Split feet
LIVING in close proximity to the Burt Street site which is causing such a “brouhaha” (Herald, January 17, 2015), I have a foot in both camps.
No-one can deny Fremantle is in need of more affordable housing, and of more people to support the city in becoming the jewel in the crown it should be.
However, I have to acknowledge I have rarely seen a contemporary development in WA, high-density or otherwise, that isn’t more or less a monstrosity.
It is entirely possible that something magnificent could be done with this parcel of prime land; something with stirling eco-credentials; something beautiful; something providing superior living for a large number of residents… but it is difficult to imagine these aspirations will be at the forefront of this development.
I believe this is where the fears of the local community lie.
With regard to reticence towards the small percentage of public housing to be included in the current proposal, without being naive enough to deny there can be problems with public housing I would like to point out many people who rely on this safety net are excellent citizens; people who can turn a grubby rental and a patch of dirt into a beautiful home and garden on a shoestring, single parents doing a great job with their kids, artists, etc, who would all be an asset to any society. People who might actually be around during the day to keep an eye out for the children and contribute to the confidence and security of the community, rather than injecting terror into it.\
Anna DeLany
Tuckfield St, Fremantle 

Save our small, strong town
THE Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary defines reform as “make or become better”.
So what will be better if the Town of East Fremantle is forcibly amalgamated with the City of Fremantle? Will my rubbish be collected more often? Will my rates be lower? Will I have more access to the libraries in Fremantle and Melville than I have already?
The town staff are hardworking, very experienced and very approachable. I know many by name (a big hi to rangers Andrew and Dean, to Rose on reception, to Peta and Janine who know more about the town than many long-standing residents).
The social capital created by the residents of East Fremantle is difficult to measure and impossible to put a price on.
Those of us who live here and love our town know that “Small but Strong” is what we want. What we don’t want is to be just another suburb within a greater Fremantle.
Your vote counts. If you live in the town you can vote. It’s up to all of us to save our town. We won’t get another chance.
Robyn Travers
George St, East Fremantle

Patients should come first
I AM a patient and member of a consumer group at Fremantle Hospital.
Nurses and patients have been contacting me asking me if I can influence the decision to close the emergency department on February 2, and could it be re-opened even if smaller.
It is open knowledge the emergency department at Fremantle Hospital has been extensively utilised by the local and surrounding community and also by visitors, of which there are many.
Not all people have their own transport and while Fiona Stanley Hospital has much to offer, it is remote and in an isolated area from a reasonable perspective.
Fremantle is a central location and a vibrant community.
The hospital emergency department has been for many years an accepted part of that community. It is very disappointing for many consumers to see it close.
We are supposed to be a consumer- and patient-driven health system. I wonder how many patients/consumers were actually asked anything about the removal and transplanting of what many consider an essential service in Fremantle.
Mary Ward
Lefroy Rd, Beaconsfield

Is the Herald high?
SURELY your intrepid reporters have got it wrong this time.
Cr Josh Wilson, reducing height from 37 to 34 metres (“Burt Street brouhaha,” Herald, January 17, 2015): That is, from 12 floors to 11 floors. From what datum? East Street, or Skinner Street?
Cr Pemberton seems to confuse height with density: “the height difference between R60 and R160 is not massive”. She lives in a 4-storey building, she says. The density difference is 100 bodies per hectare, or 166 per cent. Not massive?
R McK Campbell
Fremantle
The Ed says: Not sure from what datum they take the measurements, but the 37m to 34m we think, from memory, has the effect of reducing the height at street level from six to five storeys.

Horrified
I WAS horrified to read of the horrible experience of the poor woman who wrote the Thinking Allowed article (“Neighbours from Hell,” January 10, 2014), and what she has been subjected to, and is going through, on a daily basis.
As a state housing tenant, I wish to assure her that 99.9 per cent of state housing tenants are normal, hardworking people who take a pride in their homes and neighbourhood.
But some—as she does—suffer disgusting, horrible neighbours (in some cases as bad, if not worse, than those she describes).
When we, like she, complain to the department, the minister, local MPs or the council, we are fobbed off with useless excuses with no action taken.
Housing loses hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars each year in unpaid rents, probably an equal amount in repairing damage by tenants it has housed, evicted then rehoused. No private rental concern could afford, nor would tolerate, this. It will continue unless those employed by the state actually do the job they are paid to do.
Unless enforced, the “three strikes” threat is about as much use as an ashtray on a motor bike.  Whether a homeowner, private renter or state housing tenant, it’s our tax money being wasted.
I urge everyone to write, phone, text or email your local or state media outlet, MP and councillors to complain.
Name supplied
Beach St, Fremantle
The Ed says: The department did take “three strikes” action to evict the tenant who was the subject of last week’s Thinking Allowed article but a magistrate decided to overturn the eviction decision. Now the department must gather evidence to start the three strikes process from scratch.