Thank you…

…to all those who voted for me in the election. Unfortunately there weren't enough of you to get me back onto Council.

I have (mainly) enjoyed the past fourteen and a half years, although there were times when I wondered why any sane person would do it, and I will miss being involved in the community in that way.

On the other hand, I get my life back. I might even get my front fence rebuilt before it finally collapses.

To all the new Councillors - good luck. I do wonder if you realise what you have let yourselves in for! It is a lot more than two Council meetings a month.

To the new Council as a whole - I hope you continue to be genuinely Vincent, with our unique way of doing things.

To the Town's Administration and staff - thank you for all your support over the years.

I live east of the Administration Centre, so I can't ride off into the sunset. Perhaps it is more fitting, anyway, in terms of getting my life back, to ride off towards the sunrise.

Don't believe all you read in the newspapers

Given that the Perth Voice has been invited back to the media table in the Town of Vincent Council chamber, I was extremely disappointed to read the inaccurate rendering of the serious debate on the Uniting Care Hostel at 19 Lincoln Street.

At no time did I or any other elected member call for the shelter to be 'axed' (as was reported in the article in the Voice). What I did call for, with unanimous support from my fellow elected members, was to defer a decision on the matter to allow for discussions to take place that might produce a better outcome for all concerned.

The Voice reporter would have had in front of him at the media table the amendment calling for live-in supervision - this was in the name of Cr Maier. I seconded this purely to allow it to be debated. I spoke and voted against it on the basis that we did not have sufficient information to be able to suggest that this alone would resolve any issues.

Far from there being a 'war of words' between myself and Cr Doran Wu, I supported her statements that people have a right to live independently with a sense of dignity. Simply placing people who have nothing in common except their homelessness in a house in a residential area, however, does not do justice to the dignity of either the residents of the hostel or the other residents of the local area.

I think that initiatives such as 55 Central, reported in the adjacent article, have got the balance better. Natarsha Tryl, a volunteer with 55 Central is quoted as saying: "[The homeless] really need to have something to look forward to and to feel part of the community." Well said, Natarsha.

The 55 Central website clearly sets out the philosophy of the association. This includes supporting the individual in "regaining their interdependence and valuable place in the community".

Simply living in a house is not a cure for homelessness, no matter what support is provided; being part of the community, not isolated from it, is essential.

Advice from the Returning Officer

I have now had advice from the Returning Officer for Vincent that ballot papers that use only a cross (for one or two candidates - each elector can vote for one or two candidates, as there are two vacancies in the South Ward) will be accepted, but that where a cross is used for one and a tick for the other, the vote with a cross will be declared invalid. The vote with a tick will be accepted as valid.

My Mistake

The previous post on this blog originally contained an error, which has now been corrected (see below). I take full responsibility for this error and can only hope that those of you who have already voted followed the instructions in the voting package from the Electoral Commission. I will be seeking advice about what the implications of anyone having voted with a cross might be.

The advert to the right will appear in the Perth Voice for Saturday 3 October.

Time Flies

It hardly seems four years since I last stood for re-election, but my calendar assures me it is.
The Electoral Commission today (Wednesday, 23 September) started mailing out ballot papers to those on the electoral roll. If you think you are on the electoral roll but have not received your ballot papers by, say, Friday 2 October, you should contact the WA Electoral Commission on (08) 9214 0400 to, first, check that you are on the electoral roll for Vincent (or you can check your enrolment on-line at https://www.waec.wa.gov.au/check_enrolment/index.php). If you are on the roll, you can ask for replacement voting papers from the Town of Vincent (Phone 9273 6000).

My thanks to those of you who voted for me in 2005. I hope you are able to do so again.

For all of you, including those voting for the first time in this local government election, I urge you to be informed and to make use of your vote.

To help you be informed, here is an electronic copy of my election leaflet - just click on the images for a larger, more readable version. For more information, you can scroll down this blog or e-mail me at ian_ker@hotmail.com.

When I originally posted this blog, the leaflet contained an error, showing a cross instead of a tick in the voting part. I have now corrected this.



Unlike other election fliers I have seen so far, this is not simply a list of vague statements or aspirations but a coherent history of achievements and a logical basis for moving into the future.

