Alep steps down

KATANNING shire councillor Alep Mydie, who has gained national prominence building bridges of understanding across the Great Southern and beyond, has stepped
down after 15 unbroken years as a public official.

Mr Mydie, who handed in his resignation on July 10, said that on that day his wife was holidaying in Bunbury and he was sitting in his lounge room alone when it dawned upon him he’d achieved all he wanted to on the council.

“I texted my daughter and said: ‘Tell Mum I have resigned from the Shire Council’, and she texted me back and said: ‘Mum’s happy. Thank you very much!’” he told The Weekender.

“The situation at the moment is I cannot juggle my hours any more, I cannot budget the hours of my life because there’s so many workshops and meetings and seminars.

“Fifteen years of public service is a long time; you juggle along the way, as a husband, as a father, as a grandfather and as Imam of the mosque.”

Mr Mydie, who migrated from Christmas Island in 1974, said he was most proud of his efforts to “integrate” Muslim and non-Muslim peoples toward making Katanning a much more tolerant Shire.

“My father, two years before he died, told me you can’t change the world, you can’t change anything from outside the fence,” he said.

“You need to be inside the paddock, and I tried and it worked.”

Asked if he intended in some way to stay involved in politics, the mild-mannered Imam – who has occasionally critiqued statements by disciples of Pauline Hanson – quipped he was waiting for a call from One Nation.

“At the moment I will have a quiet moment to myself and concentrate on making the best beef rendang in Australia,” the 60-year-old West Coast Eagles fan added, more
seriously, from his cafe in Clive Street.

Mr Mydie said he could not have become, or stayed, a Shire councillor if relying on the votes of Muslim people alone.

“I’m very, very proud to live in Katanning and be part of the town, and what Katanning has given us is my main focus, not what I have given them.

“As John F. Kennedy said: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but instead what you can do for your country’.

“And what the community here has given me is a chance, and I’m very grateful.”

Continue Reading

Tourist railway canned

KOJONUP’S tourist railway has ground to an indefinite halt because it does not meet the insurance demands of a Federal agency based in Adelaide.

In a briefing paper to Kojonup Shire councillors – some of whom have very hands-on roles with the railway – Shire regulatory services manager Mort Wignall this week explained the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator had written to demand adequate public risk insurance be maintained to meet “reasonable potential accident liabilities”.

“Failure to address this matter within five days of the date of the letter (10 July 2018) would result in [the Adelaide-based regulator] requesting us to voluntarily suspend all rail operations until such time the situation is rectified,” Mr Wignall advised.

Yesterday, Shire CEO Rick Mitchell-Collins told The Weekender the railway had stopped operating.

“The railway will be closed until such time as we can ensure the railway committee becomes the accredited agency with the Authority,” he said.

Mr Mitchell-Collins said that might take anywhere between six and 10 months.

“Our hands are effectively tied,” he lamented ahead of the busy wildflower season.

“We’re dealing with the national regulator.

“We have got a tourist train that does 10kph, if that.”

Asked if he was confident Kojonup would get its train back on track, Mr Mitchell-Collins said: “We haven’t run out of steam yet”.

Continue Reading

Barnaby blows in for warm welcome

BARNABY Joyce’s dubbing opponents of live animal exports as “zealots” at a packed meeting of farmers in Katanning has been criticised by Animal Justice Party candidates in this weekend’s ‘Super Saturday’ by-elections in the Federal electorates of Perth and Fremantle.

On July 20, the one-time Federal agriculture minister told an estimated 1780 farming people that if calls to ban the export of live sheep succeeded, “zealots” would later target live cattle exports.

“They’re not gonna stop at the live sheep trade,” he said.

“Where will they go next? We all know where they’ll go next. Live cattle is where they’ll go next.”

Animal Justice Party candidate for Perth Nicole Arielli said she wanted to end live exports but her endeavours did not come from a place of zeal.

“We believe that in this day and age it is beyond belief to think we are still live exporting when we can look at other options here in Australia,” she told The Weekender.

“Calling us zealots is pretty arrogant, absurd.

“Obviously the Animal Justice Party is opposed to slaughter, but we’re more pragmatic than that.”

