What’s the hold up?
IS anyone else sick of the lack of investment and development in Fremantle? Recent delays in the Hilton Hotel in the East End proves the point.
Council and planning departments bickering about an investment in a neglected part of Fremantle has led to a further two-year delay. All up, a four-year hole in the ground. No wonder business doesn’t want to invest here with the never-ending planning process.
Damien Takac
Beach St, Fremantle
Bring back the boobs
HOLY SHIT! What has happened to the Fremantle Herald?
The awesome newspaper that I personally look forward to reading each and every Friday right here in the Good old USA?
We went from chickens, women with exposed boobs, pictures at the beach, soiled toilets and other interesting photos on the front page to some old lady with an empty fridge, some issue to vote for or against, some building that should or should not be torn down, some other type of miscreants or helpless people and don’t forget the man who married his cousin.
These types of stories and pictures once adorned the front page and provided me with a positive mental picture as I approached my weekend. Now I am in fear of the fact the Herald may indeed become a normal newspaper that any one can read in Jerkwater USA!
Next Tuesday we are expecting a wintery mix of ice and snow. The only motivation I have to face these hazardous conditions are a mental picture of an empty fridge, the fact some kid caught some dumbo dumping trash and I cannot remember what else! Mr Editor, please I implore you show some more boobs and toilets before it is too late.
Scott Petrill
Savannah Rd, Peachland
North Carolina USA
The Ed says: Strewth, Scott — hard man to please! What about the story about the Herald being printed on 2 million stubbies of beer!
Something wrong
MALCOLM TURNBULL is looking at increasing the GST to 15 per cent to fund struggling schools and hospitals.
This week Julie Bishop announced Australia had contributed 258 million taxpayer dollars to Syria. Is there something wrong with this picture or is it just me ?
Suzanne Hanley
Calpin Cres, Attadale
A painful trip to Freo
THANK you Fremantle council for not spending money repairing your pavements. Yesterday I tripped over a raised paving brick on William Street across from the muilti-storey car park, and fell, injuring my foot.
Thanks to your inept care of Fremantle pavements I spent more than five hours at Fiona Stanley emergency department waiting for an x-ray of my very painful foot.
I don’t have broken bones, I’m lucky, but someone more elderly than me might have had worse.
Get your act together Fremantle council. I wonder how many others have tripped and fallen in Freo?
Helen Almond
Hammond St, Palmyra
Gosh! It’s Josh
AS a long-time resident of greater Fremantle I’d love to see our part of the world represented federally by Josh Wilson.
Josh has been in Freo for the long haul, showing his commitment and hard work to all sectors of the community. He’s developed relationships with many, from arts to business, and, importantly, has a strong social conscience. He has raised his family here. Josh has my vote.
Deb Fitzpatrick
Bailey St, Hamilton Hill
Dan Murphy’s fails walk test
THE carpark for the Dan Murphy store in Melville is anti-pedestrian, let alone anti-disability.
The busy intersection from the carpark into Murray Road allows 16 turning possibilities for vehicles, right where pedestrians endeavour to cross. The footpath was extended at the corner of Murray and Kanimbla Rds ostensibly to facilitate pedestrian crossing, particularly from the high density Kanimbla Rd, but it is useless in its present state.
If one is successful in negotiating the crossing without hazard, they are met not with an entry, but with a fence that runs right along the south side of the car park and cuts off the possibility of any safe access, as it extends right to the entry road.
This means pedestrians must step down into the entry road to regain the footpath; the crosswalk is in an awkward place well up from the entry and inside the carpark (north) from the intersection, and has no allowance for wheeled access from road to footpath on either side (eg, trolley, gopher, wheelchair, frame etc). The kerb is regular height there.
The whole entry is extremely dangerous for anyone trying to cross from the south kerb of Murray Rd to enter the shopping centre. Anyone with a disability would find it impossible to enter the precinct from this angle.
Also, if a person survives this, they can be guaranteed a huge blast of hot air onto the footpath from the enormous Dan Murphy air conditioner!
I emailed this to a central office of Woolworths on January 18, with no response to date.
Elizabeth Sanders
Murray Rd, Bicton
Rights jabbed
THE “no jab, no pay” policy (Herald, January 9 and 16, 2016) is a human rights violation.
In case people are not aware, our government is now withholding welfare from parents of children whose vaccinations are not up to date.
Take the medicine, or else.
Any contrary medical opinion, research by prominent doctors and scientists from around the world with even the slightest argument against vaccinations is withheld from mainstream media? I find this frightening.
Vaccination is a medical intervention that carries a degree of risk of injury and even death.
The right of informed consent about any medical procedure is a basic human right. Whether we choose to vaccinate fully, selectively or not at all, that choice is ours under the Australian Constitution.
If this is allowed to continue we are one step away from mandated mass medical treatment.
Marie Zuidwind
Lee Ave, Hilton
Sticky priorities
REGARDING the Yarloop fires, Wayne Greyson said it all when he wrote “you only have a limited amount of resources”, which puts the ball fairly and squarely back in Premier Barnett’s court, with super glue!
How much do water bombers cost? About $30 million each to buy, but an investment of a few million dollars per aircraft each year to lease. A pittance compared to human life and homes.
How much will Elizabeth Quay and the new stadium cost? ($2 billion for now, but who really knows). You could buy 60 water bombers for that amount, or lease 60 for several years (not that we’d need that many). It’s a no-brainer and should’ve been done years ago.
But apparently uneeded infrastructure and unnecessary re-routing of buses — like the 80-year-old perfectly good route #15 away from the elderly and disabled in Mt Hawthorn/Glendalough — are higher on the government’s priority list.
Tad Krysiak
Convenor, Seniors And Disabled
Bus Action Group
Disability plan cobbled together?
I VISITED Elizabeth Quay last week with a person in a wheelchair. I was very surprised and disappointed to discover the “cobblestone” effect of the walkways.
At first glance I thought smooth pathways had been created amongst the slightly raised bricks. However, this was not so. The walkways are an uncomfortable ride for the person in the chair as well as the person pushing.
With the amount of money spent on the quay I wonder who was employed to provide advice regarding this most basic aspect of disability access?
Anupo Le Faucheur
Watkins St, White Gum Valley
Disgusting hypocrisy
I WENT to the Sanctuary meeting in Perth last night with my kids and a friend. As we walked towards the meeting some indigenous people were enjoying a drink in the evening warmth and one called out, “tell ‘em to fuck off to some other country!”
Later, they came down and quietly sat amongst the crowd, listened to the speakers and the musicians and at the end staggered to their feet and ambled off.
The whole time they were there they were studiously ignored by everybody: the crowd, the speakers, the clergy, everybody. It was like they had a force field around them the whole time.
They sat and listened whilst the invaders pleaded for more people to be allowed to come to “our country” while they were being ostracised for being.
The irony, the hypocrisy of all of us was disgusting.
Reuben Filsell
Morris St, Beaconsfield
No joshing, he’s great
WE are fortunate in Fremantle that with the retirement of the excellent Melissa Parke, an experienced person has thrown their hat into the ring for the Labor party.
Council work is always difficult and complex: councillors and council decisions are scrutinised closely by electors and the local media.
Josh Wilson has been involved with these issues for many years, becoming deputy mayor along the way. This is an indication of the esteem other councillors have for his administrative and analytical abilities.
Let us hope the ALP choose him for its candidate for the federal seat of Fremantle. His experience and demonstrable abilities should translate well into the national stage.
Gordon Payne
Jenkin St, South Fremantle
