Kaya,

I hope you’re well! Sadly, I am not - I’ve had a lingering bronchitis that my doctor assures me is not contagious, and also untreatable with antibiotics. So it’s just eternal coughing for me. There seems to be something rough going around! Stay safe, take care of yourselves, and consider masking if it’s possible for you.

My favourite part of council work this month was attending the cultural burn at Hillview Bushland, which Roni Forrest described as part of an informal three-part project around karla (fire), kep (water), and boodjar (land).

This newsletter covers:

• Getting involved;

• Coming up in May: report on the Elizabeth Baillie investigation, policy review, admin building refurbishment, waste, and progress;

• Decisions made in April: electors’ motions, short-term rental accommodation policy, and the Kent St sandpit;

• Inspiration from elsewhere: hope, housing cooperatives, electrification, and cutting waste.

Get involved

• National Reconciliation Week is coming up soon, and there are several events running in the Town. If you prefer a self-paced activity, the cooler weather of Djeran is a good time to do the Noongar Art Trail.

• Sustainable House Day, 17th March, is a good opportunity to see beautiful, energy-efficient homes. There are house tours in Carlisle and Lathlain, as well as further afield and online.

• Do you know a 11 to 14 year old who likes thinking about the big picture? The Real World Problems Lab is running this June!

• If you live in Carlisle South, let us know what you think about underground power.

• Let’s Grow Grants help schools and community groups fund urban greening - let Town staff know if you’d like help with getting in an application.

• The Town has grants available for the arts and for community members who want to celebrate Days of Significance.

• I love the idea of the Falling Fruit map - you can also use an app for it.

• Want to stay in touch with what’s happening around town without relying on social media algorithms? Subscribe to the Town newsletters, or newsletters for the Library and Community Centre.

Coming up in May

The full agenda for the Ordinary Council Meeting (or OCM, if you want to be fancy) is here - as always, I’ll provide a few highlights that might be of interest. You can also watch the recording of the Agenda Briefing Forum here. If you have questions or statements about any of these items, you can come to the meeting at 6:30pm on 19th May, or get in touch with elected members.

Item 11.2: Response to the Elizabeth Baillie Investigation Report

This report (with a staff response in attachment 11.2.1) notes that the unauthorised tree removals happened in the parkland, and “did not arise from a single decision or action. Rather ... reflected a combination of systemic factors that, over time, reduced the effectiveness of oversight and control.” In the CEO's response, he writes that, “Rebuilding trust will come from consistency, transparency and improved outcomes over time.”

As part of the response, Town staff are requesting funds in the 2026/27 budget to develop a new Project Management Framework. There are also processes in place to inform a future planting program for the park.

Item 11.3: May 2026 Policy Review

There are a number of policies up for review in this batch, including the Community Funding policy. Changes to this policy will further limit who can apply, and add a new category of Community Events Grants.

Item 13.1: TVP/25/31 - Administration Building Refurbishment - 99 Shepperton Road

This item “seeks Council approval to award a contract for the Town of Victoria Park Administration Building Refurbishment. The proposed works will upgrade key customer facing and staff areas to improve accessibility, functionality, and compliance, ensuring the facilities are fit-for-purpose and aligned with the Town’s strategic objectives.”

Item 13.2: Mindarie Regional Council - Waste to Energy Agreements

The Town of Victoria Park is part of a set of councils that make up Mindarie Regional Council, which manages the Tamala Park landfill site. As this facility nears the end of its working life, there is discussion about sending our residual waste (anything that can’t be recycled or composted) to the Kwinana Waste to Energy plant. This item recommends that council allow an agreement on this to proceed.

Item 15.5: Corporate Business Plan Quarter 3 Progress Report (January - March 2026)

As always, I love seeing these reports! Reading through attachment 15.5.1, you can see a breakdown of what Town staff have actually achieved in different areas. It's 45 pages long, so I won't try to summarise all of it, but it includes:

• staff collaboration with the new East Victoria Park Neighbourhood Watch Group;

• delivery of $32,716.65 in funding to support community safety, sustainability, wellbeing and participation initiatives;

• the library saw a total of 47,877 loans;

• the first stage of planting has been planned for the Kent St Sand Pit Restoration Project, and will commence this month;

• a new playground has been ordered for Parnham Park;

• designs are being finalised for the Shepperton and Miller Intersection, with construction likely to commence Q2 2026/27.

Decisions made in April

As always, I’ll give a few highlights and summaries here but for full details I encourage you to read the minutes or watch the recording (though I warn you this one is epic, coming in at nearly four and a half hours).