Ms Arielli said she wanted to work with farmers to “try and reach an agreeable point”.

“We do understand that, from the farmers’ point of view, it’s what they do, it is their livelihood,” she said.

“We’re not saying we want to stop live sheep exports right now.

“We want to stop them sending them in the peak of the heat, from April to October when they suffer the most, and look at working together on a transitional period.”

Also running for the Animal Justice Party – in the Division of Fremantle from where most of Australia’s live-shipped sheep are loaded – is Katrina Love, who says she hopes to pick up between four and eight per cent of available votes.

Ms Love said she’d take Mr Joyce’s “zealots” call with a grain of salt.

“I’m astounded that he got the accolades, applause and recognition that he did given he was the Minister at the time when the [Federal] Department of Agriculture was allowing all these regulation breaches to go unanswered,” she said.

“I think, essentially, Barnaby Joyce is to be held responsible for the way the industry has gone and the situation the sheep producers in WA find themselves in.”

President of WAFarmers’ Livestock Council David Slade said Mr Joyce’s presence was a show of support from a politician in the Federal sphere.

“There were 1780 people in Katanning, so it’s a massive statement, and shows just how concerned farmers are about the live exports issue,” said Mr Slade, who farms sheep in Mount Barker.

“It’s the biggest gathering of Western Australian farmers in 30 or 40 years.”

He said he would not go as far as calling opponents of live exports zealots.

“But their approach is an over-reaction to the situation,” he said.

“You don’t ban the ownership of dogs because you see two dogs fighting.

“You don’t ban the ownership of cats because someone has 50 cats inside a house.”

“If we do lose live export, we’re going to decimate the industry, particularly in WA.”

Mr Slade agreed with Mr Joyce that, if enacted, a live export ban would not stop at sheep but later extend to cattle.

While Mr Joyce was cheered several times during his address at the Katanning forum, State Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan was jeered in equal measures after telling assembled sheep farmers they needed a “Plan B” including exporting more chilled meat.

This weekend’s Super Saturday by elections, caused by resignations following the Federal MP citizenship fiasco, will occur in Perth, Fremantle and three other electorates interstate.

Continue Reading

The Goode, the bad and the ugly

ALL was quiet in the leafy enclave of Goode Beach on Tuesday night as 50 locals tripped into town to protest a luxury resort that Albany City councillors were later to endorse for State approval.

At an animated council meeting, 10 of 57 people in the gallery rose to slam a plan for 51 units, cafe, swimming pool and function centre between the squeaky white sand of the beach and the snake-infested banks of Lake Vancouver.

Goode Beach resident Roland Paver was rebuked by Mayor Dennis Wellington after saying a report on which elected officials were set to base their vote reflected “a level of bias that is unacceptable in quasi-judicial proceedings”.

“Mr Paver, Mr Paver, Mr Paver!” Mr Wellington interjected.

“You have two choices right now – to temper your words in a polite and reasonable manner … or I will shut you down.”

Asked by Mr Paver what words the mayor disliked, Mr Wellington nominated the charge of bias, which he said was “manifestly incorrect”.

“You are very sensitive about it,” Mr Paver retorted before continuing.

He said the report by City planners argued a coastal study prepared by the resort’s proponent had been accepted by the State planning department.

“This is a thoroughly misleading statement because it may encourage Councillors to believe the Department of Planning has approved proposals in the structure plan that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has criticised and described as negligent,” he explained.

“Councillors need to be disabused.

“The Department of Planning has approved nothing.”

Mr Paver was referring to a striking submission by the State that asserted: ‘For the proponents … to dismiss State policies and instead state that they will plan and manage for a 50-year sea level rise is negligent to future owners and investors … as well as local and State Government authorities that may be expected to protect the infrastructure from erosion”.

The submission was later remarked upon by Cr Anthony Moir who moved, contrary to a recommendation put by the City’s planners, that the project not be supported.

Cr Moir’s motion was defeated 10 councillors to three, with only he and Vancouver Ward councillors John Shanhun and Tracy Sleeman in support.

