Category: General News

HAVING the freedom and independence to stroll to the shops isn’t as simple as it seems for vision-impaired people.

While it may seem like an everyday chore for most, for the vision-impaired stepping out their front door raises serious safety concerns.

For Albany local Glenn Wilson, the reality of slowly losing his sight due to a form of macular dystrophy was made apparent in his 30s, but wasn’t diagnosed by an optometrist until his 40s.

“My eyesight has deteriorated to be able to count fingers in my left eye and having big holes in my vision in my right eye,” he said.

“I have problems with my distances and can’t see details very well.”

With his eyesight deteriorating, Mr Wilson decided to start the process of applying for assistance in the form of a guide dog.

“It took me around three and a half years to get Obie,” he said.

“The dog is matched to the person so if there isn’t a dog out there that suits you, you don’t get one.”

After the many weeks spent training Obie through a guide dog trainer and further training with Mr Wilson, the Labrador was finally put in her harness and put to work.

“It changed things that’s for sure,” he said.

“I’m used to having dogs as pets, but there definitely was an adjustment to having Obie with me at all times and everywhere I go.”

Mr Wilson said getting around town had become safer since having Obie by his side.

“You can’t rely on her 100 per cent of the time because she is a dog and can get distracted,” he said.

“What we do though is encourage intelligent disobedience which is where she knows to stop when a car is coming.

“It doesn’t always work when drivers try to let me cross. But I wave them on so Obie isn’t confused.”

Mr Wilson said that he hadn’t been confronted negatively by any shop owners or establishments since having Obie but had instances where people have tried to pet her.

“You absolutely can’t assume that you can pet a working dog while she’s in her harness,” he said.

“It distracts her from looking out for me and gets her in to the habit of seeking attention when she should be concentrating on me.

“It’s okay to come up and ask me to pet her, I’ll still say no but I’ll also explain why.”

Obie and Mr Wilson will head to Perth in a couple of weeks to attend the Guide Dogs WA graduation ceremony.

Guide Dogs WA Deputy Chief Executive Officer Debra Barnes said the graduation of a guide dog was a special occasion.

“It’s a landmark event to celebrate the loyal and devoted friendship between the dog and their owner,” she said.

YOUTH seeking advice on their sexual health can simply ‘ask for Allison’ when calling up Headspace Albany from tomorrow as part of a new initiative aimed at increasing young people’s
awareness about sexually transmitted infections.

Headspace Albany manager Andrew Wenzel said ‘Sexy Fridays’ with Nurse Allison will take place every second Friday from 2.30pm to 4.30pm and will “fill a need for easy and confidential prevention, testing and treating” in young people.

He said it will also help reduce the stigma around getting tested for STIs.

“Young people often worry about getting a blood test or having someone poke and prod them, but, it’s really easy; you just wee in a jar,” Mr Wenzel said.

He said there had been more than 70,000 new cases of chlamydia diagnosed in 2016 nationwide and three quarters of these were in young people aged 15 to 29.

Mr Wenzel also said the rates of gonorrhoea infection in young people from rural and remote areas, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, were higher than youth from the city.

“While we know that mental health issues are the most common health problem experienced by young people, the increasing rates of STIs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea are growing
at an alarming rate, for conditions that are easily and completely preventable,” he said.

“Although lots of young people are aware of the importance of contraception, there seems to be a bit of disconnect when it comes to STIs and how to prevent them.”

Nurse Allison Key said a generation ago, people could have unprotected sex with four or five different partners before being at risk of contracting an STI.

Now, she says, people are at risk after having unprotected sex just once.

“We recommend people get screened yearly, and when they have a change of sexual partner,” Ms Key said.

“Around 80 per cent of people with chlamydia don’t know they have it, as there are no symptoms, and if it’s left untreated, it can cause infertility in both men and women.”

The ‘Sexy Fridays’ service will be via appointment or walk-in and will be free or billed through Medicare – this means no out-of-pocket expenses.