And just one reminder: voting closes at 6.00pm on Saturday 17 October but postal ballots have to be received by close of business on Friday 16 October. If you think you might be late, you can still bring your completed voting package to the Town of Vincent Administration Centre, 244 Vincent Street (cnr Loftus Street) up to 6pm on Saturday 17 October.

Help Me To Help You (and others)

It occurred to me as I was writing the previous post, that 'someone should do something'.

As an elected Councillor, I have a responsibility be that someone!

SO, if you see or know of a public utility installation in the Town of Vincent that is causing a problem, especially if it has been doing so for more than a few days, let me know (e-mail: ian_ker@hotmail.com - photo would be great, but not essential) and I will ask Town of Vincent staff to follow up with the offending agency.

For any that are not cleared up in a reasonable time, I will 'name and shame' here and also pass on to interested local newspapers.

Let's take some community action to reclaim our streets - and also to get some decent service from those no-longer-quite-so-public utilities.

On Public (Dis)Utilities…

It's amazing how often so-called public utilities make life hazardous for the people of Perth.

For some months recently, Western Power had various large holes in the footpath on William Street outside Hyde Park Court, forcing people either to walk in the road (this photograph was completely unstaged!) or to cross busy William Street twice - at least once without the benefit of any traffic control. Repeated representations by Town of Vincent staff did eventually get this fixed, but Western Power never did explain why it thought it acceptable to inconvenience the public for so long.

My wife did ask one of the workers who were there one day (most days there was no one there doing anything) and was told that a major problem had been found that required some specialised attention. But that still doesn't explain why Western Power doesn't adopt the practice of most other places where a temporary cover (often a steel sheet or timber platform) would be placed over the hole, so that pedestrian access could be maintained.

And then there are the Telstra yellow fences, which surely must be the Perth equivalent of the UK's red traffic cones even though not quite so fecund. I note, though, from the above picture, that Western Power knows all about traffic cones!

The Perth Voice recently ran an article with a photograph of John Hyde and one of the offending fences.

I am sure those who read this article will be sad to hear that the fence with which John had a photographic relationship (which had resided outside my home for nearly 12 months) has disappeared. Not, however, because the phone line has been fixed, but because someone walked off with it during the night.

It has gone walkabout twice before, but been found nearby - but this time someone presumably decided to take it on a permanent vacation (although what you would do with such a fence (apart from the obvious) is beyond me). Quite possibly, they understandably got fed up with having the footpath half-blocked - for which I sincerely apologise - but I do need a phone line and Telstra will not, it seems, reinstate my underground connection.

Anyway, I rang Telstra - I think the person I spoke to must have been somewhere far from Australia, as she apparently didn't know that a number with area code 08 and postcode 6050 would be in Western Australia - she asked me twice which state I was in.

I tried to explain that I didn't think it was satisfactory service in the first place for a temporary line to be laid across the surface of the footpath for nearly 12 months, but I don't think the message got through. I did, however, get some response when I said that the cable (sans fence) was a trip hazard - and was duly told someone would be out this afternoon.

And, indeed, someone did come (Yeah!) - and the fence has been replaced (Yeah?) - and this time strapped to a fence post so it can't walk away, making me wonder if this is going to be a permanent arrangement (Oh! No!). All this in the time it took me to make and drink a cup of coffee away from my office at the front of the house - so I didn't actually see it done and no one came to the door to tell me.

BUT I still have only a temporary phone connection - and I rather suspect I will have gone back to the bottom of the queue as there will now be a record of some action having taken place on 14 September 2009.

Next time I ring Telstra, I shall prepare myself with a range of descriptions when asked what state I am in - indignation and frustration come to mind, as do other less polite terms.

Decision Time

To nominate or not to nominate, that is the question (with apologies to William Shakespeare).

Shakespeare had Hamlet go on to question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them.

As a current Councillor for the Town of Vincent, perhaps I'd better not go down that road!

But I have made my decision - and today submitted my nomination for the election to be held on 17 October. And this is the mugshot you will see on the 'candidate information' sheet that comes with your ballot papers - as you can see, 14 years in local government has turned my hair white and I've probably pulled it out in frustration at times.