Ultimately, the same three councillors were defeated when they voted to oppose and 10 of their colleagues supported the plan.

At the start of the meeting, project proponent, paediatrician Cherry Martin, spoke in support of her resort.

Dr Martin said she had been a tourism operator in Denmark for the past 22 years, and the Goode Beach development would create jobs long after construction finished.

She reprimanded “small minority groups” she said had misled with incorrect assertions, and the changing nature of their objections.

She said this would discourage investment in Albany, and that a 10-chalet project already endorsed for the site would have a “much larger” footprint than the one now she now proposed.

Her plans will now be considered by the Western Australian Planning Commission. If approved, the project may advance to detailed assessment by a State convened panel, meaning any resort could still be years away.

Continue Reading

ACCI fosters stability

THE Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry hopes the appointment of interim CEO Graham Foster will bring a period of stability after the turbulence surrounding its recent decision to part ways with former CEO Mark Forrest after just six weeks in the role.

Mr Foster was CEO with the City of Albany for three years before he left the post late in 2015 and is expected to fill the position at the Chamber for four to six months.

ACCI President Caroline Hayes said Mr Foster would be charged with finding a permanent replacement for the CEO role and to continue some of the projects that were underway at the Chamber.

She said the board shortlisted a group of local candidates for the interim position and then made an approach to Mr Foster.

“The board is excited and we welcome Graham’s input,” she said.

“With his expertise and history, the board looks forward to working closely with him.”

Mr Foster will take the helm on Monday, relieving Ms Hayes of the position she has filled since the departure of former CEO Russ Clark, except for the six weeks of Mr Forrest’s brief tenure.

Mr Foster said he hoped to bring a “bit of consolidation” to the Chamber and was confident of finding a permanent CEO.

“I won’t be riding in there on a white horse and shooting from the hip,” he quipped.

“Hopefully I can be the catalyst to settle things down and bring things back to basics.”

Mr Foster was optimistic the CEO role would be filled locally, but said the Chamber may have to look further afield.

“There’s certainly people in Albany who could undertake the role,” he said.

“If we can convince them that taking the role is a good move professionally, then that will be good for the Chamber.

“That’s not to say we won’t cast the net a bit further.”

Ms Hayes declined to comment specifically on the decision to part ways with Mr Forrest citing legal reasons, but said she was satisfied with the lengthy recruitment process that was undertaken prior to his appointment.

Continue Reading

Vancouver survey call

CRITICALLY endangered possums, carnivorous plants known only to occur three places on Earth, and foraging habitat of endangered cockatoos should trigger flora and fauna surveys lest a tourist resort planned for Albany’s Goode Beach breach State and Federal environment laws, an eminent biology professor says.

University of Western Australia Professor of Biodiversity Stephen Hopper said that, contrary to a report produced for the owner of the Lot 660 development site beside
Lake Vancouver, banksia bushes, with seeds often eaten by endangered Carnaby’s cockatoos, were present on the block.

“I have made regular observations of black cockatoos feeding on Banksia sessilis, the parrot bush, on Lot 660 and nearby,” Professor Hopper said on Monday.

“Consultants have said there is no banksia on the site.

“That may be because they were relying on the 1992 flora survey of Lot 660 and its predecessor at which time this plant was called Dryandra sessilis.”

Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act states that if foraging habitat of an endangered species is to be destroyed by a project, the plans
must be referred for consideration by Federal authorities.

A structure plan for the resort recommended for endorsement by Albany’s City councillors this coming Tuesday, ahead of consideration by the WA Planning Commission, does not recommend referral to the Commonwealth.

“The second thing is that the cockatoos themselves have been observed perching on the site, and this relates to the statement attached to the proponent’s report for the project that there is no substantial food foraging habitat on the site to be cleared for the buildings,” Professor Hopper added.

“I noticed that on the coastal reserve, just in front of where the major building is going to be, walking through very low peppermints last Saturday, that something had been stripping the bark off these arm-thickness branches of peppies and exposing the burrows of woodboring beetle larvae, witchetty grub sort of animals, finger diameter and rich in protein.

“I inferred that the only animal capable of ripping the bark off and chewing through the wood to get at these burrows made by the woodboring beetle larvae would be black cockatoos.

