Tip the pick-up
MY verge is covered in other people’s rubbish. The rubbish changes daily as people dump and scavengers loot at all hours of the day and early morning, including 2am.
Someone has dumped on the footpath and I have tried to drag it off but it is too heavy. This is disgusting and it has to end. People have been dumping for four weeks, long before the dates advertised by the council.
It is time for these collections to stop and to instead have skip bins available at strategic places at all times of the year. There is broken glass and other sharp objects in this rubbish and local school kids have been playing in it.
I hope the collection is going to happen this week as no-one should have to put up with this disgrace.
Jennifer Williams
Trusting Lane, White Gum Valley

Prison party pooper
I WAS greatly amused by the outrage of Mr Gerry MacGill over the proposed spooky tours of the Fremantle Prison (Herald, October 31, 2015).
Given the Tower of London (which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site) runs “spooky” tours over several months of the year, I think Mr MacGill might need to calm the farm and let a new generation of people enjoy the Freo prison in a novel way.
If he is really worried about disrespecting those people who lived and died in the prison years ago (and I very much doubt they care) then perhaps he should contact the Times or the Guardian to advise them of the Tower’s puerile degradation of kings and queens in London?
And I do hope Mr MacGill was as bah humbug about the happy couple who were engaged in the prison’s tunnels, as he seems to be about the Halloween tours (Herald, same edition). My congratulations to Mr Payne and Ms Yaafe!
Emma Simper
Oakover St, East Fremantle

Skilled at losing jobs
THE 10-pound pom in reverse. The closure of car manufacturing in Australia in 2017 could cost nearly 200,000 jobs and $29 billion in economic output, based on a report by the National Institute for Economic and Industrial Research.
The resource boom and the resulting high Australian dollar has been a killer for Australian manufacturing, along with a colonial mentality that imported goods are superior to local goods and Australia’s wealth comes only from our natural resources.
When our previous treasurer, Mr Hockey, challenged the car industry to leave the Australian dollar was at parity with the US dollar. Today it’s closer to 70 cents. This makes imported cars 30 per cent more expensive than when the closure decisions were made and could have tipped the scales to keeping jobs at home.
Our loss is others’ gain: the United Kingdom’s car manufacturing is expected to increase by 33 per cent, needing 9500 direct staff and 28,000 supply chain jobs. Forty-one per cent of components parts for the average UK-built car is locally sourced — this has increased from 36 per cent in 2011.
This could lead to skilled automotive workers fleeing economic hardship in Australia for jobs in the UK — the reverse of my generation fleeing the UK for jobs and better prospects Down Under.
Michael Whitworth
Caribbean Dve, Safety Bay

Infill out of control
IF anyone wants to see what infill housing looks like come along and view 16 Bridges Road in Melville.
This development, passed as a nine-unit site now has 183 multi-storey apartments going up.
This panel and concrete type of development is really noisy during its construction, which has been going on for most of the year and not finished yet.
We have had our fences broken, concrete sprayed on our brick-paved driveway and must watch out for nails on the drive so we don’t end up with them in our tyres.
It seems the Chinese-owned company took advantage of a small window of time when this development could be approved.
The same company was only allowed to do a two-storey development on Birdwood Circus.
Six of our seven units have now lost their river views and can only look out onto three storeys of concrete and panels which block the sunlight.
The workforce start at 7am, with the radio blaring away, as well as the noise of construction and sometimes work on Saturdays.
Most people who seem to be viewing the apartments from the road with the agent appear to be Chinese. If these are overseas investors why are we giving up our valuable garden suburbs for profits to go overseas?
The slums of the future are coming to a suburb near you.
Brenda Taylor
Bridges Rd, Melville

Trump that, Tony
PUT a sock in it, Tony! As Julia Gillard is advising Hillary Clinton these days, it is even more appropriate that Tony Abbott joins the Donald Trump campaign team.
CE Dortch
Howard St, Fremantle

