KULCHA FUNDING CUT

It is quite unbelievable that the Western Australian government has cut funding for the Community Arts Officer at KULCHA in Fremantle. There could not be a more community orientated organisation in the state than Kulcha. Kulcha brings together all people and is a great showcase for multiculturalism. It is a very well and professionally run arts venue, that is always delightful to visit.

The WA state government wastes millions each year, trying to keep  mediocre art organisations afloat, but cuts funding for Kulcha. It is not right!

Roel Loopers

MELISSA PARKE SUPPORTS SAME SEX MARRIAGE

Melissa Parke MP, member for Fremantle, has spoken out in favour of legalising gay and lesbian marriages.

Some people might feel offended by, or uncomfortable with, gay and lesbian people, and the fact they would like to get married, but who are we to judge? Surely two people who love each other should have the right to make that relationship recognised in matrimony of some kind.

If certain religions don’t want to allow church ceremonies for same sex marriages, that is their decision. There are still religions who will not marry people either who were married before and have divorced.

Love creates a special bond between two people, no matter what their sex is. Society should support them when they want to show commitment to their partners, not punish them for being different, and open about it.

It is rather disappointing that in the year 2010 we still need to have a political debate about it. One would have thought we’d grown up by now.

Roel Loopers

SOCIETY MOVING FORWARD FOR FREMANTLE

As a relatively new and active member of the Fremantle Society I would like to share my ideas of what the society should be, and hope this will trigger an on-line discussion, with members of the society, the general public, and city councilors and planners.

First I like to acknowledge the passion, commitment and hard work done since 1972 by present and past members of the society. Fremantle could have been an awful place if it wasn’t for those people voluntarily taking on the custodianship of the city. They stood guard and succeeded in preserving so much of our beautiful heritage.

It has been a long time, and times have changed. We now have access to modern and very fast communication tools like the internet, where we can converse with people all over the world and in real time. No waiting for snail mail anymore. This gives us new opportunities, but also challenges, to reach a much wider audience for our ideas and passions.

The Fremantle Society has reacted to this with starting the FREMANTLE TRIBE blog, they have a FACEBOOK page, members are working on modernising and expanding the website, and there is the launch of the FREMANTLE FIGHTERS book, written by Ron and Dianne Davidson, on November 19 by Premier Colin Barnett at Deckchair Theatre.

All this indicates that this group wants to move on to become more pro-active, and change the image from being seen as negative, anti-development, and against everything. I don’t believe at all the Fremantle Society is against development, they just want sustainable and good quality, not ad hoc, ugly, fast, grab the money and run, style of buildings, some developers seem to advocate.

I believe development is essential for the vitality and future of Fremantle. The city needs an inspiration to move it into a new and exiting phase, with more and better public open spaces, like town squares, mixed, and cheaper, housing, iconic and eye-catching buildings, quality retail outlets, small wine bars, better street scapes, etc.

The East End is in desperate need of revitalisation, the Princess May area near Clancys could become a wonderful community space, the Woolstores need to be developed urgently. I’d like to see a better connection to the train station, with the bus port not hiding the beauty of it, and better direct access to Victoria Quay and the E-Shed Market, cafes, and the soon to open new ferry passenger terminal at the port, and King Square needs to become a real vibrant town square and meeting place.

I would like the society to come up with its own plans for the city, not just being reactive and put essential submissions to the council about new development. I do understand that this will be difficult to achieve for a group with very limited funds, as they would need experts to draw up plans, involve architects, etc.

But there are always solutions, and one of them could be to involve architecture and city planning university students and teaching staff. Wouldn’t it be great if they embraced the concept of assisting the Fremantle Society in helping to make Fremantle a modern, vibrant place, where students can afford the rent and enliven our streets not only during uni hours but also in the evenings, and they too become a vital part of our city, not just day time visitors.

There should also be regular forums in cafes and other meeting places like Kulcha, and the society needs to take a greater part in events that happen in Fremantle. They need to lift their public profile by being out there and amongst the rest of our community, as they did with their strong presence and hard work at the Concert for Pakistan.

I have great hopes for Fremantle. We have a very inclusive mayor in Brad Pettitt and some good young councilors. I am convinced they will work hard on making Fremantle grow in a sustainable and modern way, with great respect for our heritage, and they are aware we are all watching them closely.

Those who believe unlimited high-rise development is the way to go for Fremantle are in the wrong city. Our heritage is non negotiable and we will not compromise the beauty of it. Respect for Fremantle’s history, heritage, and unique lifestyle is the most essential ingredient for any development!

Roel Loopers

PROTECT THE KIMBERLEY RALLY

The Kimberley is one of Australia’s most amazing wilderness regions, and is home to many endangered marine species. Due to it’s isolation and inaccessibility this environment has been preserved in time, remaining almost untouched. Until now…
A major liquefied natural gas processing plant is in the advanced stages of planning for the Kimberley coast in the far north-west of Western Australia by Woodside Energy Ltd.
If this proposal goes ahead this environment will be under serious threat.

