Toodyay Herald

 

Spinners in Stirling Terrace demonstrate the ancient art of turning fibre into yarn.

Organisers of both events are to be congratulated for helping to put Toodyay on the tourist map and for bringing much-needed sales to struggling local businesses.

And as always and within hours of both busy street events ending, everything was packed up and the town swept clean as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened just a short time earlier.

Well done volunteers, shire workers and everyone involved in helping to make Toodyay the special place it is.

“The pedestrian bridge over the freight railway at Toodyay is not the only way to cross the tracks in this area – there are a number of other options for residents,” he said.

Indian Pacific passenger train approaches Toodyay Railway Station pedestrian

crossing at high speed.

However, wheelchair and gopher users say they are afraid to use the Toodyay railway station pedestrian crossing because of the speed at which heavy freight trains approach.

They fear falling off the narrow, bumpy crossing and becoming trapped on the rails when a train is coming.

“There’s a blind woman who won’t use the railway station crossing because it’s too dangerous,” one regular bridge user said.
The Harper Street rail underpass adds more than two kilometres to a return trip to town and the other rail crossing on the Hamersley Road heavy-haulage bypass has no footpath.

The PTA said in 2015 that it didn’t believe the bridge complied with federal disability law and that it would be far more difficult for a person in a wheelchair to use than the railway station crossing.

Shire President Brian Rayner said the PTA should repair the bridge as soon as possible.

How else can we explain the decision by the council to commit to building a $23 million recreation and sports centre when the Shire’s annual income via rates was around $5 million.

I guess the thinking was that people’s incomes would continue to rise indefinitely and, as a result, the Shire could continue to tap its ratepayers for more and more money each year.

As the good-old saying goes, those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Just as Australia has experienced numerous mining booms, each boom similarly ends with an abrupt and unforeseen bust.

Jobs are lost, the number of houses up for sale seems to double overnight as large numbers of people migrate back to their home towns on the east coast, and local, state and federal governments find themselves in tough financial positions because they have over-extended themselves for, in many instances, building ‘white elephant’ projects.

That is where we in the Shire of Toodyay find ourselves today.
Right now, the shire has debts of more than $2 million of which almost half relates to loans associated with the recreation and sporting precinct.

The number of light and passenger vehicles owned by the shire now stands at 23, which equates to just over one shire vehicle for every two shire employees.

I completely understand that when times are good, expenditure may become a little less disciplined.

But just as all of us need to adjust our household, farm and business budgets when times become a little leaner, so too should governments.

It’s not easy – I understand that.

No one likes to tell their kids that they can’t have something because they don’t have the money.

But if the money is just not there, then what else can a parent do?

The same is true for the Shire of Toodyay.

Just because the shire issued a 10-year plan back in 2013 stating it wants to increase rates by five per cent above inflation each and every year, should not mean that it should do so in complete indifference to changes in the broader economic environment.

When the people within your community are struggling to find work and those in employment haven’t had a pay rise for years, it is nothing short of heartless for any shire to impose increased rates on its community.

It is for that reason that other local governments such as the City of Stirling have frozen any rate increase this year.

Many others have applied very modest increases on their ratepayers this year but, saying that, none of these shires had the audacity to increase rates by 10 per cent in a single year as the Shire of Toodyay did a couple of years ago.

The time has come for the shire administration to look beyond their stated 10-year plan and appreciate that their pursuit of a protracted and unsustainable goal of ramping rates each year, far beyond what is sensible, may actually be hurting the very community it should be seeking to serve.

It is particularly sad to see that while the amount of money the shire is raking in every year from rates has been increasing, the amount of money the shire spends on community services as a percentage of rate revenue has been steadily declining.

It is now at a point where only less than 20 per cent of the money paid in rates by the Toodyay community finds its way back into funding community services.

Obviously, this trend is not sustainable and needs to be re-addressed quickly.

Toodyay is a vibrant place to live and, like most in this community, I wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world.

But if the shire continues to pursue a policy of increasing rates far beyond what is reasonable (as it has been doing to date), we may find that some in the community will have no choice but to sell up and move out of Toodyay (against their will) just because they can no longer afford to live here.

An independent review of the Shire of Toodyay earlier this year has already confirmed that our community pays more rates than almost every other similar shire in WA.

