H&S out the window
THE development at East Fremantle Oval is a great centre for the wider community but sadly the seating in the stand follows the modern trend that applies to all new stadiums including the upper levels of Optus Stadium.
Small seats crowded together on a steep incline with no handrails.
Health and safety out the window.
At least the oval is not surrounded by multi-storey housing, another modern tend as at Claremont Oval, thanks to the classification of East Fremantle Oval as an A Class Reserve.
Pat Newton
East Fremantle
The distrust was palpable
YOUR excellent report of the recent Politics in the Pub on the AUKUS agreement (“Locals not pacified by AUKUS platitudes,” Herald, December 7) covered the issues of the meeting very well – but didn’t really capture the vociferous nature of the distrust of and opposition to AUKUS.
I have attended just about every Politics in the Pub at The Local and have never seen such an interested, informed and animated audience.
I was, frankly, depressed, if not distressed, by the two speakers (very-recently-retired career diplomat, Paul Myler, and Head of the Australian Submarine Agency Technical Division, Commodore Mat Hudson) who tried to defend the indefensible in what I can only describe as the most patronising way possible.
Effectively they said that if we were properly ‘educated’ or if we knew what they knew, we wouldn’t be against AUKUS.
So their job now, they said, was to educate us, the great unwashed.
As someone who grew up (rapidly!) in the UK in the 1960s, I’m not sure what depresses me more:
(a) the knowledge that I’ve seen it all before; or
(b) the realisation (okay, perhaps I’m a slow learner) that the future will likely continue to be simply the past on an endless loop.
It probably doesn’t help that I have just finished reading Ben Elton’s 2014 book, ‘Time and Time Again’.
Since Politics in the Pub, we have the revelation that the Australian Submarine Agency is a dysfunctional organisation.
According to The Guardian, Australia: “The defence minister has appointed former senior defence and security bureaucrat Dennis Richardson to conduct an urgent top-to-bottom review of the Australian Submarine Agency amid serious concerns about how it is managing Australia’s $368b AUKUS submarine contract.”
And now we hear that the ASA is paying consultants McKinsey $9.5m for management advice to “deliver skills ‘currently unavailable’ within government department” (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/06/aukus-deal-australian-submarine-agency-mckinsey-consultancy-costs-ntwnfb).
It is not clear whether this means training ASA staff or actually becoming an integral part of the ASA operations, but either way it is worrying that the ASA was given responsibility for the project without having such skills in place.
Perhaps the greatest immediate concern about the ASA is that the annual Australian Public Service staff census results, published last week, revealed “problems within the agency with staff morale and internal communications”.
The survey recorded the ASA as the second worst agency for staff wellbeing and support out of all 104 departments and agencies in the federal bureaucracy.”
I suspect a lot of this is not due to deficiencies in the skills and capabilities of ASA staff themselves, but to the staff knowing that the AUKUS deal is not a good one for Australia and that it is not supported by a large part of the Australian population.
Bottom line is AUKUS is a flawed (indeed, dangerous, with Trump soon to enter the White House) deal done in secret by Scott Morrison and continued with by Anthony Albanese (who, no doubt, felt wedged by the politics of it).
Bipartisan support is sufficiently rare in Australian politics for this to make it extremely difficult for either major party to save us from the consequences.
Ian Ker
South Fremantle
Truth bombs
IN your article on the meeting organised by Friends of Palestine held at Walyalup Koort last Saturday, you quote supporting musician Amber Fresh as saying: “It’s the responsibility of all of us to speak the truth when events like this are taking place…”.
She got it right with: “Sometimes rallies don’t feel like they achieve much, but they are part of advocating and showing support…”.
That’s the reason my friend Gordon Payne and I attended the rally, holding placards we had made equating war with terrorism and comparing Hitler’s final solution for the Jews with Netanyahu’s final solution for the Palestinians.
Veterans of many such rallies for many causes over many decades, including earlier ones for Friends of Palestine (until we had had enough of the simplistic, overly hopeful slogans which however essential at these rallies, wear thin very quickly).
Unfortunately, the “truth” was an early casualty at this meeting, with the MC declaring that PM Anthony Albanese, foreign minister Penny Wong and Fremantle MHR Josh Wilson were all supporting genocide against the Palestinian people.
Blatant and extremely offensive lies, I shouted “Rubbish!” after each accusation, and we left the meeting immediately after the third slander.
Friends of Palestine, leave the lies, distortions and propaganda to the aggressive, myopic and relentless Jewish lobby group and it’s champions in the right-wing media.
Try, even if you’re young, hurting and frustrated at not being able to do anything effective to help, to live with the limitations of realpolitik.
Australia’s change of vote at the UN and push for Israel to obey international law might be about all that’s currently achievable.
And coming back to realpolitik, remember there’s a Federal election coming up soon.
Labor’s trying not to offend either the Islamic vote or the Jewish one, hoping for social cohesion, and of course, votes.
