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[BartBart]

Docker - you still a Kalamunda boy? There was a section in today's IC about the Council shenanigans.

[Cygnet]

Originally Posted by BartBart

Docker - you still a Kalamunda boy? There was a section in today's IC about the Council shenanigans.

Do tell (or scan)...?

[Matt B]

Why can;t Ken just say it as it is. THe bell tower is a pleasant but underwhelming tourism feature that simply has no hope as a successful venture while it is isolated on the foreshore surrounded by vast and under-utilised areas of grass.

He could then call for the implementation of the former state govt's waterfront development as the kind of project that would inject spirit and soul in to the foreshore, providing actual visitors looking for something to spend a quid on to visit the bell tower.

[miensie]

[aaronaugi1]

Sam Passante seems to be very one-sided on this issue.

There are certainly benefits as well as some of the negatives he's spoken about. Sometimes taking power away from the people is a good thing. Individual views raised by the community can be very self-centered and of great disadvantage to the wider community.

[Dilaz89]

i've never heard of this Passante chap but i'm going to guess and say he's one of Catania's minions.

[acc521]

Forza Italia?

[samboy]

Yeah he's probably forward bribed the council and can see his $$$ going down the drain if another body becomes the decision maker. I'd say Dilaz is pretty well on the money.

I like his comment about Vincent understanding what their residents want. Yeah right, if that were true then I'll have to assume they want nothing but a yellow top bin and broken promises.

Time to get these fuckers and their lapdogs out. Council elections, first step. Catania getting run over by a bus, second step

[docker]

Originally Posted by BartBart

Docker - you still a Kalamunda boy? There was a section in today's IC about the Council shenanigans.

i think my mum noticed it, but this is the first break i have had since yesterday morning so i haven't really had a chance to look at things... i'll go look now.

edit: meh, i learnt nothing new from it.

[BartBart]

Originally Posted by docker

i think my mum noticed it, but this is the first break i have had since yesterday morning so i haven't really had a chance to look at things... i'll go look now.

edit: meh, i learnt nothing new from it.

Not surprising, but thought I'd give you a heads up anyway.
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/bo...0928-g8ww.html

Boom to bust to... where?
CHALPAT SONTI
September 29, 2009 - 7:33AM

Limnios Property Group managing director James Limnios.

They've been the ugly duckling of an already-depressed Perth property market, but inner-city apartments could soon benefit from an upswing in the economy, experts say.

Little seen in the city before the last boom, apartments were one of its major beneficiaries.

Prices skyrocketed, supply did the same. But the downturn hit the the tall towers harder than most.

Would-be buyers started to walk away, in some cases happy to forfeit substantial deposits paid during the boom, as prices plummeted.

Rents also headed south as mining workers, the mainstay tenants of the inner city, lost their jobs and moved interstate.

But there are signs the worst has - almost - been seen, and inner-city apartments could soon start to blossom again, though those most familiar with the market say caution is necessary.

Raine and Horne WA managing director Mark Sinclair said the explosion in supply of apartments led to those properties losing value at a faster rate than the rest of the market.

Speculators buying into a rising market two or three years ago had been hammered.


"There was a 20 to 25 per cent average drop in the middle-end market," he said.

"We had hundreds if not thousands of new apartments built or planned, and the ones that got really hammered were the typical two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments between East and West Perth.

"The top end was OK because they weren't forced sellers and just withdrew their properties from sale if nothing was happening."

But mid-range properties now became good buying again for investors as rents started to stabilise.

"If we see a resurgence in employment in the mining sector - and for all that's been said, I think a lot of the Gorgon benefits have been overstated - yields on apartments are going to be fantastic at the prices they're selling for now," Mr Sinclair said.

"But there's plenty of vacant places out there now. Just look up East Perth properties renting for between $350 and $600 a week."


However, there was little relief for proposed new developments, with developers stuck between lack of access to credit and buyers walking away after paying deposits, Mr Sinclair said.

"There's been pain in that market, and there's still a lot more to come. The more of those developments that come on, the worse this correction is going to be."


That was echoed by MLG Realty managing director Marcus Gilmore, who said those buyers who had walked away from off-the-plan purchases were looking elsewhere.

"There's probably 400 people in the city unlikely to settle on developments, but a lot of them will buy finished properties now."


Even "huge" pent-up demand would not see more apartments on the market.