Item 11.2 Outcomes from Annual Meeting of Electors 16 March 2026

A big part of why the meeting took so long is because I wanted to seriously consider each of the motions that passed at the Annual Meeting of Electors (you can read them all on pg 17 on). Building on Cr Devereux’s and Cr Hamer’s work responding to last year’s motions from electors (Item 11.2), as well as staff responses, I sent my initial draft of amendments to staff and elected members a couple of weeks before the OCM. After getting staff feedback, I sent around another draft, and then after some thoughtful feedback from Deputy Mayor Miles, sent the final version on the day of the meeting.

There was a fair bit of discussion and debate (29 min on), and we ended up with amendments:

1) to consider Hillview Terrace for inclusion in the 40km/hr Safer Speeds Project (initially I had suggested either this or a shift to 50km/hr, but several elected members raised concerns about use of staff time and indicated that they’d be more supportive of sticking to 40km/hr). This was carried unanimously.

2) requesting the CEO to consider an increase in funding for the Street Meet ‘n’ Greet Program to at least $30,000. This was carried unanimously.

3) to explore a safer crossing point on Albany Highway opposite Elizabeth Baillie Precinct. This was carried unanimously.

4) to develop a heatwave response, identifying vulnerable groups and considering priority actions for the 2027/28 budget. This failed, with Cr Gordon-Manley and myself voting for, all others against. (On the basis of this failing, I did not put forward a planned amendment calling for a rebate for low-cost energy-efficient home retrofits for vulnerable residents.)

5) to identify one school as likely to benefit the most from pedestrian safety improvements, and conduct a high-level review of pedestrian crossings. This passed unanimously.

Cr Andra Biondi put forward a further amendment, directing the CEO to investigate the possibility of fixed and/or mobile CCTV for use by WA Police, as another safety measure, as part of the Safer Neighbourhoods Plan. I spoke (2hrs 28min) and voted against this, but was the only one to do so and the motion passed.

Item 12.1 Adoption of revised Local Planning Policy 31 'Unhosted Short Term Rental Accommodation and Residential Buildings' following readvertising

Cr Minson put forward an amendment to this item (pg 56, 2hrs 40min) further limiting the areas of the Town allowing unhosted Short Term Rental Accommodation, with this to be reviewed in two years. Cr Biondi left the chambers for the debate and vote, as she declared a financial interest. All others voted in favour, so this amendment passed unanimously and the new STRA policy should be available on our policy page soon.

Item 17.1 Mayor Karen Vernon - Kent St Sandpit restoration project - Investigation of potential additional infrastructure

This item (pg 71) was added to the agenda after the Agenda Briefing Forum, so elected members had quite a few questions (see 3hr 3min on). Most of the concerns raised through questions and debate were not about the fundamental idea, but rather about the requirements on staff time (and therefore the effect on other projects) to pursue it at this stage. After an amendment which shifted the focus to a concept forum, rather than report on feasibility, this item passed.

Item 17.2 Cr Scott Ingram - Weekly Red Bin collection costings and feasibility report

Another late addition to the agenda, this item (pg 84) was lost, with only Cr Ingram voting for.

Inspiration from elsewhere

• Rob Hopkins talks about helping people to fall in love with the future: “We need to fill the future with delicious stories, narratives and dreams. We have to give people something to run towards, rather than just things to run screaming in the opposite direction from. What gives me confidence is that I feel people are truly ready now for a kind of activism and politics rooted in reimagination and possibility.”

• Cooperatives provide one pathway towards affordable housing that meets community needs: here’s a lovely example from Melbourne, and another in Amsterdam.

• Electrify Bouddi has been working to make it easier for residents to make their homes more energy-efficient.

• A big thanks to Tom for sending through these stories about Kamikatsu, a Japanese town working towards zero waste. I love that as well as getting residents onside, they’re working with businesses and research organizations to reduce the sources of waste.

We are all connected

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the scale of the problems that we face. But there’s always something we can do.

If you have money to spare, consider donating to some of the organisations working urgently to support civilians through violence and dispossession. If you have time to spare, the Palestinian Community of Western Australia is looking for volunteers. There are also many organisations within Australia working to support those who have fled war, including Burswood-based CARAD.

Boordawan!

Thanks for reading! As always, if you have questions, ideas, or concerns, please do feel free to get in touch. And if you’ve read this far and found it useful, please consider sharing with friends!

best wishes,

sky.