Each candidate is also allowed up to 150 words to be included in the candidate information you will receive. That isn't very much, but here are mine (actually 149 words):

I am a proud Vincent resident and want you to feel the same. I have lived here for 24 years and been a Councillor for 14 years. I live and work in Vincent, so understand the aspirations of both residents and businesses. My four children attended Sacred Heart Primary School, Highgate, and I was active in keeping the school from closing in 1997. I have chaired the Town’s Local Area Traffic Management and Universal (Disability) Access Advisory Groups since their establishment, developing an inclusive and consultative approach to resolving issues for residents. Vincent is in good shape for the future and I will help ensure this continues - through making our town centres places for people and businesses, improving residential amenity, supporting quality development and working for better public transport to places other than the Perth city centre, including the University of Western Australia, QEII Medical Centre and Subiaco.

You can find more in earlier posts to this blog or you can contact me by e-mail (ian_ker@hotmail.com) or phone (+61 8 9328 8978).

The important decisions are those that are yet to come - the votes of each and every eligible resident, ratepayer and business owner.

I encourage you all to vote in this election.

With the reversion to 'first past the post' voting, each elector in the South Ward has two votes, as there are two positions to be filled.

The Town of Vincent uses postal voting to make it as easy as possible for you to vote. Ballot papers and information on candidates will be mailed out by the WA Electoral Commission from 23 September 2009, so you will have up to three weeks to mail back your completed voting papers, which must reach the Electoral Commission by Saturday 17 October.

If you do leave it late, you can deliver them to the Town of Vincent Civic Centre (cnr Loftus and Vincent Streets, Leederville) up to 6pm on Saturday 17 October.

I hope to be able to continue to serve the Vincent community to the best of my ability after 17 October.

Updates

On 11 August, Council supported the 30km/hr speed limit for Oxford Street but ditched the reduction in pedestrian safety and amenity at the Vincent/Oxford Streets intersection. Further information from Main Roads clarified that whilst it is their intention generally to replace all-pedestrian light phases with so-called parallel walks, they would not be insisting on it for this very busy location.

Common sense wins the day!

And let's hope that there is no further suggestion of removing the pedestrian phases at Beaufort and Walcott Streets or Flinders Street and Scarborough Beach Road.

On 25 August, Council endorsed a proposal and preliminary assessment to be submitted to the WA Planning Commission for the removal of widening reservations on most of Fitzgerald Street (Carr to Walcott Street) and Beaufort Street (Brisbane to Walcott Street). Widening would gut these communities and, given the number and nature of properties involved would never in fact be undertaken. In the meantime, though, the widening reservations restrict development and business opportunities.

As the initiator of this process, I am very pleased at this support from fellow elected members. It is equally gratifying to see the arguments I have mounted over the past couple of years reflected in the WA Planning Commission's Directions 2031: Draft Spatial Framework for the Perth and Peel, so other communities , not just Vincent, will benefit.

On 25 August, Council decided not to proceed with the draft Streetscapes policy, supporting the Town's officers' recommendation, on the grounds that:

(a) the document has been significantly diluted during the community consultation process and has therefore substantially reduced the value of the document to such an extent, whereby it is no longer considered an adequate planning tool;

(b) the diluted document does not offer significant provisions for protecting “recognised streetscapes”, beyond what is already provided in the Town's Policy No. 3.2.1 relating to Residential Design Elements, the Town's Policies relating to Heritage Management and Town Planning Scheme No. 1;

(c) the nomination process for streets to be included into the Draft Policy is fundamentally flawed and is considered too unrealistic to achieve;

(d) the Town’s existing Policy No. 3.2.1 relating to Residential Design Elements, the Town's Policies relating to Heritage Management and the Town Planning Scheme No:1 already provide appropriate control measures for the protection of “recognised streetscapes”; and

(e) the document, if adopted in its current form, has the potential to cause confusion and ambiguity to the community and the Town’s Officers, whilst at the same time unnecessarily complicating the current Development Approval process.

I did not support this rejection, as I believe there is considerable community support for the objectives of the draft streetscape policy. I stated at the meeting that I was extremely concerned that the consultation process had misled residents and ratepayers, as witnessed by the large number of e-mails I received on this matter.