All youth aged 12 to 25 are welcome to utilise the service and can talk about respectful relationships, sex education and contraception as well as STI screenings with Nurse Allison.

To book a session, call Headspace Albany on 9842 9871 and ask to see Allison.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S new chief justice has convict blood.

In a welcome speech for recently appointed Chief Justice Peter Quinlan on August 20, his Supreme Court colleague Justice Rene Le Miere recalled his new boss was a fifth–generation Western Australian.

“It seems that our new chief justice is the great, great grandson of a convict,” Justice Le Miere recounted.

“There’s certain irony in the fact that this state’s most senior judicial officer is related to a sheep stealer who was transported to Western Australia in 1853.

“From a convict ancestor to a chief justice, I’m sure [that] Daniel Connor, your great, great grandfather would be proud of you.”

At a special sitting of the Full Bench of the Supreme Court, Albany cracked a passing mention when Traditional Custodian Barry McGuire observed that Noongar people from around the south west of the continent, including Albany, on occasion used to gather nearby.

When his time to speak came, Chief Justice Quinlan, no stranger to prisons albeit from the more respectable side of the Securemax mesh, rose to supplement Justice Le Miere’s version of his pedigree.

“Justice Le Miere commenced his remarks with a reference to my convict ancestor Daniel Connor who arrived here eight years before the appointment of the first chief justice,” said Chief
Justice Quinlan, who in 2005 was counsel assisting on the inquiry into the management of offenders in custody that among other gaols probed the workings of Albany Prison.

“Connor died in 1898 and by that time he had become a successful business owner in the colony.

“His funeral was officiated by Bishop Matthew Gibney who concluded with the following words, which I ask you all to keep in mind in the coming years:

‘Be to his virtues ever kind,

And to his faults a trifle blind.’

Before Justice Le Miere adjourned proceedings, Chief Justice Quinlan, 48, thanked his Supreme Court colleagues – and other onlookers including his wife Lucette, five children and Attorney General John Quigley – for their attendance.

LISTING of Lake Mullocullup as the latest of 41 registered Aboriginal sites in Albany will have no impact on whether water skiing, now banned on the pristine waterway near Green Range, will again be permitted.

Following an application by Traditional Custodian Carol Pettersen (‘City clears muddy waters’, May 10), the lake was on August 14 registered as an Aboriginal site.

A spokesperson for the State Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage said skiing could still occur without approval under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.

“For example, the Swan River is recognised as an Aboriginal site and there are a range of activities, such as boating and water skiing, which do not require approval under the Act,” the spokesperson told The Weekender.

“If any Aboriginal site is to be altered, destroyed or damaged, the department will review the proposal to ensure there is no breach of the Act and provide advice to the relevant parties.

“Consent from the minister may be required.”

For 35 years, until the City of Albany stopped turning a blind eye, skiers skimmed across the lake’s surface, a practice city officials now acknowledge was illegal.

Skiing is now banned.

But a report by the City’s reserves manager Jacqui Freeman ahead of a council meeting in May said a report on whether to seek Department of Transport gazettal of the lake for skiing would be drafted once the outcome of the lake’s heritage registration was known.

An anthropologist’s report commissioned by the City after City Councillor Ray Hammond described consultation with Noongar people to that point as “a mess” (‘The sacred and the profane’, November 30), noted the council’s chief engineer Matthew Thomson had conceded staff did not do well in their initial consultation with Noongar people.

This week, Diane Evers, the Greens (WA) MLC for the South West Region, which includes Albany and the lake, said she supported moves from some local landholders and several Minang Noongar people to maintain the ban on motor boats at Mullocullup.

“I am supportive of the people who would like to see that water skiing does not go ahead,” said Ms Evers who, like Mrs Pettersen, is a former City of Albany councillor.

“It’s got too many things against it.”

