home they want,'' he said.

BEST PERFORMING SUBURBS
Suburb Median Sale Price
2008 -> 2009

1 GUILDFORD $565,000 -> $662,500
2 MOUNT RICHON $422,500 -> $493,750
3 VICTORIA PARK $575,000 -> $665,000
4 DARLINGTON $515,000 -> $590,000
5 ORELIA $297,500 -> $339,000
6 MAYLANDS $670,000 -> $754,000
7 SOUTH FREMANTLE $825,000 -> $925,000
8 STONEVILLE $457,500 -> $511,250
9 FREMANTLE $795,000 -> $880,000
10 JOONDANNA $633,000 -> $697,500

WORST PERFORMING SUBURBS
Suburb Median Sale Price
2008 2009

1 NORTH BEACH $1,222,500 $790,000
2 ASCOT $766,250 $520,000
3 MOUNT LAWLEY $1,220,000 $875,000
4 MOSMAN PARK $1,522,500 $1,150,000
5 FORRESTDALE $520,000 $395,000
6 APPLECROSS $2,075,000 $1,602,500
7 PERTH $875,000 $690,000
8 MARMION $885,000 $698,750
9 KALLAROO $660,000 $545,000
10 SWANBOURNE $1,600,000 $1,322,500

SUBURBS BY VOLUME SOLD
Suburb 2009
Sales

1 CANNING VALE 506
2 THORNLIE 340
3 ELLENBROOK 330
4 CLARKSON 277
5 GOSNELLS 275
6 BALLAJURA 256
7 BALDIVIS 238
8 PORT KENNEDY 235
9 BUTLER 224
10 TAPPING 218

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