"There are very few players in Perth able to bring product to market at the moment," he said.

"There are developers like Finbar who have a good track record and can bring that supply, but probably limited others."

That would ultimately lead to rising prices for existing apartments, and areas on the city fringe such as Victoria Park, Burswood and Subiaco could prosper, Mr Gilmore said.

"In the last six months rents have come back $50 to $75 a week, but it will probably be January or February before we get the flow on effects of things like Gorgon and Woodside's stuff," Mr Gilmore said.

"Mining workers used to make up about 60 per cent of waterfront tenants, and that's dropped recently to about 50 per cent, and that downturn is probably the reason for the reduction in rentals."


MLG sold about 12 apartments a month before the financial crisis but that plummeted to "zero for about 12 months", he said.

However, there had been a pick-up recently, especially for apartments with waterfront views.

Limnios Property Group chief executive James Limnios said much of the bust was because inexperienced developers and agents "got greedy".

"They would say 'We'll sell out a project, and build another one next door and raise the price by $1000 to $1500 a square metre'," Mr Limnios said.

"That had to end. But the carnage is still going on and people are still not settling (on deals). They say 'it's cheaper for us to lose $50,000 to $100,000 than say $400,000' if they went through with it."

However, the flip side was that there were good deals around, and like MLG, Limnios was doing good business.

"The numbers are greater than in the boom," Mr Limnios said.

"We're now selling 20 to 30 apartments a month. Realistically-priced properties are still going to settlement.

"Confidence is pouring into the state again, and this time there are realistic prices for property."

He agreed that future supply of new stock was a problem, with present supplies drying up "very, very fast".

"All these people coming into the state, where are they going to be housed? I know a lot of projects that aren't going ahead or are on hold.

"Banks sometimes lose track of what's going on in an economy. The Eastern States economies are totally different from WA."

[docker]

why is it, that people, A: can't come to the realisation that Coles is owned by Wesfarmers which is a Western Australian Company and B: that both of these companies have shares which means they are owned by people all over Australia... not just the eastern states...

http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/en-...t-action-CCIWA

Latest comments
Posted by
CCI decides that extension of weeknight trading hours is a key policy issue that matters to WA business. This ridiculous assertion means nothing to WA business but more accurately means plenty to eastern states big retailers, Coles and Woolworths. When is CCI going to realise that retail tenancy law is a key issue for WA small business and should be on the list.
robert halvorsen of Ardross WA
03:35 PM 23 Sep 09

[jackso]

People always want to 'stick it to the man'. Big business will always be the enemy. People will lap up the benefits they give us, but when it comes to voicing their opinion they will support the little guy. Makes people feel better.

[Ipggi]

Originally Posted by docker

why is it, that people, A: can't come to the realisation that Coles is owned by Wesfarmers which is a Western Australian Company and B: that both of these companies have shares which means they are owned by people all over Australia... not just the eastern states...

Because it is easier to have a parochial view of things, to blame far off entities which they feel are out of their local control

[BartBart]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-...aging-strikes/

Injunction stops McDonald encouraging strikes
AAP, The West Australian September 29, 2009, 2:18 pm

West Australian union heavyweight Joe McDonald has been slapped with an injunction barring him from encouraging construction workers to strike at a Perth high-rise building site.

Justice John Gilmour granted the injunction in the Federal Court in Perth today after the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner applied for the court order to stop what they claimed was unlawful industrial action.

The ABCC alleges Mr McDonald, the WA assistant secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and CFMEU officer Michael Buchan breached the Building Construction Act by encouraging employees at a city construction site to strike twice for a total of five days in June.

Mr McDonald and Mr Buchan claim the strike action was suggested by CFMEU members at the site because of safety concerns.

The ABCC said the real reasons the strikes occurred were because the construction company had involved the police to remove the pair from the site.

Justice Gilmour said that may well have led to the strikes, but he found Mr McDonald and Mr Buchan had engaged in unlawful industrial action.

"Whatever the real reasons, I am satisfied to the necessary degree that they had nothing to do with any reasonable concern as to any imminent danger to the health or safety of any employee on the site," Justice Gilmour said.

Both had hidden behind spurious concerns to the health and safety of employees to advance their own industrial aims, Justice Gilmour said.

"It is the very behaviour which the commonwealth parliament has made clear should be eradicated from the building industry in this country," he said.