However, clearly Council did not get it right on this occasion, probably because we didn't talk with the community sufficiently. Acknowledging this, I moved a subsequent motion (adopted 7-1) that Council:

(a) ENGAGE with the community to establish views on streetscape management and to
develop appropriate policies to support those views;

(b) REQUESTS the Chief Executive Officer to provide a report to the Council on an
appropriate process and timeline by September 2009; and

(c) REVIEW the format of the consultation letter and guidelines to accurately reflect
how comments are to be considered.

The timeline is important, as local government elections are being held on 17 October (actually, with postal voting in the Town of Vincent, you can vote immediately you receive ballot papers in the mail) and this will enable the new Council to start moving on this without delay.

Give with one hand…take away with the other

There is an item on the Vincent Council agenda for 11 August that seeks to approve a 30km/h speed limit in the Oxford Centre (Leederville). As one who has been pushing for years for slower speeds in our town centres, I support this wholeheartedly.

However, there is a sting in the tail - Main Roads apparently is agreeing to this only with the trade-off that the all-pedestrian phase at the intersection of Oxford and Vincent Streets be replaced by so-called 'parallel walk' phases.

It is nonsensical to implement a 30kph speed limit with the objective of "improving pedestrian safety" and then reduce the opportunities for pedestrians to cross safely and conveniently at the intersection in the heart of the area.

Parallel walk phases are not suitable for, nor are they safe in, places like this, where there are heavy and complex pedestrian movements. Even outside these areas, parallel walks are dangerous in WA as Perth drivers do not give way to pedestrians even when the pedestrians have right of way. Parallel walks add confusion, by having signals facing motor vehicle drivers change to green when the pedestrian is only halfway across the road, usually on a median island, so the car driver might assume that he/she (driver) has right of way.

Personally, I am not even willing to consider parallel walks at Oxford/Vincent (whether 5 or 10sec pedestrian 'advance').

The same applies at Walcott and Beaufort, where I have heard that Main Roads wants to do the same thing. Business people I have talked to in this area do not want to lose the exclusive pedestrian phase - and certainly pedestrians don't! This is the only controlled crossing point of Beaufort Street between Bulwer Street and Central Avenue - a distance of nearly 2.5km!

Presumably Main Roads will also seek to do the same in Mt Hawthorn at the intersection of Flinders Street and Scarborough Beach Road.

THE WA Planning Commission draft Activity Centre policy (Item 9.1.19 on Tuesday's Council agenda) states that "activity centres and management of traffic" should "sustain high levels of pedestrian movement". This proposal would restrict pedestrian access and worsen pedestrian safety.

I recently helped organise, with the support of the Town of Vincent, the 2009 Mainstreet Conference,held in Fremantle. This conference had the theme 'Rediscovering the Heart', reflecting the rediscovery by local communities of the centres that are both physically and socially their real heart. The key to this is people - so why on earth would we make things more difficult for people to move around our town centres on foot?

I will move that we do not support the removal of the pedestrian phase at the Oxford/Vincent Street intersection and also that: The Council opposes any diminution of pedestrian access and safety in its Town Centres through removal of dedicated pedestrian phases at traffic signals.

Looking Around

I do a lot of walking around the Town. One of the benefits of the end of daylight saving is that more of this is done at dusk and in the dark. I know a lot of people don't like this but it does give you a different view of your environs.

I have taken to carrying a camera with me a lot of the time, and thought I'd share a few of my nocturnal observations from the past few weeks. As a Councillor, I'm ineligible for the Town's photographic competition, but I hope this encourages others to look at the potential for night photography.

Musing: Am I AMUSED or BEMUSED?

I find myself amused by the various claims made by the City of Perth and its Councillors for parts of the Town of Vincent.

Fifteen years ago, the City of Perth couldn't wait to be rid of its residential areas - and so the Towns of Vincent, Victoria Park and Cambridge came into being. The City claimed that the residential areas were being heavily subsidised by business in the CBD and that residents were not part of a Capital City (with Capital letters, no doubt).

Well, if there was subsidisation, it must have been very inefficient, for when Vincent was established we found a tale of sorry neglect of infrastructure and services over a long period of time.

