Category: General News

IN A localised version of Kevin Rudd’s 2009 stimulus package that stopped Australia entering recession after the global financial crisis, the area behind York Street’s Alison Hartman Gardens will get an early injection of student housing money to boost the local building industry after the recent collapse of construction firm Tectonics.

In Albany on Tuesday, State regional development minister Alannah MacTiernan said the $16 million student housing project would be a “shot in the arm” for the city’s building sector.

“This could not come at a better time for the Albany economy,” Ms MacTiernan said.

“We know the construction sector is down.

“There has been an unfortunate bankruptcy that occurred here with one of the large building companies [and] that’s had a flow-on effect throughout the subcontracting world in this region.”

She said the 40-bed building would be available to students attending local places of higher learning.

The project will be brought forward by early deployment of a $10.997 State grant.

Advance Housing will start a tender process this month to build the housing at the old Albany Primary School site.

Albany MLA Peter Watson said the project would be a much-needed boost at a time when local “builders, sub-contractors and suppliers are doing it tough”.

“It’s another step to Albany becoming a regional university and education hub that will service students throughout the Great Southern,” he said.

Ms MacTiernan said she hoped the building contract would be let in November, and start this coming summer.

WHILE most folk are crawling under the covers to seek refuge in the warmth of their beds, come 11pm on a Saturday night, Albany’s own Ruth Carr and Jennie Small are shrugging on their jackets and backpacks to head out into the dark and provide aid to people who need it on Stirling Terrace and York Street.

Ms Carr, a volunteer with St John Ambulance, and Ms Small, a school chaplain, are part of Albany Street Chaplains group, a faith-based group who volunteer their time to deliver crisis care to people requiring assistance.

The group began three years ago and currently has 20 members who alternate walking the popular pub and club strip each Friday and Saturday night from 11pm to 3am.

Their care ranges from walking people to their cars, to handing out water bottles, to packing night-clubbers into taxis with a sick bag and providing first aid when necessary.

The pair say they have seen it all when it comes to nightlife behaviour.

“We just try to make it a bit safer,” Ms Small said.

“We’re like the sober eyes on the street.

“I was talking to a taxi driver one night and they said, ‘it’s been so much better here since you started’.

“I love to think we can make a difference.”

Ms Carr said she is often approached by people who simply want some company while on the street alone and are seeking safety in numbers.

“Sometimes people will come up to you and say, ‘can we just stand with you for a while?’, or they might just hang around you for a bit,” she said.

“We stand with people while they wait for a taxi too.”

The work of Albany Street Chaplains recently caught the eye of Albany’s Soroptimist International branch, who immediately wanted to help in any way possible.

President Janet Leamon said the street chaplains were using their own personal phones to call taxis and ambulances for people while on duty, and so decided the branch would donate $500 to go towards the purchase of a street chaplain phone.

“We wanted to help direct local money to local people,” Ms Leamon added.

Ms Carr and Ms Small said the phone would prove very helpful for them and the people they assist.

If you consider yourself as caring, compassionate, non-judgemental and empathetic and think you have what it takes to be a street chaplain, you can register your interest at streetchaplain.com.

ROB WHOOLEY, a Denmark Shire councillor elected after being sacked as the municipality’s chief engineer, had his day in the Supreme Court of Western Australia this week to appeal his earlier loss of a long-running unfair dismissal case against the Shire.

Shortly after appearing before Supreme Court President Michael Buss, and Justices Graeme Murphy and Rene Le Miere for two hours on Tuesday, Cr Whooley said he was pleased the Industrial Appeal Court in Perth agreed to hear his case.

“The question was whether they would even allow the appeal to be heard,” the self-represented appellant said.

“Most of [the Shire’s] lawyers said I had no chance of winning.

“The good thing is the [court] obviously contemplated there is a basis [for action].”

Cr Whooley said that whether he wins the case will be “another thing”.

“But they could have just chucked it out and said: ‘Nah, we’re not even gonna hear it, mate’,” he added.

In December, The Weekender revealed that in 2015 the Shire had offered Cr Whooley money to discontinue his claim originally filed in the Fair Work Commission (‘Denmark offered Whooley money’, 21 December, 2017).

Now the case is before the Industrial Appeal Court, an arm of the Supreme Court, Cr Whooley is no longer in a no-costs jurisdiction.

It is understood that if he loses his appeal the Shire would be entitled to seek legal costs in excess of $80,000.

Cr Whooley said the Shire had hired a Sydney-based barrister who brought two other lawyers across the continent with him.