"It is conduct that directly undermines the main object of the Building Construction Act ... to provide an improved workplace relations framework for building work to ensure that building work is carried out fairly, efficiently and productively for the benefit of all building industry participants and for the benefit of the Australian economy as a whole."

Mr McDonald was ordered to stay off construction sites for two years from November last year by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission after the ABCC claimed he had abused his right of entry permit.

Mr Buchan's permit was suspended for three months from November last year.

Both were allowed on to the site until April this year, when the company advised the CFMEU in writing Mr McDonald would no longer be given access.

Other CFMEU officials continued to visit the site, and Mr Buchan visited the site on June 5 but was asked by the company to leave.

Police were called when he refused to leave, and Mr McDonald arrived.

A three-day strike was announced by contractors to the company after Mr Buchan and Mr McDonald spoke to them on the site's boundary.

"It is most unlikely that there was a spontaneous walkout and subsequent strike action by the employees without that course first being discussed," Justice Gilmour said.

Later that month, employees took strike action for another two days after Mr McDonald spoke to employees.

Justice Gilmour said injunctions would not be made against any employees or contractors, who were free to take industrial action if reasonably concerned about any imminent risk to their health or safety.

Lawyers for the CFMEU will make written submissions on the injunction which Justice Gilmour will take into consideration before making orders in the case.

Maximum penalties for contravening the act are $22,000 for individuals and $110,000 for organisations.

Justice Gilmour said the penalties available for contempt provided a strong disincentive to repeating such conduct.

Outside the court, Mr McDonald said there had been two "very serious" injuries at the construction site since Federal Court proceedings began in July.

"God knows how many other injuries and safety breaches have taken place," Mr McDonald said.

"We've got to get on to these jobs and make sure people go home alive.

"When the union's not on there, they've got a free hand to do what they want."

[tbor]

New online push for extended trading hours
JAYNE RICKARD, The West Australian
September 30, 2009, 8:42 am

The State's peak business group has reignited the push for extended trading hours, targeting MPs in a new online campaign.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Committee for Perth launched the campaign this morning to help supporters lobby local politicans.

Supporters can use the new website to voice their support for extended weeknight trading hours to 9pm in the metropolitan area.

Check out the new website here

CCI chief executive James Pearson believes this could be the last chance for West Australians to secure extra hours on weeknights to buy the things they need and want.

By following several steps, supporters can use the website to send an email to their local MP voicing their support for extending weeknight trading hours in the Perth metropolitan area to 9pm.

Based on a person's postcode, the website will automatically calculate what electorate they live in and who their local MP is.

"The time has come for Western Australians who want extended trading hours, to stand up and be counted on this important issue," Mr Pearson said.

"Our elected representatives need to hear from as many people as possible that they want lower prices at the checkout, greater choice, more convenience, and hundreds of new jobs."

[Sanj]

THOUGHTS??



Jobless fall by the wayside in crusade to harness grey power
September 29, 2009


'Pensioners are greedy': Gittins



Are you appalled by the greedy decision by the state governments to appropriate a quarter of the hard-won $32-a-week age pension increase from singles living in public housing? Do you share the view of the federal minister Jenny Macklin that the states' behaviour is ''totally unacceptable''?

If you do, you probably see yourself as one of the more caring members of society. Sorry, I don't agree. Your sympathy's too selective. If you really cared you'd give the matter a bit more thought and not be such an emotional easy touch. When it comes to ''hard head, soft heart'' you flunk on both.

As for the Rudd Government, its outrage is confected. This isn't compassion for the needy, it's vote-seeking populism. Macklin, who's been expert in this area for decades, should be ashamed of herself.

The minority of needy people who manage to make it into the hugely under-supplied public housing are on a relatively good wicket. Whereas those who don't make it struggle to pay a rent based on what the market will bear, those in public housing are charged an amount geared to their ability to pay. In most states this is 25 per cent of their income, up to a cap at the market rental. How many private renters do you know spending only a quarter of their income on rent? Although virtually everyone in public housing is needy, not all of them are on a pension that's just been increased by $32 a week.

When you demand that those who have received such an increase be exempted from paying higher rent, you're saying they deserve a concession the others don't get. Why? Why should their rent contribution drop to 23 per cent while everyone else pays 25 per cent? Why are single age pensioners more deserving than the unemployed or sole parents?

