Category: General News

TODAY is International Women’s Day, and to celebrate, the Albany Soroptimists and the Albany Women’s Centre will meet on the pedestrian footbridge on Stirling Terrace at noon for the Join Me on the Bridge event.

Albany Soroptimist Pam Leamon has been a member for 36 years and said this year would mark the second time Albany has hosted a Join Me on the Bridge event.

Ms Leamon said the event began in Africa a few years ago, when two women’s groups met on a bridge connecting Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Their countries were victim to the atrocities of war, so they decided to come together to stand up for peace and for an end to violence against women.

This year’s Albany bridge event will also be the launching pad for the 2018 Albany Women’s Centre Kare Kits, designed to help the women’s refuge by providing toiletries, clothes and other necessities to women escaping unsafe homes and relationships.

Fellow Soroptimist Janet McArtney said women often arrive at the women’s centre with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“People come to the centre with nothing,” she said.

“Some are lucky and can pack a few things, but most can’t.

“The Kare Kits and donations can help them set themselves up again, and with things like helping pay for a first rent, or helping pay for their car to be fixed.”

You can join the Albany female rights activists on the footbridge at noon today and catch up for lunch with them after their photo time at 12.15pm.

The Kare Kit donation drive will continue until April 14 and donations can be dropped off at AnglicareWA Albany office, Vancouver Arts Centre, Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre, NAB Albany, Leading Edge Computers, Bendigo Bank Mt Barker, NAB Denmark and Western Workwear.

A FREE trade deal expected to be signed in Chile today has the potential to drive more business to the Great Southern and South West regions, says Federal Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson.

Mr Wilson said Australia’s agricultural industry would have unprecedented access to international markets when the so-called Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership comes into effect.

He said the deal, expected to be signed by member nations in Chile today, would give farmers in O’Connor new and improved access to markets in 10 countries around the Pacific Rim.

The agreement will see the immediate elimination of tariffs on sheep meat exports to all participating countries, with the exception of Mexico, which will phase in the removal of tariffs.

Tariffs on beef in Japan will be reduced over the next decade, while tariffs in Canada, Peru and Mexico will be eliminated during the same period.

Mr Wilson said wine producers would benefit from the removal or reduction of tariffs on Australian products in Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Vietnam and Peru.

CEO of the Wine Industry Association of Western Australia Larry Jorgensen told The Weekender that the state’s wine industry welcomed the agreement.

“Removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to free trade in an established market such as Canada and developing markets in our region will allow WA producers to further grow profitable export markets,” he said.

Tariffs on Australian seafood sold in Vietnam will be eliminated immediately and phased out in Japan and Mexico over the next 15 years.

CEO of the WA Fishing Industry Council John Harrison said the “elimination of any trade barriers is always welcomed”.

“The extent to which Western Australia can capitalise on seafood exports is yet to be determined,” he added.

Mr Wilson said the agreement presented a major opportunity for local businesses to become internationally competitive and expand their operations.

“A very significant portion of Western Australia’s commodity exports originate from O’ Connor, and this deal has huge potential to drive growth in our local industries,” he said.

“It will create better market conditions for WA businesses, giving them access to new markets and higher levels of demand on a scale that we’ve never seen.

“We’ve experienced a massive growth in our exports to China since we signed the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement – for example, in a nine-month period last year, bottled wine exports grew 129 per cent to $498 million.”

THE Denmark wind farm, contentious during its approval process like the Albany one before it, quietly celebrated five years of operation last week.

On a sunny February 20, five years since the big blades began turning, The Weekender joined wind farm directors on site to reflect on the impact of the farm that now supplies almost 60 per cent of household electricity across Denmark shire.

Member of the wind farm’s board Murray Thornton said the two white turbines had a 10-year gestation period.

“There were just so many bureaucratic, technical, financial and even emotional hurdles,” he recalled.

“For a lot of the objectors there were real strong emotions against it, and for the people who wanted it, there were real strong emotions for it.

“To actually get it done and then have it in production and have it running smoothly as per the projections is just great.”

“The sky hasn’t fallen in, and if you’re coming down to surf, it’s a great resource as you’re coming over the hill to see which direction the wind’s coming from.”

