Author: David Kavanagh

A ROAD rage incident that saw a teenage boy dragged from his mother’s car and bashed in the head in October is evidence of a worsening problem in the community, an Albany court has been told.

Magistrate Raelene Johnston said road rage violence was “far more prevalent than it used to be” when she fined Albany man Stephen Murphy more than $1700 for the common assault in Albany Magistrates Court last Thursday.

Mr Murphy, a former combat engineer, attacked the 17-year-old victim after the boy made “rude gestures” at him from the front passenger seat of his mother’s Ford Falcon.

The 50-year-old was about to enter an Albany Highway roundabout from Sanford Road when the Ford Falcon allegedly cut him off at around 3.50pm on October 18.

Prosecuting Sergeant Alan Dean said the two vehicles then pulled over on the highway before Mr Murphy engaged in a “verbal argument” with the victim, pulled him from the car “by his hair” and punched him five times in the back of the head.

In an interview with police two days later, Mr Murphy said he had “snapped” and “was ashamed of what he’d done”.

He added he did not realise the victim was a juvenile at the time.

“It’s an awful thing that occurred,” Magistrate Johnston said prior to sentencing.

“It’s entirely understandable that people get upset about other people’s driving on the road … it used to be the case that people would generally honk their horn. This obviously went beyond that.

“It got out of hand the moment you got out of the car and deteriorated from there.”

Mr Murphy’s defence lawyer Graeme Payne said his client was a father of three children, including one aged 17, and had worked as a truck driver for 15 years before he was made redundant 18 months ago.

He said Mr Murphy had had right of way when the Ford Falcon “flashed past” and left him feeling “frightened” and “startled”.

“He asked the driver what she thought she was doing and the victim chipped in … the victim was using abusive language,” Mr Payne said.

“[Mr Murphy] was very remorseful for his response.”

Magistrate Johnston accepted the incident was not something Mr Murphy would usually be involved in and granted him a spent conviction.

In Western Australia, common assault can attract a maximum penalty of 18 months imprisonment and a fine of $18,000.

MINISTER for Regional Development Alannah MacTiernan was given a tour around the Himac Attachments facilities yesterday after announcing the recipients of the second round of the Regional Economic Development Grants program.

The RED Grants program is a State Government initiative to promote community-driven projects that will create jobs and boost economic growth.

In the last round $6.38m was distributed across 70 projects in nine different regions.

This round eight projects in the Great Southern will share $797,995 with Albany based Himac Attachments receiving $47,148.

Minister MacTiernan said the government was investing in a diverse range of projects this round.

“Particularly those which will create jobs and training opportunities for young people and support the long-term growth of manufacturing and business development in the Great Southern,” she said.

“Boosting our local manufacturing capability is vital to the future economic growth and sustainability of our regional communities.

“Projects such as the construction of modular housing and local machinery fabrication will provide wide community benefits, supporting other local businesses in the region like steel suppliers, electricians, tilers and plumbers.”

In Himac Attachments’ application they stated that they would use their funding to develop and construct a fully interactive platform for fabrication and welding processes, which would in turn create more job opportunities for young people and school leavers.

Also on the recipients list was South Coast Natural Resource Management Inc. who received $149,860 for their Seeding Great southern Noongar Enterprises program.

The program will provide training, equipment and mentoring for Tambellup and Gnowangerup Aboriginal communities to establish seed and seedling propagation businesses.

The Shire of Cranbrook received $150,000 for their Frankland River Accommodation Project, West Coast Analytical Services received $150,000 for a new laboratory project, and Woodlands Distillery Pty Ltd received $98,660 for the development of a micro-distillery near the Porongurups.

The award winning Dellendale Creamery received $76,177 for the construction of a new ripening cellar for cheese, Albany Seafoods Pty Ltd received $75,000 for a factory extension and restoration, and Monty’s Leap winery received $51,150 for their Monty’s Leap Winery Boardwalk and Rustic Wedding Venue project.

Member for Albany Peter Watson said the RED Grants program was a prime example of the “McGowan Government investing in the regions, promoting small businesses and creating jobs”.

“With more jobs on offer, the Great Southern becomes even more attractive for people to live and work in this stunning part of the world.”

AFTER many attempts to get off the ground the Denmark Community Transport Group has received the support required to enable them to commence trials of a bus service next month.

The service will be run under the auspices of Green Skills who, on joining the group, have made available their 14-seat vehicle for the trial.

Transport group spokesman Chris Lendrum said he hopes that members of the Denmark and Albany community will make use of the service running between the towns.

“To ensure continuity of this community initiative, the residents of both Denmark and Albany will need to come together in order to ensure that necessary participation levels are achieved,” he said.

“This could also be supplemented by offering the service to tourists visiting the Great Southern region.

“As a not-for-profit group, the success of the bus service operation will depend totally on this public support to generate the mandatory passenger numbers required to achieve realistic ticket prices, which are reflective of all associated costs involved in providing the service.”