Ms Evers said she would take the matter up with Minister for Transport, Planning and Lands Rita Saffioti.

In response to a letter from Mrs Pettersen to Ms Saffioti, departmental policy officer David McFerran on December 11 acknowledged comments by the Noongar Elder about the potential
impact of skiing on the cultural and conservation values of the area.

“I encourage you to work with the City in seeking appropriate management arrangements which can limit the impact on those values while enabling the ongoing use and enjoyment of the reserve by the community,” Mr McFerran wrote.

Mrs Pettersen, whose mother was born at the lake 100 years ago, said she was happy with the heritage listing but was aware it would have no impact on whether skiing would again be allowed.

She and fellow Elder Eugene Eades will launch a documentary by Frank Rijavec on the lake at Albany Public Library at 5.30pm on September 13.

“We’re wanting as many people to understand how important this place is,” she said.

“It is the only place that we Noongar people can access that has fresh water, and the stories and the abundance of cultural resources there to be able to pass on this knowledge to our children.

“All the other fresh water places we’ve had access to, and fresh water places are so important to Aboriginal people, have been disturbed and gone saline thanks to agriculture and other activities.

“This one is still lovely and there are quokkas nearby – I think my mother used to say ‘kwarkas’, or something like that.”

Bookings to see the documentary ‘Sacred swamps’ can be made at https://albany.spydus.com/Events

Image: Carol Pettersen at the lake. Photo: Chris Thomson

PORONGURUP local Dan Blythe hopes his new tavern in the mountainous village will become a meeting hub for his community once it opens this weekend.

The Karri on Bar will be officially launched at 11am on Saturday inside the old dining room of Karribank Country Retreat on Porongurup Road after seven months of renovations.

Mr Blythe’s parents, Chris and John have owned the property for the past 21 years and said they were excited and nervous to open the doors of the revamped space.

“We have about 500 people interested in the event on Facebook, which is a bit nerve-wracking,” he said.

“But I’m keen to get going and get to know the community.”

Mr Blythe said he and his father completed the majority of the building work for the new tavern themselves, which included bringing the heritage-listed building in line with current health and safety standards.

“The old restaurant hadn’t been in operation for about eight years, so we extended the bar, put in more toilets, renovated the kitchen, installed a fixed-tap beer system, redid the jarrah floor and furnished it with pool tables and café-style tables,” he said.

“The place is like Sydney Harbour Bridge; you finish one bit and you have to start on another.”

Mr Blythe said the idea for The Karri on Bar came from a desire to return home after being away for 14 years working on the mines.

“I was looking for a way to be back here full-time,” he said.

“When I decided to come back this year, I saw an opportunity to extend the business. There are limited places to eat around here.”

The Karri on Bar will offer wood fire pizzas, sliders and tacos among other pub-style foods on the menu and have local beers and wines from Wilson Brewing Company, Boston Brewery and Porongurup wineries.

Mr Blythe plans to keep trading hours of Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11am until close and will later trial opening on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Public submissions regarding the Blythe’s application for a tavern license closed on Monday, but Mr Blythe said he is confident it will be approved in due course.

He said the business is “lucky enough” to have the restaurant license until such time.

A REVIEW into pre-conditions that led to a maelstrom of fires ripping through more than 20,000 hectares of the Great Southern and South West in May is due to be submitted to the State Government late next month.

A document from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services states the review will be independently assessed by an industry expert before being provided to the State Government in late September, via the Executive Director of the Rural Fire Division and the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner.

The review will “consider whether management actions leading up to the severe weather event were adequate and whether current mechanisms to mitigate the risk of planned fire escapes are adequate”.

The document says the review will not examine the response to the fires or incident management, and that the Office of Bushfire Risk Management will undertake a review to examine what led to fires escaping from planned burns on private property and how the risk of these escapes can be effectively mitigated into the future.

The City of Albany has also conducted an analysis into the firestorms.

