as posted here
The Perth property market exceeded expectations in the past three months with prices rising 3.5 per cent as buyers trading up moved on more expensive homes, the Real Estate Institute of WA said yesterday.
The median price for the last quarter of the financial year rose $15,000 to $445,000.
The market recovered the losses of the past year and returned to a similar position as at June 30 last year when the median price was $448,000.
Prices in the western suburbs soared 12 per cent, which virtually erased a 12.5 per cent fall in the March quarter. The median price grew $155,000 to $1.205 million.
The institute’s figures for the June quarter show the Perth median house price was only $25,000 lower than the peak of $470,000 in December 2007.
A key catalyst in the second consecutive quarter of price rises was the return of buyers trading up.
REIWA president Rob Druitt said the figures should be treated cautiously. Perth would not be headed back to a boom period any time soon despite encouraging growth. He said the first-homebuyers’ domination of the market was lessening.
“It’s a result of more higher-priced sales. We’re starting to see more trade-up buyers in the $500,000 to $1 million market,” Mr Druitt said. “I think we should be mindful we’ve had a boom, we’ve had a bust and it does take a while for markets to recover. Modest rises and a stable market is a better environment anyway.”
Sales rose a further 8 per cent in the June quarter on top of a 38 per cent rise in the March quarter. Listings had reduced to 12,800 properties, including 2100 blocks of land, compared with more than 18,000 at the peak of the market in 2007.
It took seven fewer days on average to sell a home in Perth during the June quarter, with the norm being 70 days.
Weekly rents for houses fell by $10 a week to $360 and unit rents were stable at $350 a week. The Perth rental vacancy rate was now higher than usual, having risen by 0.7 per cent to 3.6 per cent in the June quarter.
The western suburbs had the biggest quarterly rise of any Perth region, though Joondalup North, Melville and Armadale-Serpentine posted increases of 4 to 6 per cent. Firsthomebuyer hotspots of Gosnells, Cockburn, Rockingham, Kwinana and parts of Wanneroo recorded slight falls or zero growth.
A special Westpac survey showed confidence about housing prices was returning to boom-like levels — almost one in 10 West Australians expected prices to grow more than 10 per cent over the coming year and a further 38 per cent believed prices would climb by up to 10 per cent.
KATE CAMPBELL, SANDI LOVATT and SHANE WRIGHT
as posted here
Monday, 13 July 2009
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Bitumen Plant appeal upheld. Plant to be referred back to the EPA.
as posted here
The Bickley Ward Progress and Ratepayers Association (Inc) is pleased to announce that the Minister for the Environment and Youth, Ms Donna Faragher, has upheld the Associations Appeal on the level of assessment on the Bitumen Emulsion Plant proposed for 5 Marion Rd, Maddington. In a letter to the Association, the Minister stated that: “I have, therefore, decided to uphold the Association’s appeal to the extent that I have remitted the proposal to the EPA for the making of a fresh decision as to whether or not the proposal should be assessed. In remitting the proposal to the EPA, it is expected that the proponent will need to demonstrate whether the 80 metre separation distance between the proposed bitumen emulsion plant and nearby residential areas is sufficient to meet noise, dust, and air quality standards, particularly odour. It is also reasonable to expect that the proponent will consult with the local community during this process.”
Bickley Ward Progress and Ratepayers Association President, Mrs Sandra Baraiolo, said that “This is good news for the residents that surround the proposed bitumen emulsion plant. It established that their concerns about the proposed facility were valid, and that it had not been established that the proposed facility was able to operate without potentially affecting the health, welfare, convenience, comfort or amenity of the people that live nearby.”
“There were a number of community members that put in a huge effort in this campaign. They should congratulate themselves on a job well done. It is not often that a small community can obtain a positive result when the odds are stacked against them” she said.
“The Association would like to thank all the members of the community that collected signatures on petitions and letters of objections from residents that live close to the proposed plant. We would also like to thank Mr Andrew Waddell (MLA for Forrestfield) who presented our petitions in State Parliament and provided us with valuable advice, and Cr Terry Brown (Bickley Ward) who presented our petitions in Council” she said.