Our major roads were seen simply as traffic sewers, to funnel cars and their drivers (very few passengers) into the city. No consideration was given to the business and residential communities that lined these roads nor of providing any visual respite from bitumen through streetscape improvements - with, to be fair, the solitary exception of Scarborough Beach Road, Mt Hawthorn, although even this was to require much more work - and involvement of the business community - before it really started to pay off.

The rear laneways around the Town were in a shocking state, many of them little better than sandpits. And our footpaths were a disgrace. Vincent Council had to establish long-term programs to improve these.

And before anyone takes me to task because their rear laneway is still like that, let me point out that many of these are still privately owned and the Town can only do work on those that it owns. We are progressively buying these laneways - but it takes time.

Our major parks were tired and run down. When I moved to Vincent Street in 1985, the general reaction of friends and colleagues was "why would you want to live there" - Hyde Park was best known for anti-social behaviour rather than being the family place and 'arcadian jewel' that it now is. Robertson Park was no better.

Sporting facilities in the Town were deteriorating. Perth Oval and Leederville Oval were poorly maintained as playing areas and the grandstands desperately need refurbishment. Compare that to today - Members Equity Stadium is the premier rectangular stadium in WA and Leederville Oval (Medibank Stadium) is the WA Football Centre of Excellence and hosts two WAFL teams that have won seven of the past nine premierships.

Other sports have benefited through redevelopment of the Loftus Recreation Centre to include the State Gymnastics Centre (replacing the decrepit Len Fletcher Pavilion that was literally starting to fall down.

So why do City of Perth Councillors want to take back parts of Vincent? Well, putting aside the fact that we were granted part of their territory last year (which is in the area they now seem to want from Vincent), part of the reason is probably pure jealousy of the extent to which Vincent has been able to partner with others and leverage funding to achieve worthwhile community outcomes. Now that we have done so much in this way, the City wants to take it back - to gain the glory without having to do the hard yards along the way.

I suspect they also have more than half an eye on the value of land in Leederville that will bring the private sector into partnership in the exciting redevelopment there - and make Leederville a real competitor to large parts of the CBD. With the railway from Mandurah to Clarkson running through Leederville and all three freeways providing access by car, Leederville is now the most accessible place in the Perth Region - with the possible exception of the core of Perth itself.

I am amused - yes - I am also bemused, that they have so little knowledge of the past that they seek to repeat its mistakes.

The Role of the Independent

Last year I wrote about 'tilting at windmills'.

A recent book, reviewed in the Western Councillor journal, adds another dimension to the value of the 'outsider' in decision-making. This book (Sway:The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behaviour, by Ori and Rom Brafman) talks about how apparently logical thinking in decision-making can be subverted or "swayed" by unseen behavioural forces.

In part, the authors attribute this to what they call the"chameleon effect", in which people are inclined to behave in a way that fits with the opinions or expectations of those around them.

The converse of this, of course, is those who are willing to say when the emperor has no clothes - the dissenter. According to the authors, the dissenter has a very important place in decision-making processes by forcing the majority to refine their positions and raise the quality of their analysis.

Anthony Quahe, Director of Civic Legal, Solicitors, to whom I am indebted for his review of the book, ends his review with the following question:
With such an array of behavioural influences, it would be worthwhile Councils reflecting frequently on the hidden behavioural forces behind (their) decision-making processes.

And, no, I haven't read the book yet - but I do have it on order - watch this space!

Who's the Goose?

Well, it seems I was wrong about the public transport cuts becoming 6% rather than 3% - but the rest of what I said in December last appears to be on the money.

The reported plans to cut public transport services that are ‘used by few commuters’ and to ‘realign services’ to get ‘maximum value for the taxpayer for taxpayer dollar’ (Transport services face cuts, West Australian, Monday 25 May) may make superficial sense but ignore the realities that face an increasing number of people who live in the suburbs of Perth.

Suburban households need more, not less, public transport.

Yes, it will cost money, at least in the short run, but that is a cost we should bear for failing to protect the interests of a large part of the Perth community.

Because public transport does not serve their place of employment, family entertainment outings, higher education or other needs, many outer suburban residents have little choice but to use cars to travel or to do without.