The wind farm is zoned to carry two more turbines, which Mr Thornton said would eventually be built.

“If there was another two turbines, I don’t think there’d be any noise, in terms of objections, whatsoever,” he forecast.

“Our ultimate dream is to have a micro-grid where Denmark can be independent from the state grid – and we’ve got wind, wave and solar and we can effectively go off the grid in terms of production.

“I think for small communities on the edge of the grid that’s a goal, and the State Government is pushing that up at Kalbarri at the moment, and we think Denmark’s a great place to do it in also.”

MEMBER for Albany Peter Watson has managed to wrestle the final $6.922 million needed to complete Stage 2 of the Centennial Park redevelopment out of Minister for Sport and Recreation Mick Murray.

At Centennial Park on Tuesday Mr Murray said the last injection of money would allow the City of Albany to execute the overall vision for the park developed in 2015 and would be a major drawcard for Albany once completed.

“Peter has been very active in making sure everything happens,” he said.

Mr Murray said Mr Watson had been in constant contact asking when the final round of funding would be made available.

“It’s important for the Albany community and important for the kids of Albany to have a safe and well-built place to play sports,” he said.

With the projected finishing date of October 2019 and an approximate total cost of $42 million, Mr Watson said once completed, the facility would be “just about state-of-the-art” for regional areas.

“Mick pushed through the funding pretty quick,” the former Olympic runner said.

“Centennial Park is going to be an important social and sporting aspect to the Albany community.

“This will be the best sporting facility in the Great Southern, and it will provide players and spectators with everything they need to enjoy their chosen sport.”

A NEW law that gives officials the power to fine residents $350 if they toss recyclable waste into their general waste or organic waste bins was unanimously approved at a meeting of Albany city councillors on Tuesday night.

As recently revealed by The Weekender (‘Rubbish mix-up could be costly’, February 15), ratepayers may now also be fined $350 if they place general waste in a recycling or organic waste bin, or organic waste in a general or recycling bin.

In a report to the councillors, the city’s manager for governance and risk, Stuart Jamieson, defined recyclable waste as paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, steel and aluminium containers, liquid paperboard and any other waste determined by the city to be recyclable.

On November 22, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation consented to a draft of the local law.

Mr Jamieson advised that the law would need to go back to the department’s CEO for consideration if Albany’s elected officials suggested even minor changes.

If major changes had been requested, city officials would have needed to start the legislative drafting process over again.

He noted that “negative community feedback” could be a major consequence if the city failed to communicate and justify the new law adequately to residents.

The local law is based on a model prepared by the department and the WA Local Government Association.

The law also makes it legal, for commercial operators to pick up waste from verge collections.

On Tuesday night, Cr Sandie Smith said she was “really pleased” to support that part of the law.

“It’s a really good example of council listening to residents,” she said.

IF YOU are someone who pays close attention to detail, you may have noticed pops of colour appearing around Albany on the odd electrical transformer box.

Don’t worry, you aren’t seeing things.

These new and colourful displays of art are part of the FORM PUBLIC Silo Trail, which has travelled throughout regional WA for the past three years and reached Albany earlier this week.

The PUBLIC Silo Trail has painted murals on grain silos, transformer boxes and infrastructure in Northam, Ravensthorpe, Merredin, Katanning and now Albany, in an attempt to put regional WA into the spotlight.

FORM project officer Kim Kirkman said the trail was the brainchild of the Perth art group and was aimed at making WA a more creative place.

“We want to celebrate regional WA and ultimately, boost cultural tourism,” she said.

“We’ve chosen quite noticeable and prominent places to paint.”

Perth artist Rachelle Dusting is one of the artists commissioned to paint Albany and was allocated a transformer box opposite Dog Rock on Middleton Road, and one near the UWA Albany Centre on Stirling Terrace.

The 26-year-old said her childhood memories of her Albany-based grandmother’s garden inspired her floral designs.

“My usual style is realism and portraiture, so it’s quite the contrast with this project,” she said.

Ms Dusting said one of the things she had to consider when creating her designs was the distance from which people would view the transformer boxes.

“I’ve broken apart the patterns so you can still get the full impact at a distance.

“I really just wanted to bring more dynamic to the sites, so I stayed true to the colours of the flowers [banksia and spider orchid].”