“And yesterday, my wife and I in returning from our daily walk to the beach saw just near our house 25 black cockatoos from 10m away and we stood there for five or 10
minutes. They were ripping the bark off and going for beetle grubs in what turned out to be these significant burrows through the wood on peppermint trees.”
Professor and Chris Hopper live 100m south of Lot 660.

“What we can draw from all this is that we know for sure that a listed threatened species of black cockatoo is in Goode Beach and on Lot 660,” Professor Hopper said.

“It strikes me that the planners have recommended to councillors there’s no listed species, and hence, there’s no need for any further fauna surveys on Lot 660.

“A survey for that foraging habitat is absolutely essential to come up with a sensible evaluation as to whether clearing of the lot for the development would have a significant impact on this population of Carnaby’s cockatoo.”

Environmental consultants for Lot 660 owner, Perth paediatrician Cherry Martin, saw a critically endangered Western ringtail possum on the block along the route of the proposed access road.

“And that to me triggers a need for a comprehensive survey for ringtail possums,” Professor Hopper said.

Importantly, he said that in 2013 a local consultant botanist collected a rare pygmy sundew at Lot 660.

“They’re quite tiny plants, carnivorous, that feed on insects and the like with stickiness on their leaves,” he said.

“It’s a species that was collected by Robert Brown on Matthew Flinders’ 1801-02 expedition.”

Brown collected the little plant either at Lake Vancouver where it is only known to occur in a 20sqm patch on and beside the access road, or in Little Grove where its only other two known locations are.

“They’d bulldoze it out of existence at Lake Vancouver,” Professor Hopper said of the current resort plans.

“At the moment, the precautionary principle would say: ‘Don’t mess with this precariously rare plant, as we presently know it’.”

He said he would soon recommend to councillors and others that urgent and comprehensive fauna and flora surveys be done for Lot 660 ahead of possible listing of the sundew as a threatened species, and referral of the block to the State and

Commonwealth for consideration of impacts on the possum and black cockatoo.

In a recent submission on the project, the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions said it could not comment on the resort’s impact on vegetation because a current flora survey was not conducted.

“The new evidence that’s just been obtained with relatively little effort by admittedly quite experienced people just raises alarm bells that this site is even more significant than previously appreciated,” Professor Hopper told The Weekender.

Continue Reading

School holidays slows Midds EOI

LANDCORP’S deadline for developers to express interest in erecting a hotel-cum-apartment block at Middleton Beach has been extended for three weeks.

General Manager Regional for the State Government property development arm, Stuart Nahajski, confirmed as much when contacted this week.

“The Middleton Beach hotel developer expression of interest period has been extended from July 17, to August 7, 2018,” he told The Weekender.

“EOI extensions are reasonably common and in this instance advice from the selling agents was that more time would help ensure fair representation of the opportunity to all developers, especially given local school holidays.

“The EOI process is subject to strict probity requirements and as such any submission is commercial in confidence until the final outcome is determined.”

And with that, Mr Nahajski declined to reveal how many expressions had been received or which, if any, developers had submitted them.

The Landcorp website is yet to be updated to reflect the extended deadline.

Continue Reading

Sport blueprint gets tick

RESIDENTS in the western part of Denmark shire finally had their say on the masterplan for the development of sport and recreation in the shire, which was unanimously approved at a council meeting on Tuesday night.

The Sport and Recreation Masterplan was presented at Council’s June 19 meeting, but was voted down with a deferral motion passed instead, allowing time for residents and ratepayers in the western area of the shire to be included in the final submission.

In their belated consultation summary, representatives from the Nornalup community and Peaceful Bay Progress Association stressed the importance of the Frankland River, detailing the opportunities of the natural resources for consideration for future recreation plans.

Topping their list was the development of a Nornalup Trails Concept Plan to identify existing trails and develop new trails with linkages to the Nornalup townsite and to the Munda Biddi and Bibbulmun tracks.

“Currently, trails are in existence but better identification is required as well as better signage for existing infrastructure,” the submission says.
Peaceful Bay Progress Association also requested the prioritising of a recreation concept plan specific to their patch.