“We would also like to stress that this proposal was not the only concern that the Association has with regards to our air quality or impacts from activities that occur within the suburbs of Maddington and Kenwick. We are currently undertaking a process that will allow the community to develop a log of air quality in their areas, so that we can demonstrate our concerns to Council and the various Government Departments. Please go to the Associations website / blog (http://bickleyward.blogspot.com/ ) to get more information” she added.
as posted here
The Bickley Ward Progress and Ratepayers Association (Inc) is pleased to announce that the Minister for the Environment and Youth, Ms Donna Faragher, has upheld the Associations Appeal on the level of assessment on the Bitumen Emulsion Plant proposed for 5 Marion Rd, Maddington. In a letter to the Association, the Minister stated that: “I have, therefore, decided to uphold the Association’s appeal to the extent that I have remitted the proposal to the EPA for the making of a fresh decision as to whether or not the proposal should be assessed. In remitting the proposal to the EPA, it is expected that the proponent will need to demonstrate whether the 80 metre separation distance between the proposed bitumen emulsion plant and nearby residential areas is sufficient to meet noise, dust, and air quality standards, particularly odour. It is also reasonable to expect that the proponent will consult with the local community during this process.”
Bickley Ward Progress and Ratepayers Association President, Mrs Sandra Baraiolo, said that “This is good news for the residents that surround the proposed bitumen emulsion plant. It established that their concerns about the proposed facility were valid, and that it had not been established that the proposed facility was able to operate without potentially affecting the health, welfare, convenience, comfort or amenity of the people that live nearby.”
“There were a number of community members that put in a huge effort in this campaign. They should congratulate themselves on a job well done. It is not often that a small community can obtain a positive result when the odds are stacked against them” she said.
“The Association would like to thank all the members of the community that collected signatures on petitions and letters of objections from residents that live close to the proposed plant. We would also like to thank Mr Andrew Waddell (MLA for Forrestfield) who presented our petitions in State Parliament and provided us with valuable advice, and Cr Terry Brown (Bickley Ward) who presented our petitions in Council” she said.
“We would also like to stress that this proposal was not the only concern that the Association has with regards to our air quality or impacts from activities that occur within the suburbs of Maddington and Kenwick. We are currently undertaking a process that will allow the community to develop a log of air quality in their areas, so that we can demonstrate our concerns to Council and the various Government Departments. Please go to the Associations website / blog (http://bickleyward.blogspot.com/ ) to get more information” she added.
as posted here
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Baby death: Drink driver's sentence upheld
as posted here
The Court of Appeal in Perth has upheld the sentence of a drink driver who accidentally killed a child when his car spun out of control.
Benjamin Butler, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving over the death of 11-month-old Grace Moorby.
The baby was being pushed in a pram by her mother when Butler crashed into the front yard of their home in Thornlie in April 2008.
He was sentenced to three years and eight months' jail.
Prosecutors appealed the jail term, arguing it should be increased by 10 months.
But two of the three appeal judges today ruled the sentence was appropriate.
Butler will be eligible for parole next year.
as posted here
The Court of Appeal in Perth has upheld the sentence of a drink driver who accidentally killed a child when his car spun out of control.
Benjamin Butler, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving over the death of 11-month-old Grace Moorby.
The baby was being pushed in a pram by her mother when Butler crashed into the front yard of their home in Thornlie in April 2008.
He was sentenced to three years and eight months' jail.
Prosecutors appealed the jail term, arguing it should be increased by 10 months.
But two of the three appeal judges today ruled the sentence was appropriate.
Butler will be eligible for parole next year.
as posted here
Baby Grace's killer wins appeal
as posted here
The State has lost its appeal for a tougher sentence against drunk driver Benjamin Butler, who killed baby Grace Moorby and injured her mother Tania in front of their Thornlie house.
Butler's speeding car clipped one of two vehicles he was trying to overtake on a Thornlie street in April last year.