Not for dogs. Full stop.
I TAKE umbrage with Dianne Marshall (Herald letters, October 31, 2015) regarding dogs in Manning Park.
Quite simply, this park is not a dog exercise area, full stop. It is a park for all people to enjoy and I will take the point regarding the effect on the local wildlife and even the local dogs on the recent fireworks.
Having said that though, dogs must be on a lead when in the park, not just for the ducks etc, but to make the other people who use the park feel safe.
I have had several bad experiences with dogs whose owners  haven’t had them on a lead nor under effective control of any sort. On one occasion just recently two large dogs not on a lead rushed at my wife and me and when I rebuked the owners I was told to get back to where I came from. It was not a nice experience.
Last Sunday, in the space of 30 minutes from 8.45am to 9.15am I counted five large dogs not on a lead with the owners oblivious to the dog laws.
I have even seen large dogs going up and down our beautiful new steps, not on a lead, with their owners seemingly disregarding any safety issues whatsoever.
This situation is not good enough and I commend the ranger on the council’s vigilance. Enjoy the park as I have done for decades, but please keep your little treasures on a lead.
Ken Wilman
Spearwood

Pete loves plastic
IT appears Peter Katsambanis the Liberal member for north metropolitan region has a fondness for plastic bags and has prevented Fremantle council’s attempts to reduce the amount of plastic bags going to landfill.
Not being one to get in the way of Peter Katsambanis’ love of plastic I am going to send him a plastic bag full of the plastic detritus that litters our beaches and is often found in the stomachs of dead sea birds and other marine animals.
Peter really does love his plastic so his office address is below, just in case you feel the urge to gift him a lovely pile of plastic he can roll around in: 632 Newcastle Street, Leederville WA 6007 or PO Box 300, Mount Hawthorn WA 6915
Pedro Schwindt
Beaconsfield

Should’ve built the bypass
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN appears to be salivating at the current political attack on the Liberal government resulting from the turmoil she caused in 1992 by deleting the Fremantle bypass from the regional planning scheme, at the behest of a Labor powerbroker to enhance his re-election prospects. Labor’s destructive actions are now costing the taxpayer billions, and unnecessary community angst to try to rectify.
Daryl Binning
Norton Ridge, Winthrop

Care for the birds
EVERY spring I watch with sadness as local magpie families work laboriously, feeding their new babies only to have them killed on the roads.
Can’t we slow down just a tad during spring to give them a bit of a chance? The family that’s visited my garden for the past 15 years or so has managed to successfully rear three young in the past eight years, all the rest have been hit by cars.
The new housing developments completely clear the birds’ feeding grounds and fell their nesting trees. Yes, we must have progress, but when you sit in your modern new kitchen having a cuppa, remember your house is on their feeding grounds.
Drive a little slower, keep cats in and leave the birds a few bits of scrappy bits of meat from your dinner.
The magpies, mudlarks, butcher birds, willy wagtails and countless others will love you for it and reward you with their songs. But don’t feed the crows.
Rosanna Bunting,
Phoenix Rd, Spearwood
The Ed says: But don’t feed birds bread: it’s bad for their guts. Stick to meat, seeds and fruit.

Having a go
A FEW days ago I was taking a walk down Carrington Street to see what was happening in my suburb.
I was approaching Tamar Street where The Swim Shop used to be, when I noticed something new had opened in its place. I poked my head in and was greeted by a warm smile from a young lady.
Being adventurous, I entered the shop and soon discovered it specialised in women’s accessories and didn’t have anything I wanted. However, I was still curious and struck up a conversation with the young owner, discovered her name is Mel and that she has always had an ambition to start her own fashion business.
After a brief conversation I said goodbye and wished her all the best with her new venture. For some reason I walked away feeling happy, probably because I had just met a young person with the courage to chase her dream and take a chance.
Steve Grady
Murray Rd, Palmyra