ABORIGINAL SUPPORT WITH GENERATION ONE

After the television speech by 13 year old Aboriginal girl Madeleine Madden, I decided to join the Generation One movement. You should too!

Here more info from them:

Dear Roel Loopers,

Thanks for joining GenerationOne, the movement where ALL Australians come together to end Indigenous disparity take practical action to finally eradicate the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

You have joined almost 50,000 other Australians who believe we will never end the disparity until we have sustainable Indigenous jobs and career opportunities; education that prepares students for life; training that is specific for a job that is guaranteed; and mentoring programs that gets results.

This is your movement – an opportunity for all Australians, whether you are Indigenous or non-Indigenous, of whatever background or party, to join together and finally end this unacceptable Australian problem. And do it in one generation.

Over the coming months, we’re going to ask you to roll up your sleeves and take part; at campaign events, through supporting organisations in your community or just getting your friends to lend their hands. But your first task is to help grow this grassroots movement. We are not asking for your money, but our success depends on your support.

Will you ask ten of your friends to join us today?

The journey so far has been amazing. Since March 2010 my team at GenerationOne and I have travelled across the entire country, and met thousands of inspiring Australians – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – who are working to end the disparity. GenerationOne has engaged with not-for profit organisations, community leaders, schools, Universities, businesses, employer groups, training providers, job service providers, governments and of course, individuals like you who want to be part of the generation for change.

Already some of these great stories are out there, but with your help we can now inspire even more people, and break down negative stereotypes. Share some of our stories with your friends, or share your personal story with GenerationOne. If you are part of an organisation, register your details here so we can demonstrate your success to others.

This is a new campaign, so there’s a lot to do. We want your ideas on how we can make real and sustainable change for Indigenous Australians. Will you contribute an idea today?

The time is right, and we cannot wait any longer. The facts speak for themselves:

Just 33% of Indigenous young people age 18-24 are “earning or learning” compared with 71% of non-Indigenous young people.
EIGHT of ten jobless Indigenous people are unable to work, because of illiteracy, alcohol, or other psychological problems.
Furthermore, in some rural areas, up to 70% of Indigenous children regularly do not attend school.
This is not an easy goal and it will take time to get there – but it won’t happen unless we start work today and every Australian plays their part. By signing up, you have joined a movement that focuses on real and sustainable change. So thank you.

Tania Major and the entire Generation One team

P.S. If you’re on Facebook, please become a supporter of us there. We’ll keep you updated: http://www.facebook.com/GenerationOneAU

The Generation One Team

MELISSA PARKE. MP. SPEECH IN CANBERRA

I would like to share only a small part of the speech by Fremantle’s Labor MP Melissa Parke, which she gave on October 20 in the House of Representatives in Canberra:

“When we look to characterise the nature of Australia’s outlook on the world, it is hard not to be struck by our record of deep generosity and compassion in relation to events like the tsunami in
the Indian Ocean, the floods in Bangladesh and the earthquake in Haiti. That outward-looking concern for our fellow human beings, and especially for those who live in less secure or well-off circumstances than we do, is an extension of our openness and sense of fairness.

It is fitting, therefore, that I finish this speech by making mention of a fundraising concert I attended in Fremantle on Saturday. This event, titled simply ‘Concert for Pakistan’, was organised by a group of Fremantle people, from the local Oxfam group and including other community members, who recognised that the flood disaster in Pakistan had not registered as strongly on the public consciousness as the scale of the catastrophe demands. I suspect that one of the contributing reasons for its lack of profile was the federal election and its aftermath, which dominated the media and public focus at the time.
In any case, the Concert for Pakistan involved a large number of people from across the greater Fremantle community who gave their time and resources to raise money for the ongoing effort to deal with the terrible impact of the floods in that country. I was very happy to be there to introduce a couple of the bands who donated their performances on Saturday, and it always lifts the heart to be in a group of people—men, women, and children—who come together to contribute their time, money and good wishes for men, women and children who are just like them but who, by fate and circumstance, are suffering terrible privation.
I would particularly like to recognise the work of Jon Strachan, who until recently was a councillor in the City of Fremantle. He continues his longstanding efforts as an environmental and social campaigner and he certainly lives by the motto ‘Think global, act local’, or to borrow a mantra from Mahatma Gandhi ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world’. That is the principle on which I am happy to conclude my speech at the commencement of the 43rd Parliament. It is a principle that applies to some of the greatest challenges we face in Australia, and as a global
community. It applies to climate change, it applies to the finite and dwindling supply of hydrocarbons that dominate our current energy-use profile, it applies to the issue of global poverty and the insecurity and conflict that flows from desperation; and it flows from the disparity between those who have and those who have not.”