The PUBLIC Silo Trail will attack the Albany grain silos with colour at the end of the month, and move to another secret regional location in April, so keep an eye out on the website for further details – publicsilotrail.com.

ALBANY has the most restrictive shopping hours of any place with a Woolworths, Coles or ALDI in the south-western corner of the continent, and there are no plans to change the status quo.

The Weekender called every leader of the 11 local government areas with a Woolies, Coles or ALDI in the Great Southern and South West regions to gauge their views on deregulated shopping.

Of the nine leaders who got back to us, only Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington was unable to speak from a position of first-hand experience with extended hours in his area.

“I don’t know anyone that would go to a town just because it’s got seven-day trading,” he said.

One tourist who does not let his dislike for Albany’s shopping hours get in the way of visiting is Dardanup Shire President Mick Bennett.

“When I go down to Albany, I can never get anything,” he lamented.

“I come down there regularly and when I try to go shopping, I can’t.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the way Albany operates when there’s a tourist ship in; they are magnificent at that.”

In Dardanup (population 14,233), where big supermarkets have been allowed to trade 24/7 since 1994, Coles and Woolworths operate 7am to 9pm seven days a week, and Kmart opens around the clock.

“Before deregulation, we didn’t have much shopping, a bit of a dormitory suburb [of Bunbury], really, and we thought it was time we branched out and got our own deal going,” Cr Bennett said.

“When they decided to come in, Kmart said: ‘Oh, this might put a bit of pressure on Perth if we can open 24 hours in a sleepy little place like Dardy’.

“We would be hung, drawn and quartered if we said we were going to change back.”

From Cr Bennett’s neighbouring City of Bunbury (population 34,467), Mayor Gary Brennan said total deregulation of shopping hours in 2015 was a likely factor in ALDI recently opening a supermarket there.

“The longer hours give business people and the community choice, that’s the key thing,” he said.

Mr Wellington said that during his 17 years on Albany council he had always absented from voting on shopping hours because he was a co-owner of Leading Edge Hi Fi.

He confirmed the city (population 37,233) had no plans to revisit the shopping hours debate, which last occurred in July 2016.

At the time, six elected officials – including current councillors Paul Terry, Ray Hammond, Bill Hollingworth and Alison Goode – voted down a plan by city tourism development manager Matt Bird that in 2019 the council consider consulting the community on extended shopping hours.

Capel Shire President Murray Scott said his local IGA had not suffered since extended trading was introduced for larger supermarkets in 2015.

“Capel’s got an IGA that’s open seven days and there’s always people there,” he said.

In Capel (population 17,316), the Dalyellup Woolworths opens 8am to 9pm every day.

Cr Scott said extended trading may have been a factor in Coles’ recent decision to buy a block of land across the road from Woolworths.

Murray Shire President David Bolt said that since seven-day trading was introduced there in 2012, ratepayers had embraced it.

“Seven-day trading supports increased visitation, in line with the shire’s and its community’s awakened tourism focus for Pinjarra and the wider Murray district,” he said.

From Augusta/Margaret River, where Woolworths and Coles trade 8am to 8pm seven days a week, Shire President Pam Townshend said locals and visitors “loved” the longer hours.

“I think the IGA was the one that struggled the most, but there’s such a big ‘shop local’ campaign in Margaret River from people who want to support the IGA, and they’re doing okay,” she said.

From Busselton (population 26,355), Mayor Grant Henley said he had not noticed any impact on small businesses since trading hours were extended in February 2015.

“Interestingly, we just had an ALDI open last year and an additional Coles supermarket,” he said.

“When the ALDI opened, they chose not to go on the full hours available.

“They’re more interested in the customers coming to them when they’re open, rather than because they’re open.”

In Manjimup, with a population of 9404, Shire President Paul Omodei said extended trading had worked “extremely well” since being introduced in September 2014.

“It certainly was a big step for a community with a lot of small businesses, but I certainly think it is working,” he said.

Harvey Shire President Tania Jackson said extended trading had probably been a factor in ALDI deciding Australind would be its first location in south-western Australia.

