Not a good start to consultation
I AM an Alfred Cove resident and my two-year-old son attends the GoodStart Myaree childcare centre on North Lake Road near the IGA and Mel Maria primary.
Two weeks ago Melville council erected a sign about a development application which said it related to a reduction in parking spaces and plans to raise a playground.
Some parents sought additional information and it appears the childcare centre is actually expanding from 41 places to a 100-place facility by taking over the adjoining lot.
GoodStart and its Landlord (the applicant) haven’t given any information to the 77 families of 90 children who attend the centre weekly.
The centre director (who is wonderful) has not been informed, although we’ve heard an email might be this coming week — two weeks after the signs went up, and just days before the public comment period closes.
We understand GoodStart will be able to expand its 4-year-old kindy offering and increase numbers in each of the rooms.
There are a few issues with the proposal, chiefly having just 18 parking bays, including one which doubles as the emergency exit and is therefore a no parking bay.

The car park is already busy at drop off and collection times, and with 20 staff at the expanded centre (based on there being 10 employees for 41 children) this is inadequate and a safety concern. It’s also likely to see traffic banking up along the already busy North Lake Road.
This has come as a shock to everyone, particularly as most of us chose the centre due to its smaller size and community feel – something which will be lost when it more than doubles in size.
I accept the centre is at capacity and there is a state-wide agenda to increase childcare provision however a centre for 100 children under the age of five is way too big and will not enable them to receive the same quality of care or experience.
Parents are slowly becoming mobilised as more information comes to light.
The public comment period closes this Friday and I understand the matter will be considered by the Council in early June.
Kate Zappa
Davy Street, Alfred Cove 

Underwhelmed
APPARENTLY there is a double dissolution election on.
Well, by watching commercial breakfast news you would barely know it.
It seems that commercial TV thinks it is more important to look at Beyonce dancing in her underpants or interview some B-grade actor.
Which brings me to the point I would like to make.
It seems both major parties are bogged down in a mindless debate over refugee literacy and backpacker tax issues.
Are these really important issues, or a simple distraction to stop us discussing the real issues?
It appears mainstream media and the major parties think very lowly of us.
So if you, out there in voter land, are disaffected and appalled at the nonsense we are served up, I ask that on your ballot paper you write down the one issue you are most concerned about.
For me it is climate change and the lack of any credible Coalition policy.
It did not even rate a mention in the “innovative budget”.
Pedro Schwindt
Martha Street, Beaconsfield
9335 5319

Let he who casts the first stone…
IT was totally unnecessary to quote Sherry Sufi’s complete profanity in print being a freely distributed unrestricted print media (“Sufi on the ropes”, Herald, May 21, 2016).
Secondly, the reported incident was recorded at a private gathering in a private place. It was soon dealt with in its entirety by the person affected.
Whoever gave the Herald the information was being malicious toward Sufi for some yet to be known reason.
Furthermore, against fair press for public interest; you have no right to have a man lose his right to earn an income for your paper’s gain unless he is a proven public concern.
Sherry Sufi who is quite Australian in nature contrary to looks, was educated in Australia and has risen in the political arena as a very learned and worthy gentleman who has very good research qualities through his tertiary studies.
He is not afraid to discuss the broader or flip side of given populous beliefs.
He has also provided good support to his colleagues and friends and the Australian people will not — at least in the near future — be able to gain from Mr Sufi’s abilities and knowledge. Finally, I would like to know how many other people have at parties mocked employers and of the likes with similar or worse. Let this incident be a warning to all going to private parties.
Hayden Shenton
Munster
The Ed says: The Herald neither dis-endorsed Mr Sherry nor forced him from his job; those decisions were solely taken by the Liberal Party. It’s not Mr Sufi’s mocking of his boss that’s the main issue, it’s the misogynistic language he used. And while Mr Sutherland got his apology, the Herald checked and found the volunteers duped by his phone prank were never informed about the incident, let alone got a “sorry”.

Already pining
THIS is the truck passing my place today towing the remnants of the two iconic Norfolk pines that were massacred on Wednesday, May 18 on Riverside Road East Fremantle.
I read with interest your front page news story about the young schoolgirl who had set up a campaign to save these two beautiful and large pines which have been part of the landscape along the river for as long as I can remember.

It was encouraging to see that the “young” still want to be part of saving something very “old”.
But no, despite the petition and the fact we could ring the East Fremantle council to register our opposition, they still came down.
Council’s response was that they had received an application from the owners and tests had revealed a disease in the trees and their roots were going into the drains and damaging the pavements.
I admit I don’t know much about horticulture or disease in trees of this age, but I am pretty sure in this day and age that things could have been done to save these trees.
However, as is most often the case progress and bureaucracy shine through!
If the council had not received the application then no-one would have been the wiser and these beautiful Norfolk pines would live on to provide beauty and also a home for many birds.
Does this mean the council is going test every pine left standing and bring them down?
Di Westall
East Fremantle

How simply awful, dahling
HOW extremely unpleasant for Barry Thornton to have to view homeless people in his own very, very expensive street in Applecross.
My sympathies go out to you, Barry, in your air-conditioned, warm, dry, fridge stocked with food, two cars in the garage, paid job with security home.
It’s unfortunate that you bought so close to the river so as to attract the seagulls.
What a nuisance it all is for you.
I suggest you sell up and move to somewhere you’ll be properly insulated from the ugly day-to-day lives of other people. Perhaps a nice gated community?
My sympathies go out to you.
On a totally separate issue I dropped a few bags of clothes down at St Pat’s in Fremantle last week.
I hadn’t been for about 10 months and was saddened to see the foyer full of people in need; the line stretched out of the door and onto the footpath, many with shopping trolleys or prams containing their meager belongings.
These people sat in defeated silence waiting for lunch and nothing more. Where are these people (it could be any of us) supposed to go? Perhaps the people who dared to venture to leafy Applecross thought it a safe move to stay away from larger groups in Fremantle.
Unfortunately they hadn’t reckoned on people like Barry.
Tina Wilson
Palmyra

——–
WE LOVE LETTERS, so get yours in to news@fremantleherald.com