Melissa Parke MP

A LOAD OF CANNON BULL

The decision by the City of Fremantle to spend $ 7000.00 on a public address system at the Round House, to warn people that the cannon will be fired there at 1pm every day, is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.

Is there any proof of people complaining about it, or having had heart attacks from the shock? I know of only one, who claims it is an occupational health hazard. How cute.

Is this nanny state going totally bonkers now, and have the lunatics escaped from the Fremantle Arts Centre, where they were once kept?

One cannon shot a day. Maybe a maximum of 50 tourists and locals around near 1pm. At 12.55 a metallic voice will tell them that a bang will soon be heard. In how many languages is that going to be? How vandal proof will the system be?

Why not spend the money instead on something useful and needed near the Round House; a public toilet!

Roel Loopers

P.S. …………….and what about the Blessing of the Fleet, where they shoot the cannon very loudly every hour all day, followed by loud fireworks. There are thousands of people on the streets of Fremantle then. Shouldn’t they be warned about this dangerous, life threatening activity?

What Fremantle really needs is a huge city wide public address system, one that warns about miss-firing cars, noisy motor bikes, screaming children, open air concerts, etc. Or make it simple and ban all outdoor activities.

 

CREATIVE THINKING FOR VACANT RETAIL SHOPS

Interesting to read an article by Fremantle councilor Tim Grey-Smith in the Fremantle Gazette today, that copies the sentiments we discussed at the last meeting of the Fremantle Society about making empty retail space available to artists. One only has to go for a stroll through the centre of Fremantle to see the opportunities.

Surely it would be better to have vibrant art on display, and artists working in the now vacant shops, than looking at empty dark windows. Empty shops are of no benefit to anyone, especially not to adjoining businesses.

Hiring exhibition space is often too expensive for artists, and commercial galleries can only support a small number of artists, as they do a maximum of 12 shows a year.

My ex partner Brigitte Braun started her very successful gallery Artplace in an empty shop in the Bayview Shopping Centre in Claremont. Centre management there could see the benefit of given her the space for free for over a year, as long as she paid for the outgoings. Later she bought a space in the Old Theatre Lane next to the shopping centre and opened a superb gallery there, to the delight of all traders in the centre. She has since moved to Melbourne and now has the Brigitte Braun Gallery there.

Come on Fremantle. We can do it!

SHEEP TRADE ON THE NOSE

No more live sheep trade, was the message this morning at the Town Hall in Fremantle, where Labor’s Melissa Parke and Peter Tinley gathered together with Greens Lynn McLaran, mayor Brad Pettitt and the initiator of the action, councilor Josh Wilson.

Brad Pettitt stressed this was not about shifting the sheep transport down south to Kwinana, but an attempt to stop the transport of live stock full stop.

SHOOTING THE MESSENGERS

The article by Rosemary Neill “Not A Good Look” in the Review section of the Weekend Australian points out how absurd the restrictions are which are imposed on professional photographers by authorities all over Australia. It is well worth reading, so here the link:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/not-a-good-look/story-e6frg8n6-1225930635070

Neill  writes:

“It is ironic that photographers feel under siege when voyeurism has been turned into a national pastime. Witness the enduring popularity of reality television, the celebrities who tweet compulsively about the most mundane details of their lives and ordinary individuals who post dozens of photographs of themselves on Facebook. Our multimedia society is arguably the most narcissistic and (superficially) self-revealing in history.

Yet, paradoxically, the rise of online and mobile media has also bred mistrust of professional photography and has entrenched ideas about the need to control images — and who makes money from them — whether the subject be a private citizen or a well-known landmark.”

It is my view that the paranoia about pedophiles and terrorists in society, and the over the top restrictions on professional photography by local, state and federal governments, border on the ridiculous.

The strange thing is that pedophiles have all the access in the world on the internet to photos of children taken by their own families. The naive post them on Facebook, Twitter, etc. for everyone to see! And terrorists have Google Earth to browse for detailed photos of almost every inch of the planet.

Professional photographers openly walk around with large cameras, because we have nothing to hide, but because we do so we become targets of zealot officials and parents.

While professional photographers are constantly harassed and restricted in carrying out our legal work, everyone else can go ahead and shoot covert photos with their mobile phones and tiny digital cameras. What a joke!

In over 40 years working as a professional photographer I have always been very aware that with each image I take I am recording the history of that very moment. These valuable photos will be lost if authorities keep taking our liberties away. Instead of acknowledging the importance of these professional historic photos, we are being treated as criminals.

The restrictions on professional photography are discriminatory. We have become the new muslims, or blacks, or boat people, or whatever minority groups our society has discriminated against before they started targeting us.

Roel Loopers

Should I be stopped from taking these kind of photos?

Photos copyright Roel Loopers. Profile Photography