“We have certainly had some benefits, but I do feel the local smaller shops have either had to come along for the ride or deal with stiff competition from the [bigger players] now,” she said.

The shire presidents of Katanning (Liz Guidera) and Collie (Sarah Stanley) – where extended trading also occurs – did not return calls.

EMU POINT resident Emily Elsasser came home from dinner on Friday night to a surprising encounter and may have inadvertently captured the first photographic record of a motorbike frog (litoria moorei) eating another.

With more than 40 years’ experience in studying zoology and the biology of frogs, Dr Dale Roberts from the University of Western Australia was surprised to see the behaviour of two motorbike frogs in a photo taken by Ms Elsasser on Friday.

“I’ve seen plenty of large frogs consuming smaller frogs, and frogs of similar size before,” he said.

“But this is the first photographic evidence I’ve seen of a litoria moorei, or motorbike frog, consuming another.”

Dr Roberts said he had heard previously from people that they had seen motorbike frogs eating each other, but had no actual proof.

“To my knowledge there aren’t any scientific papers in circulation that dissect the diet of these frogs,” he said.

Ms Elsasser had to grab her glasses to make sure she knew what she was looking at when she arrived home.

“We live near a big wetland area, so we’re used to sharing our backyard with frogs in the evening,” she said.

“After getting that little bit of rain the last few evenings, all kinds of frogs have been coming out to sit on the lawn or on our window sills.

“They love to sit there and eat the bugs attracted by our lights.”

Friday night was a first for Ms Elsasser though, after she spotted a small motorbike frog seemingly being devoured by a larger one.

“I didn’t have my glasses on, so all I saw was this strange two-headed frog on the window sill,” she said.

After racing back inside, Ms Elsasser was surprised to see the cannibalistic action.

“I had to be quick to take the photo before they noticed me,” she said.

“I went back a bit later and they were gone.

“I’m glad that I don’t know what happened to the poor thing.”

Photo: Emily Elsasser

A YACHT gutted by a fire that killed a man and his dog at Little Grove last week has been moved to Emu Point for in-depth Arson Squad investigation, but police do not think the blaze was suspiciously lit – at this stage.

Great Southern Police Superintendent Dom Wood said the yacht Freelander had been taken to Emu Point and lifted from the water to be secured so Arson Squad could do a thorough investigation.

Earlier, police spokeswoman Susan Usher said the yacht had burst into flames about 8pm on February 15 at Princess Royal Sailing Club.

She said that after fire fighters extinguished the blaze, the yacht’s owner, a man in his 70s, was located on board.

Ms Usher said the cause of the fire was undetermined and police would prepare a report for the Coroner.

Arson Squad attended the yacht club on February 16 to undertake a preliminary investigation.

Inspector Wood said the man’s pet dog also perished in the fire.

Photo: Chris Thomson

AFTER The Weekender revealed that works on the Middleton Beach jetty would require a month-long, one-metre hole in the Ellen Cove shark net, the City of Albany has abandoned plans to access the jetty by barge.

This week, acting city CEO Michael Cole said contractors would no longer need to lower the shark net to access the jetty.

Mr Cole said the jetty would instead now be accessed from the beach and boardwalk pathway.

As previously reported (Hole in the shark net, February 8), the jetty upgrade will occur from February 19 to March 23.

The original plan was to up- grade the jetty from a barge, which would have required the shark net to be lowered by a metre during the month-long project.

Mr Cole said those plans had changed “after the contractor decided it was more efficient to carry out the works from the beach due to tides and the sand levels around the jetty”.

“Swimmers will now be able to continue to use the swimming enclosure with peace of mind it is secure; however, a 10m exclusion zone around the jetty will still apply,” he assured.

“There will be minimal disruptions to beach access.”

Contractors closed 10 parking bays adjacent to Albany Surf Life Saving Club on Sunday night to allow access for a crane and sea container on the beach on Monday morning to prepare for the project.

The parking bays were re-opened after the sea container and first materials were delivered to the site.

Mr Cole said workers would close the pathway to the Ellen Cove boardwalk for short two-minute intervals about four times a day to facilitate delivery of materials.

“We urge visitors to the area to show patience and observe work site exclusion areas,” he said.

“Signs at Middleton Beach to inform the public of the work will be updated.”