Executive Director for Development Services for the City Paul Camins said a post incident analysis had been conducted with staff, and the combined bushfire brigades had also undertaken their own analysis.

“We will be assessing the feedback and making any improvements for future incidents,” he said.

“We are very pleased with the efforts of our City of Albany fire volunteers and the enormous effort they gave in fighting these fires, and the way our staff worked quickly and efficiently to support other agencies in responding to the fires.”

A City of Albany spokesperson said the post incident analysis was an internal process and the report would not be published.

A PARLIAMENTARY report recommending that voluntary euthanasia be legalised in Western Australia observes that the Great Southern has the best palliative care in regional WA but the level of hands-on care drops away as the distance from Albany increases.

The cross-party My Life, My Choice report tabled on Thursday by South West MLC Colin Holt and Morley MLA Amber-Jade Sanderson took a year and $454,294 to complete.

“There were a couple of different aspects to the inquiry – one was around palliative care and there was clear evidence to us that we need to invest more there,” Mr Holt told The Weekender in Albany on Monday.

“We’ve got an ageing population and it’s going to become more important as the years go on, and Albany is a really good lesson in that.

“Albany itself has got relatively good access to palliative care, with the specialist team working out of Albany Regional Hospital and the hospice attached to the hospital being a really great advantage to Albany and the Great Southern, but you don’t have to go too far to realise that the service level drops off pretty rapidly.”

While taking evidence in the Great Southern (‘Albany’s say on end of life’, 15 March), the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices visited the hospice, Albany Health Campus, a residential aged care complex, and Denmark’s health facilities.

“Within Albany, patients have access to 24 hour palliative care services,” the report notes.

“Denmark Hospital offers eight hours per day Monday to Friday, with a specialist palliative care registered nurse onsite two days per week.

“In Mount Barker, dedicated palliative care services are only available seven hours per week.”

Mr Holt said if somebody wanted to die in their own home in say, Borden or Gnowangerup, getting specialist care would be difficult and the responsibility would likely fall back on a local GP.

Albany Hospital’s palliative care team told the committee how patients were helped to place legally binding advance health directives on the hospital record and how such directives were promoted in the community.

The hospital now has several hundred such directives on file, which the report notes is “a relatively high number given the generally low uptake figure across the [statewide] population”.

The report recommends that the State push for the introduction of Medicare rebates for the preparation of directives.

“In complex cases the specialist palliative care available in remote and regional Western Australia does not compare to that available in Perth or even other large regional centres like Albany,” the report notes.

Also during hearings in Albany, former civil servant Patricia Marshall called for access to assisted suicide for elderly people.

“The questions of loss of self autonomy and human dignity, conscious awareness of physical or mental deterioration and the realisation that meaningful participation in life has come to an end are very important considerations for the elderly and should be included in any discussion of end of life choices,” she said.

“It is only when this process is directly experienced that it can be fully understood; therefore, it is necessary for those making decisions to change the law to take some advice from those who may choose a voluntary and dignified end to their life when they perceive it to be complete.”

The report finds that about 10 per cent of suicides in WA are carried out by people suffering a terminal or debilitating chronic illness.

“The prohibition of a peaceful, assisted death has driven some terminally or chronically ill individuals to suicide using violent means,” the report further finds.

“All deaths under these circumstances are tragic and very often traumatic and distressing to family, friends and first responders.”

The report attracted more than 700 submissions and recommends that the State introduce legislation for voluntary assisted dying for people suffering a terminal condition.

But in a 245-page minority report that is longer than the full committee report, Liberal MLC for South Metropolitan Region Nick Goiran says the risks of legalising assisted suicide are too great “as the consequences are final”.

He asserts there is no doubt WA’s palliative care providers can offer world-class care.

“They simply need to be given the opportunity to provide it,” he argues.

“Assisted suicide is bad public policy.

“Our best public policy option is always care, not killing.”