“It must have cost a small fortune, but anyway, [after the hearing] I shook hands with them and said: ‘Thanks, Jamie, I’ll see you in the High Court, and he kind of giggled and after that, I said: ‘I’ll see you in the Privy Council’.”

On a more serious note, Cr Whooley said the case had been very stressful for his family.

“It’s been going since 2015,” he lamented.

Contacted for comment on Tuesday afternoon, Shire CEO Bill Parker said he did not attend the hearing, but was expecting a call from the Shire’s solicitor.

The court has reserved its ruling for a later date.

A SPECTACULAR new surf club building revealed to Weekender readers a fortnight ago cannot come soon enough for Denmark, with the Southern Ocean undermining the concourse and contorting ramps leading up to the current clubhouse.

Shire CEO Bill Parker confirmed suspicions raised by a visual inspection at Ocean Beach on Sunday – that high tides and large swells had eroded the sand at the front of the club.

“This has undermined some structures and caused paving to collapse,” Mr Parker said.

“At the moment, the Shire is making the area safe by restricting access and conducting regular inspections.”

Red-and-white tape marked ‘DANGER’ surrounds subsided areas, including a stretch of the paved concourse that has collapsed.

Surf club president Jane Kelsbie said she had not seen the paving collapse before.

Shire Councillor Rob Whooley who was controversially sacked as chief Shire engineer in 2015 (see below) said repairs to other erosion around the club had been necessary in his day.

And a section of the concourse was rebuilt in 1999 after major erosion back then.

Mr Parker said high tides and large swells were expected over the next few weeks and damage would be repaired thereafter.

He said the Shire had identified the erosion would have occurred at some stage.

“As a result, the Shire has been working with the Denmark Surf Club in terms of relocating and potentially establishing a new facility,” he said.

The Weekender revealed as much on August 30 (‘Denmark surf club plans surface on architect site’), pointing readers to renders of the planned clubhouse higher up on the hill that overlooks Ocean Beach.

Shire President Ceinwen Gearon said council staff had been down to the beach to have a look.

“So, we know what needs to be done but we have to wait because there is another swell coming through and there’s no point in trying to fix it now,” she added.

She said a silver lining to the erosion was that local surfers were digging the big swell.

“When I went down there late this after- noon there was certainly plenty of surfers out there and they were still piling in,” she said on Tuesday.

“They’ve had some magnificent days of surfing over the past few days.”

A FULL-BLOWN feature film, possibly starring Sam Neill, who played devilish Damien in The Omen, or Michael Caton, who played underdog dad Darryl Kerrigan in The Castle, will be shot in Mount Barker over coming months.

The close-knit Great Southern town is abuzz at the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the stars, with film crew already on site in pre-production mode, and the Plantagenet Players thespian group to audition extras this weekend.

Shire of Plantagenet CEO Rob Stewart confirmed the movie would be shot under the working title Rams, a comedy/ drama about two feuding brothers who try to outsmart the government to preserve their family’s legacy after a town’s sheep flocks are threatened by a rare disease.

“They are in town now setting up,” Mr Stewart said of the film’s crew.

“They are asking us for goodwill and support and have indicated that for safety there may be some times when we need to temporarily close a road.

“One of the big parts of the film is the fire scene and they’ve been working with [us] to find a site just out of town that would be able to be burned for that scene.”

Mr Stewart said the Rams crew had already started moving into the Plantagenet Lesser Hall they will occupy for the duration of the shoot.

“It’s at least as big as Breath [also shot in the Great Southern], and it is based on a Scandinavian film of the same name,” he said.

“One of my staff was told yesterday they might use his sheep dog for certain scenes.

“They’ve got a trained one but the one here looks better.”

Asked if a feature film had been shot in town before, Mr Stewart, who has been in Mt Barker for 17 years, quipped: “Only the chook ad; I think that’s the closest we’ve ever come”.

A Screen Australia document seen by The Weekender says Rams will be a drama/comedy flick featuring Neill, Caton and Golden Globe winner Brenda Blethyn, and directed by Jeremy Sims, who was born in Perth.

But Perth-based Aidan O’Bryan – who with Janelle Landers is producing the picture for a company called WBMC – said those actors and Sims could not be guaranteed.

Due to organisational constraints upon him ahead of an official announcement, O’Bryan was tight-lipped on the cast and on whether Rams would be the final title.