The same report also indicated that the level of services provided by the Shire of Toodyay is less than most other shires.

So, you and I are already paying higher rates and receiving less services and facilities than similar communities elsewhere in WA.

Like many in this community, I have been urging the shire to re-balance this rates versus services issue, and to do so without increasing the financial burden on the community.
And it is absolutely achievable.

During that mining and resource boom period of years ago now, a fair bit of ‘fat’ found its way into the accounts of the Shire of Toodyay, not the least of which was the substantial pay increases councillors gave themselves.

Even on a quick review, it is immediately apparent that rates could be cut by eight per cent this year without it having any impact on all on the services the shire provides the community.

All the shire needs to do is realise that the mining boom party is over and it is time to bring your rates back down in line with other shires in Western Australia.

Many places in the Wheatbelt are still desperate for rain, compounding problems for farmers trying to recover from last year’s poor season, especially in northern areas of WA’s grain-growing regions.

The dry autumn was very evident prior to the rain on May 24 – a dust-filled sky with a howling hot wind seemed out of place on the eve of winter.

Luckily no reports of wind-blasted crops have emerged yet.
Tinder-dry soils and bare pasture paddocks, particularly to the north of the shire, are suspected to have been the source of the dust.

Local farmers who kept stubble on their paddocks may have even gained a little soil.

Locally, most cropping programs are complete or very near completion.

Some paddocks have germinated both canola and cereals, though most tend to be patchy.

The widespread opening rains will quickly germinate crops and kick start pastures.

Pastures are very poor at the moment and farmers are hoping for quick establishment as many have newly born lambs and calves.

The shortage of good pasture has again seen the rapid rise in the price of hay and feed grain.

Lupins, oats, barley, hay and pellet-feed rations have all seen price increases – including some by as much as 20 and 30 per cent – in the past two months.

The shortage of feed and price increases have inevitably led to increased selling of livestock, resulting in a weakening of values at the saleyard.

All grain prices for the coming season have remained firm, with industry pundits expecting them to remain so.

Weather concerns in key grain-growing regions throughout the world have contributed to the strength in grain values.

However, the Black Sea region – which includes Russia – has emerged as a major grain exporter in direct competition with Australian growers and exports from that area pose a significant threat to Australian markets.

While Australia has a freight advantage to our key markets in Asia, recent lowering of sea freight rates has seen this natural advantage erode in recent years.

Australian grain still enjoys a very strong reputation for being clean, safe and of excellent quality.

The key to maintaining our market share is to preserve this reputation into the future.

Mr Tan owns a Fiennes Street cottage on the shire’s municipal heritage list and was building a fence similar to others he had seen in the central heritage area.

His house is positioned side-on to Fiennes Street but he was told his fence faced the street and breached heritage rules because it didn’t use materials that “were in keeping” with the building’s age.

Banned materials included steel fencing and limestone walls.

“I thought it was very unfair when I saw what the shire allowed at the new Butterly Cottages (aged peoples’) units, which is also in the central heritage area,” Mr Tan said.

“It appears the council did not follow its own rules.

“How can they allow that but not mine – it’s a double standard.”

Shire President Brian Rayner said a high limestone retaining wall topped by a two-metre Colorbond fence around nine new Butterly Cottages units at the corner of Anzac Terrace and Rosedale Street were side fencing, which heritage rules allowed.

He said the project’s Stage Two – which has yet to be funded – would hide the limestone wall and fence from the street.

Shire Planning and Development Manager Graeme Bissett wrote to Mr Tan last month that the shire’s heritage policy “distinguishes between front, side and rear boundaries”.

“It does not contemplate multiple unit dwellings, so we had to interpret the policy based on the wording,” Mr Bissett said.

“All the buildings face an internal roadway and all the fencing is on rear and side boundaries.”

“They did it by starting an EFTPOS transaction before an accomplice distracted the store attendant’s attention,” Sgt Flaherty said.

“While this was going on, the other gang member secretly manipulated the EFTPOS machine to enable the purchase to be completed with no actual payment made.”

Another method was to distract the store keeper, secretly add a zero to the sale price and – after the transaction was completed – decide not to buy the item and obtain a refund for the bigger amount.

“We are aware of at least four fraudulent transactions in Toodyay for amounts of up to $800 each,” Sgt Flaherty said.