The Liberals are courting the Jewish vote only (in line with their view that Israel is a beleaguered, blameless democracy, while Palestinians are Islamic terrorists, ingrates who should prefer the wealth Israel has created and shares with them – drip feed – when it chooses to – theoretically – rather than a fantastical self-determination ).
And the Greens realise they might well benefit from the confusion and disenchantment (in addition to their genuine concern for Palestinians (shared by Labor voters), whose seemingly endless tortures we witness on TV every night).
Hard to see any solution acceptable to all, and one that works.
Zionism’s determination to create a sovereign state for the Jews in a land already occupied by a people who had lived there for millennia (sound familiar?) was appallingly self-interested, with no concern at all for the people they wanted to displace, and has created a nightmare for everyone, but particularly the Palestinians.
Israel should “just finish the job” according to Donald Trump.
“Might is right” is a dreadful possibility.
Gerald Hitchcock
South Fremantle
Christmas challenge
WHEN next you’re in a shopping centre to get out of the heat
A Christmas Challenge while you wait on a seat
Try to see someone WITHOUT one of the things listed below ..
Frayed jeans at the knees
Frayed shorts
Bearing a midriff
Earrings dangling
A nose ring
A tattoo somewhere on view
A Mobile in hand , up against an ear or lodged in a rear pocket
Long hair-boy or a girl
Mullet same applies
Instead look for a couple holding hands
No matter their age
That’s the Christmas Challenge
And the end of this page
Lee Lövmark
Fremantle
Waste of breath
THE actions of the state government, and sometimes the Fremantle council, continue to be of concern to the Fremantle community.
We’re having AUKUS and nuclear imposed on us, if not directly in the Fremantle council area, right next door in Cockburn sound.
They tried to allay our concerns about nuclear waste suggesting it would be no different to nuclear waste, but have been forced since to admit the nuclear waste from the nuclear-powered (perhaps nuclear-armed?) submarines will be of far greater magnitude with a half-life of 300 years unlike medical radioactive waste which can be disposed of in landfill after a relatively short period of decay.
We’ve had a monstrous police complex imposed on us which the community strongly opposed.
And now the JDAP has approved the pod hotel which LyLo wishes to build on Essex Street.
The proposed development was objected to by residents, businesses and even the council voted it down or suggested reductions in bulk.
But the state government imposed JDAP decided again that Fremantle doesn’t know what’s best for Fremantle and has approved this over all the rational objections.
It appears that it is up to the people of Fremantle to take back their voice and agency and reject these undemocratic actions.
Much damage will be done but hopefully we can contain the damage and avoid it continuing.
The only way to do this is for the community to come together and build a local voice against the continued erosion of our rights and the fabric of that which makes Fremantle the place we cherish.
Louis de Villiers
Hlton
Open it up!
THE warm weather has started again and every weekend hundreds of people descend on South Beach for a morning swim, run, cycle, walk and coffee afterwards.
Lots of families go for the day for a picnic under the trees. and every weekend through October, November and early December there is the major problem of no available parking.
The response I have had from the council as to why they would not be opening Wilson Park until school holidays was “complaints of dust and other issues”.
Really this time of the year the park is greener than Brad Pettitt so the complaint of dust isn’t valid.
Backpackers, yes they are a thorn in the side of councils everywhere.
A one-off warning and then a substantial fine would surely get the word out to the rest that South Beach carpark is not worth it at night.
The council has advised me the gate will open from December 9 and so immediately the problem of parking is solved.
Why, oh why not, now and end the out of control dilemma that manifests every weekend till the start of holidays.
Yes the grass on the park will degrade, but if a rotational area of ‘no parking’ is fenced off and with extra watering during the week, the grass will recover enough to last the summer period without the dust problem, which obviously is more important than alleviating a major public concern.
In the current environment of councils wanting to be transparent and working with the community, a common sense approach to this can only result in people able to have an enjoyable experience at South Beach.
Ron Pitcher
via email
Spurious
WHAT spurious claims Fremantle’s current mayor makes in the article “Oval plan out,” (Herald, October 12, 2024).
Yes, I object to 240 new dwellings on the World Heritage Fremantle Oval site, not because of the straw man claim that, “I wish to deny the folks who gave us that vibrancy and diversity a place to live”, rather that Fremantle Oval should be respected as a place of recreation, and yes, let there be upgraded sporting facilities!
Two hundred and forty new dwellings – and I hope for public housing – would be sited in quite the wrong place. Imagine the increased congestion of traffic flow and parking in central Fremantle that this would entail.
Within Fremantle there are better places to be considered; areas where traffic flows more freely and parking isn’t at a premium.
It’s also a pity that Ms Fitzhardinge has a nightmare of ‘heritage Disneyland,’
Please note that Disneyland is ersatz – fake.
At present we still share genuine Victorian town-planning, streetscape sand architecture.
Once destroyed the loss is irreversible.
I have lived for many years in vibrant cities in Europe, where heritage is respected.
If a vibrant and diverse community is the aim, then Ms Fitzhardinge and all present councillors would do well to encourage and nurture our community’s arts.
Celia Andrews
South Fremantle