And what about all the needy people on the waiting list for public housing? By arguing for some public tenants to get a concession, you're leaving the housing authorities with less money to spend on additional housing. Why's that fair?

The knee-jerk reaction against the supposed iniquity of applying a fundamentally generous rule to age pensioners is symptomatic of a deeper problem. The NSW Opposition's Pru Goward accused the State Government of ''attacking the most vulnerable in our community''.

Do you agree with that? It's nonsense - as I'm sure Goward is smart enough to know. People on the age pension are nowhere near being the most vulnerable. That dubious honour goes to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. After them are the unemployed, sole parents, the disabled and carers of the disabled or frail aged.

Only then come age pensioners - and even among them there are gradations. The great majority who own their own homes are comparatively well-off, those in public housing are next, leaving those in private rental the most needy among the elderly.

But the game we're playing isn't about who's most vulnerable or needy, it's about who we feel most sympathy for. And when it comes to the deserving poor, age pensioners win hands down. They're the most socially acceptable among the needy, the ones most like you and me.

Although like all successful interest groups they feel greatly put upon, the aged are hugely powerful politically. That's because there are so many of them, they have so much time to worry about the deal they're getting - there's something about old age that makes people greedy - and they get so much sympathy from their children and grandchildren.

Every politician understands and panders to the political power of the aged. That's why Kevin Rudd gave them a big pension increase even though it wasn't an election promise, was granted after the budget had plunged into deficit and will be an ever-growing burden on taxpayers for decades to come.

The aged were the backbone of John Howard's electoral support and he threw them bones throughout his time in office, without ever being reckless enough to give them a big, continuing pension increase. The increase was Rudd's attempt to bribe the elderly over to the Labor side.

The proof that this was motivated more by vote-buying than genuine concern for the needy can be found in the fact Rudd was far more generous than the report he commissioned recommended he be.

The Harmer report concluded only single pensioners living alone were greatly in need of an increase to recognise the costs they face. Neither married pensioners nor singles living with others needed a rise. The exception was those, whether married or single, living in private rental accommodation.

The report recommended the single pension be raised from 60 per cent of the married rate to between 64 and 67 per cent. So what did Rudd do? He ignored the recommendation for special assistance to private renters. He ignored the recommendation that the married pension was adequate and awarded a $10 a week increase.

He ignored the finding that singles living with others weren't greatly in need and chose to raise the single pension to a top-of-the-range 66.3 per cent of the married rate. And because he'd unnecessarily increased the married rate this meant the increase in the single rate had to be even bigger.

Sole-parent pensioners were specifically excluded from the increase, as were the unemployed. Harmer was not permitted to inquire into the adequacy of their payments. Because pensions are indexed to average earnings rather than prices, they rise by a per cent or two more each year than the dole does. The latest increase puts the gap between the single age pension and the single dole at $108 a week.

What makes the jobless and sole parents so undeserving? Their lack of political clout. Being either bludgers or immoral, they get little sympathy from the public. And since the voters have no sympathy for them, neither has Saint Kevin, the great social democrat.

You may call this compassion. I don't.

Ross Gittins is the Herald's economics editor.

[Dilaz89]

Ofcourse it is vote buying and I completely agree with Gittins in that there are far more needy people out there. The government are complete cunts for robbing the public housing fund to pay cost overruns in the BER programme.

At the end of the day, this is how it goes with the voting public who decide election outcomes- you're a hero for giving the well off more, be it in tax cuts or handouts and you're a commie for wanting to build more public housing or better pt.

[jackso]

I'm getting pissed off at all the idiots getting all hot and bothered and calling for caps on executive salaries. What a ridiculous idea.

I'm all for giving shareholders more say in the process and removing executives from determining their own salary, but I think salary caps will cause more problems them they will solve.

[BartBart]

That's what they said on the radio. Please expand? I assume it is to do with execs going overseas where there aren't caps.

[jackso]

Thats what I gathered. I havnt heard anyone talk about it in length but I think it would just mean execs will be employed in more suitable country. Not good for business. Also if they cap salaries, are they going to cap cash bonus', share bonus' and 'golden handshakes'?

edit: and would they have different caps for differnt size corporations? I think its fair to say that an exec controlling a $2bn corp should be paid more than an execs controling a $100m corp.