But he did say Mt Barker was chosen from an international field of locations due mainly to Plantagenet’s natural beauty, welcoming people, and the town’s relevance to the theme of the movie and proximity to Albany Airport.

He said producers and crew would shoot the movie around town until Christmas.

Plantagenet Players is hosting a casting call this Saturday between 2pm and 4pm, and Sunday from 10am to noon at the Plantagenet District Hall.

A recent body-length head and shoulders shot is required, and can be brought along or taken on the day.

Mount Barker Visitor Centre volunteer Glenys Ecclestone said she expected a fair bit of buzz when the production ramped up.

“There will be a lot of extra people here, and they’re looking for different people to take part in it,” she said.

“It’s quite a big thing for little Mt Barker.”

AS THE world’s best drivers sling around the track during the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, the world’s richest spectators will enjoy a taste of the Great Southern.

Through a carefully blended mix of guerilla marketing, plain hard work and vinicultural fortitude, Albany’s Wignalls Wines 2017 Pinot Noir will be served to VIPs as they look to quench their discerning thirst in trackside comfort.

Winemaker Rob Wignall said the opportunity to take his wines to the world quickly accelerated after a chance meeting with an event official.

“I was introduced to the Singapore Grand Prix Director of Food and Wine, Lea Yuen Ming,” he said.

“We went out for dinner where I gave him a sample of some of our wines and he encouraged me to submit some bottles for consideration for the Grand Prix.”

Mr Wignall said only 15 varieties of red wine were selected for the event.

“When they were tasting the wines, they were looking for quality and if they were extremely likable,” he said.

“For such a young wine to be selected is incredible and a massive achievement.

Mr Wignall said the selection of the Pinot Noir would be perfect for the warmer climate of Singapore, which is forecast to reach a top of 29 degrees with 77 per cent humidity on race day.

“Pinot can handle being lightly chilled and is still really quite tasty when cool,” he said.

“Other varieties like Cabernet or Merlot just shrivel up and die when cold, so Pinot is perfect.

“I can just imagine people sipping on a cool glass of Pinot Noir while the Formula 1 cars scream by.”

Mr Wignall said the past two seasons for the Great Southern had been excellent and he would be expecting more recognition for producers to come.

“I’ve been saying for the past 30 years that the Great Southern is a powerhouse for wine. Now it’s really happening,” he said.

“After all these years, the Great Southern is really getting the recognition it deserves for the amazing wines and spirits it produces.”

IN A game changer for the Great Southern, cancer patients could receive radiotherapy as soon as June next year at Albany Health Campus, with Federal funding secured for the project that State officials had said would not be in the pipeline until at least 2024.

Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson exclusively told The Weekender this week that $6.6 million had been locked in through the Radiation Oncology Health Program Grants Scheme.

The funds will assist the purchase of a linear accelerator, a CT simulator and a CT interfacing planning and computer system for three workstations.

As recently as March, the WA Country Health Service confirmed a radiation oncology treatment facility would not be planned for the Great Southern until at least 2024.

Weekender readers may recall that Denmark resident Mary Williams began a campaign two years ago to raise money for a cancer radiation machine (‘Cancer machine resolve’, 19 October, 2017).

Ms Williams had decided “enough was enough” for cancer patients that were forced to travel hundreds of kilometres for treatment.

She organised a radiothon, fundraisers and road-side signs throughout the Great Southern to raise awareness and money for radiotherapy equipment.

“Families are split, businesses are affected, and this shows how desperately we are in need of a radiation machine,” she said in October.

“I will make sure this happens.”

In confirming the funding, Mr Wilson thanked Ms Williams for her efforts, saying she had been “pivotal” in disseminating information and raising funds for the “much needed” radiation facility.

“While Mary has very much understated her role, she has been involved in fundraisers, including everything from sausage sizzles to a 24-hour radiothon,” he said.

Mr Wilson said Albany, with a catchment population of more than 60,000 people, was the largest area in WA where cancer patients did not have access to local radiation oncology services.

He said despite having oncology specialists working in the Great Southern, travel was still an issue for many families facing a cancer battle and hence emphasised the importance of having a radiotherapy facility close to home.

“While we are fortunate to have many dedicated specialists working in the Great Southern, I often encounter constituents who need to travel long distances and endure protracted separation from their families to receive the therapy they require,” he said.

“For many, the stress of temporarily relocating to Perth is compounded by the financial burden of these potentially life-saving treatments in addition to the cost of travel and transport.

“Many patients who would benefit from radiotherapy opt for other treatments or choose no treatment at all.”