“The taxi driver was very surprised when we stopped him and discovered that he could have been defrauded too.

“We arrested four young men and a woman who were taken to Northam, where they were refused bail and held in custody pending court appearances.

“They were part of a bigger group that we were alerted to in recent weeks.

“The five arrested in Toodyay were charged with a large number of offences, including 27 charges against one of them.

“The Toodyay arrests followed a call from a local trader about fraudulent activity.

“The case is now being handled in Perth by detectives from the Organised Crime Squad and the Technology Crime Squad.

“We have lots of local video security camera footage to help the investigations.”

Sgt Flaherty said local police planned to invite the Toodyay Chamber of Commerce and Industry to form a local liaison group to share information about criminal activity that might affect their businesses.

“If local traders can share information with each other about suspicious activity, it will help guard them collectively against fraudulent activity and also help us to catch offenders,” Sgt Flaherty said.

Cold weather advice

THE ONSET of cold, wintry weather has prompted a warning for local people to take extra care when using electric bar heaters to stay warm.

“Every year sees two or three Wheatbelt house fires caused by electric bar heaters,” Sgt Flaherty said.

“Falling asleep huddled close to an electric bar heater with a blanket accidentally touching the element can cause an unexpected fire and serious injury, particularly if synthetic materials are involved.

“We’re urging everyone to stay warm but stay safe.”

$500,000 security upgrade

TOODYAY Police Station is undergoing a $500,000 security upgrade.

A new ‘security suite’ is being built on the eastern side of the building to improve facilities for processing people who have been arrested, pending same-day release on bail.

“It won’t be an overnight lock-up facility but will help make the station more efficient and secure,” Sgt Flaherty said.

The extensions include a new under-cover parking area behind a side gate next to the Victoria Hotel, and a remodelled security entrance and processing area.

The work is expected to be completed by the end of next month.

No rego, licence or valid plates

THE NUMBER of serious traffic accidents and ‘hoon’ driving incidents in Toodyay has fallen in recent months but police have been kept busy dealing with other traffic offences.

“We’re still finding people driving with no licence, no vehicle registration or altered plates,” Sgt Flaherty said.

“Apart from being illegal, they are not covered by vehicle or injury insurance and risk having to pay thousands of dollars in damages if they are involved in an accident, as well as the cost of fines and other penalties.”

Movement at the station

SEN. CONST. Geoff Butler will leave Toodyay at the end of this month to take up a new position in Halls Creek.

He has served just over two years in Toodyay, including a stint as acting sergeant while regular Toodyay police chief Sgt Warren Conder was on leave.

Sgt Conder and his wife, Sen. Const. Nikki Turner, are currently on a two-month overseas holiday and will return in August.

Sgt Flaherty, who lives in Toodyay but normally works in Northam, is filling in locally for Sgt Conder.

This is his second stint in that role.

Shire backing sought on rent

THE WA Police Union has written to Toodyay Shire President Brian Rayner asking him to help oppose rent increases for regional police living in State Government housing.

The union says the Government plans to increase rents by $30 a week – or $1560 a year.

This follows an annual $1000 pay increase for all officers regardless of rank, which equates to a pay cut of $560 a year for police who rent Government housing.

“Police officers in Toodyay have seen $60 per week added to their rents over the past two years,” a police union spokesperson said.

“The increase goes against the trend of rental prices which have fallen across the state.

“This is a real issue which will have negative flow-on effects on residents in your community if it is not addressed.

“If the rent increase proceeds, police officers will leave regional communities and it will be difficult to entice new police officers to your town.

“It is too risky for police officers to source their own rental properties because – unlike nurses and teachers – they can be moved against their will at the drop of a hat, leaving them at risk of paying rent in two towns.

“As a show of support for your local police officers, we ask that you raise this matter with the WA Local Government Association.”

(Crs Rayner, Paula Greenway and two proxy council delegates are due to attend the association’s annual general meeting and convention in Perth from August 1-3.)

A local police union spokesman said all seven Toodyay police officers lived in the shire but five of Gingin’s seven officers lived elsewhere.

“Police who work as drive-in\drive-out officers in regional towns don’t get to connect as closely with the communities they serve as those who live locally.

“Increasing rents for police housing will only make that situation worse.

What’s the value of a $1000 annual pay rise if your rent goes up by $1560 over the same period?”