“The need to provide a safe and accessible means to the beach is the important issue for the community,” it says.

The PBPA propose to explore the area immediately east and west of the beach walkway at Peaceful Bay.

“It would include a picnic area overlooking the beach, fish cleaning facilities, graduated access to the swimming beach for people with disabilities, a pontoon swimming area and outdoor gym equipment and playground,” the submission details.

The masterplan includes a proposal for the development of an additional oval at McLean Park, the redevelopment of the Denmark Surf Lifesaving Club and developing a youth hub located in the Denmark townsite.

The masterplan will be up for public comment for the next 28 days.

Continue Reading

Showtime for orchids

A STRANGE winter with unusual conditions has slowed down regular flowering patterns of orchids this season, but that hasn’t slowed the Albany Orchid Society’s efforts in putting together a blooming good display.

The group’s annual winter show opens today at North Road Shopping Centre and will be available for public viewing every day until 12.30pm on Saturday.

The green thumb experts will be on location throughout the four-day extravaganza to hand out gardening tips and sell some of their orchids.

Ahead of the display, society members Gail Brodziak, Carol and Neville White, and Barbara Hawes gave The Weekender a sneak peek at some of their best plants.

Among the collection of colour were phalaenopsis orchids, red, white and yellow cymbidiums, dark pink dendrobiums and a native Australian dockrillia.

The orchidists agreed the colder and darker winter this year had slowed down the flowering of their orchids, particularly the hot weather phalaenopsis orchids that require a lot of sun.

To care for their orchids a little better, the group had all chosen to relocate their plants to their respective kitchen benches near a window.

When asked whether it was difficult to care for and manoeuvre such delicate looking flowers, Mrs White said only transport was difficult.

“Most people think orchids are delicate, but they are tough as nails,” she said.

“They don’t need much water, you might water them twice a week.

“I’ve got a little moisturemeter that my husband got for me and I use that to check how much moisture there is in the pot.”

Her husband, Neville laughed and agreed, but said they were still a nightmare to get from point A to B and that you have to be very careful not to knock anything while transporting them, if you want to qualify for judging.

“There are lots of criteria for the show,” Mr White said.

“The leaves have to be pristine, 60 per cent of the flowers have to be open and there has to be a certain number of flowers.”

Mrs Brodziak said prizes would be raffled during the show, and a judge from Bunbury was travelling especially for the event.

Continue Reading

Race all downhill for mountain bike club

A DOWNHILL bike race that will launch from Monkey Rock was given the go ahead by Denmark Shire Council on Tuesday night.

The downhill speed event was proposed by the Denmark Mountain Bike Club and unanimously supported by council.

Club president Nathan Devenport said the Monkey Rock Speed Run had been on the cards since last year in the hope that it would be approved.

“It’s only going to be a small scale event to start with. If I got 50 riders I’d be stoked,” he said.

“We’re such a new club so the process of getting the event ready to propose to the Shire has been a learning process for us.

“We’ll have the chance to ride in the amazing Denmark environment.

“We’re pretty privileged to be able to do that.”

Mr Devenport said the club would need to put certain practices in place to stop the distribution of phytophthora dieback and to further protect flora and fauna in the reserve.

“We’ve been taking the Shire’s advice with planning the event,” he said.

“We’ve had meetings and site walks with the sustainability officer, Donna Sampey, to make sure we put proper protocols in place to protect the environment.”

Denmark Police have also put their support behind the race and will put their speed gun to good use to clock contestants during the race.

Shire Councillor Mark Allen said endorsing the club’s proposal was a no-brainer.

“The Shire had a can-do policy on this, which I think is just fantastic,” he said.

With one in five Western Australians owning a mountain bike, Councillor Kingsley Gibson also supported the speed run.

“Obviously mountain biking is a rapidly growing sport, offering the community health benefits,” he said.

Following the council’s decision, Mr Davenport said the club would begin advertising for the competition which will be held on August 5.

“All our club members have been aware the race would be coming up,” he said.

“But I think we’ll get riders from Albany and even a few from Perth.”

Continue Reading