Mr Holt said the committee clearly found the WA community was ready to investigate laws allowing assisted dying.

He said a Government response to the committee report was likely before the end of the year.

If this story raises health concerns, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 46 36.

 

CAPTION: Colin Holt in Albany this week. Photo: Chris Thomson

FEDERAL MP Rick Wilson says an “air of tragedy” pervaded the party room meeting that secured the ultimate political ascension of Scott Morrison last week.

Mr Wilson, who offered himself for an interview with The Weekender, also slammed big media assertions that he voted for Peter Dutton over Mr Morrison to replace Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.

The member for O’Connor, whose sprawling electorate takes in the Great Southern, confirmed he voted for Mr Dutton when on August 21 the prime ministerial contender failed by just seven votes to oust Mr Turnbull.

“I didn’t think the vote would get up,” he explained.

“That [vote] was a game changer because once it was revealed the prime minister’s support was that weak it kicked off a series of events.”

Mr Wilson said he voted initially for Mr Dutton because he believed Mr Turnbull needed to be sent a message about concerns raised the week before in the Liberals’ party room about the national energy guarantee.

“I was one of the dozen who expressed my concerns about the national energy guarantee, particularly the move to legislate the 26 per cent [greenhouse emissions reduction] target [for the energy sector], because I saw that as a real threat to my constituents,” he said.

“I was dismayed when the prime minister then walked out of the party room and said he had party room support – he might have had a majority of the party room but he plainly did not have consensus or unanimous support, which is effectively what you need in the party room.”

Mr Wilson said that not long after the spill he told a provincial journalist of a big media chain that he supported Mr Turnbull.

“I said: ‘Yes we just had a vote, the prime minister won the vote, so of course I support the prime minister’,” he explained.

That evening, news of the first of 13 ministerial resignations started to filter through.

“On Wednesday, in question time, we had ministers who had offered their resignations and those resignations had not been accepted by the prime minister,” Mr Wilson recounted.

“Those ministers were being asked … whether they had confidence in the prime minister and it was excruciating to watch them [try to] justify the fact they had offered their resignation but they still had confidence in the prime minister.

“Nearly all of us sitting there thought this was a situation that could not go on.”

Mr Wilson recalled that after Mr Dutton saw Mr Turnbull to request a second leadership spill, the then prime minister asked to see a letter signed by the majority of the party room before agreeing.

“This was not Liberal Party convention,” Mr Wilson explained.

“In previous leadership spills there have been as little as two people sign a letter asking for a spill.

“I think things had deteriorated to the point that we needed a change of leadership, so I was one of the 43 that signed the letter.”

He said that after Mr Turnbull agreed not to contest a second leadership vote “three outstanding candidates [Mr Dutton, Mr Morrison and WA-based Julie Bishop], any of whom would have made an excellent Prime Minister” threw their hats into the ring.

Mr Wilson declined to say how he voted in the second party room poll, and said big media reports that he voted for Mr Dutton were purely speculative as he had told nobody how he voted.

He said that, with Mr Turnbull in the party room but not running for the top job, the atmosphere was electric.

“It was very tense, it was traumatic,” he said.

“Nobody wanted to see the situation get to where it had with a cascading series of events that spiralled out of control … and I think there was an air of sadness and tragedy.

“I don’t think anybody in the Liberal Party thought three-and-a-half years ago that we’d be in a situation where we would be swapping prime ministers like the Labor Party had done in their term.”

Mr Wilson said that whoever had won the three-way vote would have made an “excellent” prime minister.

“I am extremely happy that Scott Morrison has got up and won, and the reason that I lost confidence in the prime minister was the fact that I didn’t think we could win the next election under his leadership,” he added.

“I’ve got great faith in Scott.

“I think he’s a great campaigner who’s someone who’s going to lead us in a campaign and give us the motivation and encouragement and the leadership to win the 2019 election and that’s the main reason I voted for change.”