They are caught in the trap of higher fuel prices (as oil production is unable to keep pace with growing global demand), so spend a much larger part of their pay on simply traveling to earn a living.

That income itself is being threatened by the current economic downturn and, for those who do lose their jobs, lack of public transport can prevent their even getting to first base – attending an interview.

It is time that government faced the fact that this situation is the result of continual failures of the planning system in WA to deliver sustainable residential development or employment close to where people live, in the suburbs, in particular.

It has been estimated that every outer suburban residential lot is subsidized to the extent of $85,000. This makes the outer suburbs appear cheap to families, but results in a high cost of transport for those who buy homes on this basis.

The State Government (and its predecessors) is ultimately responsible for the failure of planning that continues to feed the need to travel by car. This system clearly needs to be made more responsive to the long-term needs of the community.

Public transport should not just be about trains and big buses. In many other places, public transport involves small and medium-sized buses, as well as big ones.

Those of us who live in inner areas such as Vincent are lucky, but it’s time to provide all residents of Perth, young and old, with proper access to the good things that the more fortunate among us take for granted.

Time to Revisit Precincts?

The referendum on daylight saving has gone and the results of the previous three referenda confirmed.

[Incidentally, with regard to that other relatively recent referendum, on retail trading hours, anyone who has traveled extensively overseas will know that there are very few places where 24 hour trading is common practice, no matter what the law says. There are places where trading goes on longer into the evening - but even these are remarkably few, except for tourist shops and convenience stores. But that is another story.]

It is, as someone remarked to me on leaving the polling booth, a clear reflection of the fact that if no new arguments or information come to light, then people will continue to vote the same way.

And that got me to thinking of what, as an economist, I really ought to have been more aware all along. That is that people are rational no matter how it might suit politicians to think otherwise. The key is ensuring that they have the necessary information on which to make decisions or, in the case of local government, to influence their elected members.

Vincent established a precint group system early in its life - encouraged by reports of the success of precincts in North Sydney under the tutelage of Ted Mack as Mayor. For a while this worked well, but it has been difficult for those groups to maintain their energy and several of them have folded in recent years.

The reasons for this are not hard to find, the main one being that our precincts are too small. Each precinct in North Sydney had almost as many residents as the whole of the Town of Vincent. So, as the Town matured and the issues that had been neglected by the City of Perth were addressed, there were too few matters of specific concern to any one precinct group - as distinct from important to the Town as a whole.

For issues of importance to the Town as a whole, the precinct system might actually have worked against the original intention of facilitating informed community discussion and input to Council decision-making - something akin to 'divide and rule', perhaps - a fragmented community is unable to present a coherent and consistent point of view.

Sure, on specific issues we consult widely - matters such as the potential redevelopment of Leederville. But on the less tangible topics that are the stuff of policy (and the Town has heaps of policies), we get very litle input from either precinct groups or individual members of the community.

So is it time to revisit the precinct system in Vincent - to revitalise and recreate?

The award-winning Vincent Vision 2024 identified five 'place-based areas'. These were: Mt Hawthorn; North Perth; Leederville; Mt Lawley/Highgate; and Perth. These have also been used as the basis for the Local Planning Strategy, which lays the groundwork for the review of the Town Planning Scheme.

Each of these areas has a 'town centre' and a local community that relates to it. The local residents may patronise local businesses and, in turn, will understand the impacts of those businesses; businesses in those centres would also have a voice that is often missing at present. There is a multi-faceted 'community of interest' that would lend itself to creating an informed community, on the one hand, and provide an effective forum for discussion of important issues affecting the place, on the other hand.

If we are going to plan on the basis of these five areas, let's do the job properly and establish a consultative structure that accords with them - as part of the develoment of the new Town Planning Scheme and as an integral part of its implementation.

If we are going to do this, we must also be prepared to resource those groups so that they can fulfil their role effectively.

We should also look carefully at the potential value of having a 'place manager' for each of these five places - to integrate the planning and delivery of services for each place across the functional boundaries. The business and residential communities would then have a single point of contact with the Town (a portal) rather than having to penetrate the adminstrative structure to work out who best to talk to. The role of 'place manager' is a relatively new one, but we should look to being once again the benchmark rather than a follower.