Mr Lendrum said initially there will be a morning and afternoon service running between Denmark and Albany four days a week, these being on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

He said the morning service would provide a link-up with the direct Transperth bus from Albany to Perth.

“During the period between the two daily service runs when the vehicle is back in Denmark, the group will look at offering services about the Shire of Denmark reflective of the demand by residents or tourists seeking travel assistance,” Mr Lendrum said.

“Information promoting the bus service will be displayed at most public venues, clubs, medical centres and the like along with two contact phone numbers to be used.

“The first number, 9848 2055, will connect the caller to staff at the Denmark Amazing Great Southern Visitors Information Centre where more comprehensive advice on the service will be provided.

“The second number, 0478 357 379, will link the caller to the ‘The Ring a Ride’ booking service where details of their travel requirements will be recorded and associated advice provided.”

Mr Lendrum said any changes made to the booking would be communicated to passengers promptly.

The trial will commence on February 10.

SHIRE of Plantagenet Chief Executive Officer Rob Stewart will be resigning later this year after nearly two decades in the top job.

The 66-year-old stepped into the position on July 2, 2001 after having helmed his own software development company and served as CEO of the Town of Claremont in Perth.

Mr Stewart spoke with the Weekender about his time working for the Shire, a long and multifaceted journey he described as an “unusual … rich and satisfying professional experience”.

“I am genuinely sad to be leaving Plantagenet,” he said.

“Over the past 19 years, the council, council staff and community have all been very proactive and supportive.

“Everything that has been achieved has been achieved in an environment of mutual support and trust and the council continues to plan for the future.”

When asked to pinpoint the achievements he was most proud of over his long tenure, Mr Stewart said it was a difficult question to answer.

He praised the Shire for “always being willing to take considered risks” when providing infrastructure and pointed to its first Strategic Plan, adopted in 2004, which gave it developmental focus for the next 15 plus years.

This plan helped the Shire provide many upgrades to its main street, construct a new environmentally sound administration centre and purpose built Medical Centre and to purchase the Mount Barker Cattle Saleyards.

It also led to a $9m upgrade of Sounness Park including its artificial hockey turf, the joint venture development of the Public Library and Community Resource Centre and the completion of its new Community College.

Mr Stewart said he was also proud to have helped the Shire develop strong relationships with its neighbouring local authorities.

“These achievements were all the more significant as Plantagenet is a small rural local authority with only limited resources,” he reflected.

“The biggest challenge is finding enough money to get everything done as it is impossible to rely on ratepayer funds for everything.

“Another challenge is remaining positive within an environment where resources are scarce but if you stop achieving, your community would go backwards.”

Mr Stewart referred to the construction of the Mount Barker Medical Centre as a prime example of the unique difficulties facing local governments.

Although the Shire sold assets and received Federal Government funds to pay for the structure, the Centre could only go ahead after it received an interest free loan from Mount Barker’s local community bank.

“Also, we always knew that it would be difficult to build a national standard hockey pitch but still put the plans in place,” Mr Stewart said.

“Because the planning was in place, when funds were made available, we were in the box seat to successfully attract significant funding.”

Mr Stewart’s lengthy career will officially end on July 31 this year when his employment contract expires.

He said while he and his partner had expressed desire to remain in the Great Southern going forward, “the pull of grandchildren” will ultimately see them settle in an apartment in Perth.

NINETEEN people lost their lives on Great Southern roads last year, despite a downward trend in road fatalities across the state.

Road Safety Commission figures show 16 motor vehicle occupants, one cyclist, and two pedestrians were killed in the region in the period leading to December 30, 2019.

This comes as Western Australia recorded a total 164 road deaths, seven less than the preceding five-year average of 171.

Eighteen road fatalities occurred in the Great Southern in 2018, 15 in 2017 and a significant 31 in 2016.

Road Safety Council Chairman Iain Cameron told the Weekender inattention and fatigue were major factors in road crashes, with around seven out of 10 serious accidents involving a mistake or lapse in concentration.

“Road trauma is estimated to have cost Western Australia $20 billion over the past decade but the effect of just one death on family, loved ones, friends and the general community is incalculable,” he said.

“Even good drivers make mistakes and it is not just high risk behaviour such as speeding or drink and drug driving that can cause crashes.

“It is up to every road user to do their part to ensure we are all safe on the roads.”

According to the RAC, roughly 60 per cent of WA road fatalities occur on regional roads.

The organisation’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs Will Golsby called for the State Government’s Regional Road Safety Package to be fully funded in the 2020/21 State and Federal Budgets.

The $900m road improvement initiative aims to accelerate road upgrades to more than 17,000km of WA’s regional road networks.

“Our regional communities are hurting – just 20 per cent of WA’s population live in our regional areas yet this is where most of our fatalities occur,” Mr Golsby said.

“These low-cost road improvements would reduce road trauma by an unprecedented 60 per cent and prevent more than 2,100 serious crashes from occurring in the next decade.”

The nine-year initiative would not immediately target Great Southern routes, instead first focusing on improvements along the Great Eastern Highway, the Great Northern High- way, the South Western Highway and the North West Coastal Highway.