His car then mounted a kerb and became airborne before landing in the front garden of a house where Tania Moorby was wheeling her daughter in a pram after coming home from the shops.
The force of the collision flung Mrs Moorby into her neighbour's garden and sent debris flying on to the roof.
Grace was hit and landed on the front porch. She died at the scene.
Butler, 25, who had a blood alcohol reading of 0.166 on the day, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of baby Grace and dangerous driving causing bodily harm to Mrs Moorby.
He was jailed in November last year for 44 months and he could be eligible for parole after serving half the term.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had sought to increase the sentence, arguing that the case was at the "upper end of seriousness" but the sentence handed down was at the bottom end of the range.
The maximum sentence for such an offence was 20 years.
The appeal was today defeated by a 2-1 majority.
One judge hoped to increase the jail term to 4 years and 10 months, but he was overruled by his two colleagues who dismissed the appeal.
as posted here
The State has lost its appeal for a tougher sentence against drunk driver Benjamin Butler, who killed baby Grace Moorby and injured her mother Tania in front of their Thornlie house.
Butler's speeding car clipped one of two vehicles he was trying to overtake on a Thornlie street in April last year.
His car then mounted a kerb and became airborne before landing in the front garden of a house where Tania Moorby was wheeling her daughter in a pram after coming home from the shops.
The force of the collision flung Mrs Moorby into her neighbour's garden and sent debris flying on to the roof.
Grace was hit and landed on the front porch. She died at the scene.
Butler, 25, who had a blood alcohol reading of 0.166 on the day, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of baby Grace and dangerous driving causing bodily harm to Mrs Moorby.
He was jailed in November last year for 44 months and he could be eligible for parole after serving half the term.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had sought to increase the sentence, arguing that the case was at the "upper end of seriousness" but the sentence handed down was at the bottom end of the range.
The maximum sentence for such an offence was 20 years.
The appeal was today defeated by a 2-1 majority.
One judge hoped to increase the jail term to 4 years and 10 months, but he was overruled by his two colleagues who dismissed the appeal.
as posted here
Monday, 22 June 2009
Regional councils spark most complaints
as posted here
Regional councils are the most complained about in WA, with Shark Bay, Busselton and York sparking 63 investigations between them by the Department of Local Government in the past year.
Information provided to The West Australian under freedom of information reveals that the Shire of Shark Bay, which is the subject of an inquiry by the department, topped the list with 31 complaints.
Of those, five were upheld on matters relating to the actions of elected members and employees.
Busselton Shire Council, which has been in the spotlight over the Smiths Beach development, triggered 19 investigations by the department over allegations of improper use of information to gain advantage or cause detriment, securing personal disadvantage and relations with local government employees. However, none was related to Smiths Beach.
Six of the complaints have yet to be settled, while the shire got one warning and advice on three occasions.
The Shire of York recorded three black marks from 13 complaints, mainly against breaches of financial disclosures.
Gosnells and Cambridge attracted 13 complaints each. Of these, the department upheld three for Cambridge and six for Gosnells, including a referral to another agency.
BEATRICE THOMAS
as posted here
Regional councils are the most complained about in WA, with Shark Bay, Busselton and York sparking 63 investigations between them by the Department of Local Government in the past year.
Information provided to The West Australian under freedom of information reveals that the Shire of Shark Bay, which is the subject of an inquiry by the department, topped the list with 31 complaints.
Of those, five were upheld on matters relating to the actions of elected members and employees.
Busselton Shire Council, which has been in the spotlight over the Smiths Beach development, triggered 19 investigations by the department over allegations of improper use of information to gain advantage or cause detriment, securing personal disadvantage and relations with local government employees. However, none was related to Smiths Beach.
Six of the complaints have yet to be settled, while the shire got one warning and advice on three occasions.
The Shire of York recorded three black marks from 13 complaints, mainly against breaches of financial disclosures.
Gosnells and Cambridge attracted 13 complaints each. Of these, the department upheld three for Cambridge and six for Gosnells, including a referral to another agency.
BEATRICE THOMAS
as posted here
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