May 2015 — Newsletter From the President’s Pen Roe 8 Launch My Fellow Residents, After much ado in the amalgamation exercise, it is finally confirmed that the amalgamation will not go ahead. In the meantime, the administration and the commissioners are working to review the Ward Boundaries and Councillor Representation. We are of the opinion that the City will be well served with 5 wards, comprising of 2 elected councillors per ward and an elected mayor by the ratepayers. I hope all of you would participate in this Review of Ward Boundaries and Councillor Representation. The submission closes Thursday 7th May 2015. Please participate. Do not let others decide for you. It is your council. I must also add that, it was indeed a very busy year for your committee members, attending various meetings, seminars and forums regarding your local council. We assimilate lots of information and put forward the best option. As winter is round the corner, time to look at the gutters and tie down loose items. Keep warm. Kind regards Paul Ng Council Elections in October Canning will be electing a Council in October at the Local Government Elections. You will have had the Member Up-dates on the Review of Ward Boundaries and it is still not too late to have your say as the process closes on May 7th at 5:00pm. It is said all clouds have a silver lining and the renewed interest in Local Government generated by the Amalgamation process is one of these. The Ratepayers of Canning have the opportunity to elect a new Council and build on the restructuring created as a result of the Kendall Inquiry. It is important we all participate in these Elections as voter turnout is often quite low. Encourage potential candidates to stand and ask about their vision for the future. Together, we can make Canning strong again. In December ,a number of RRSRA Members attended the announcement by the Premier, the Hon Colin Barnett, along with the Federal Minister for Finance (Mathias Cormann) and the State Minister for Transport (Dean Nalder), of the start date for Roe Highway completion as part of Perth Freight Link. This construction will be one of WA’s largest road infrastructure projects. The State is contributing $650Million to add to the $925M announced in the last Federal Budget making the total budget for this project $1.575 billion. Construction will start early in March 2016 and should be complete by mid-2019 with some of the construction notably the keenly awaited Roe Highway extension - due to open by mid-2017. FAQ’s About The Ward and Councillor Review Q: Why is this Review being rushed through now? A: State Law requires a Review every 8 years and this process was begun in 2009 and then reactivated in late 2012. The Local Government Reform proposals, which saw Canning being joined to a number of other Councils, meant it was not needed. The stopping of reforms gave a very short time to do the required review and the Commissioners were able to ask for and get an extension. Q: Why can’t the number of Wards and Councillors stay as they are and the new Council sort it out in October? A: There are a number of reasons. Firstly, are the legal requirements as already explained. Secondly, Nicholson Ward (Canning Vale area) has only 1 Councillor for the same number of Electors as other Wards who have 3 Councillors. This is very unfair. Thirdly, the RRSRA believes that asking 51 000+ Ratepayers is more democratic than 9 or 11 people who may well have a conflict of interest. It is also quite an expensive process. Let’s set it up properly the first time and pay once rather than in 12 months time doing it all again. If Canning grows in line with the predictions we may need to adjust boundaries slightly but this already happens. For example, there was a minor adjustment to Beeliar’s boundaries a while back but most didn’t notice. The next major Review would be in 2023. Q: Will we still vote for the Mayor? A: Yes we will. Approximately half of Perth Councils have a Mayor elected directly by the Ratepayers. The others elect their Mayor from the Councillors. There are positives to both. However Canning’s Mayor will be elected by the people at the October 2015 Elections. The topic as to how we elect our Mayor was included so it could be part of the discussion. Q:There is a 4 Ward Option in the Discussion Paper – isn’t that the same? A: No it isn’t. While the number of Wards is the same, the boundaries are very different. We would be in a long thin Ward that ‘snakes’ it way across most of the City and probably wouldn’t meet some of the requirements for Ward boundaries. Q; Does the RRSRA have a recommended position? A: Yes we do. Your Association is recommending the Option of 5 Wards with 2 Councillors in each, plus an Elected Mayor. Canning has been though tough times and new smaller wards would allow the new Councillors to know the area and build relationships with its Ratepayers / Residents. This new arrangement and new representation would allow for the healing to begin in an environment that brings Communities together. We should also remember that while we have 50 000+ Electors, Canning is a City of 100 000+ People so the workload for Councillors may be significant. R E S I D E N T S RIVERTON ROSSMOYNE & SHELLEY RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION (INC) Email: [email protected] Web: www.rrsra.org.au PO Box 2034 ROSSMOYNE 6148 Riverton Rossmoyne & Shelley Residents' Association—May 2015 -Page Foreshore Trail nears Completion Many RRSRA Members are part of Dolphin Watch and River Guardians, but did you know about ‘The Friends’? ‘Friends of River Guardians’ are Perth riverside businesses that help support the River Guardians program by providing discounts on goods and services for River Guardians members. To join River Guardians, go to www.riverguardians.com . It’s a winner all round. To take advantage of the great special offers all you need to do is show the Friends your current River Guardians membership card. Enjoy! natural history of Dyarlgarro [Canning River]. City of Canning Consultant, Susan Harris, from EcoMedia, has worked on the project accessing some of Perth's best heritage minds and creators for many years. Hundreds interested in history and the environment, including local residents, volunteered their advice, research and observations. Susan was particularly grateful to RRSRA for their trust and support of such a large project with its many and diverse stakeholders. (Photos courtesy of Susan Harris) Looking Back The City of Canning’s Wadjup-Gabbilju foreshore walk found its feet stylishly on the walls of the Shelley Beach Park ablution block in February this year. The rest of the walk's suite of interpretative signs is currently being installed along the foreshore. Most of the signs give sitespecific detail on heritage subjects such as the Convict Fence and the Committee Member Robert Morgan has been backing up our Association Records to an electronic format, so we thought you might be interested in a few snippets from our past. The 1992 AGM was a busy one. The Mayor, Dr Mick Lekias was Guest Speaker and the agenda included the change of name from ’Canning River Ward Ratepayers’ Association’ to Riverton, Rossmoyne & Shelley Ratepayers’ Association. This was brought about by the changes to Ward Boundaries within the City of Canning, the creation of Beeliar Ward and the formation of the Willetton Ratepayers’ Association. As well as, the AGM set up a Works SubCommittee to assist Members with joint contracts in the then forthcoming sewerage connections. CONGRATULATIONS Progress at Tribute Street At long last the barren waste of the old Service Station Site could be a thing of the past. The City of Canning is proposing to sell the site and Residents close to Monota Avenue and along Tribute street for a 200m radius received letters about the proposal and had the opportunity to put forward their views. Several Residents contacted the city to ask questions and respond. Local businesses are important to communities. There’s an old saying – “use it or lose it”. While we all understood the commercial reasons for the closure of the service station, it’s loss was still keenly felt. ROSSMOYNE NETBALL CLUB CELEBRATIED Their 40TH ANNIVERSARY on SUNDAY 29 MARCH 2015 AT THE NETBALL COURTS SHELLEY RESERVE The Rossmoyne Netball Club held a 40th anniversary function (afternoon tea and a sausage sizzle) at the Reserve, which was attended by the Committee, Players, Coaches and past Members. Also in attendance was the original Patron Clive Griffiths (from 1977) and Mrs Norma Griffiths and the inaugural President, Molly Rodgers. Clive presented jackets to the club’s milestone achievers (200 games or more). The Club President is Lana Glogowski .
© Copyright 2024