My name is Bret Busby, and I have lived in at my current address in the ward, for 14 years (as at September 2007). Before that, I lived at another address in this ward, for one year.
I am the only candidate for this ward, in this local government election, who lives in this ward. Ask yourself – do you want a councillor, who lives in the ward at the time of the election, and, has lived in the ward for over a decade, and so has an idea of conditions in the ward, or, do you want councillors to be elected for the ward, who do not live in the ward, and have not lived in the ward for many years.
I live in the Gwynne Park/Brookdale part of the ward. We have not had a councillor who lives in this part of the ward, representing this part of the ward, for several years. If I am elected as a councillor for this ward, I will be the first councillor living in this area, representing this area in the city council, since the creation of the Forrest Ward, which the council has changed to become the Lake Ward.
The picture above, of me is different to the picture that the Electoral Commission has, for my nomination. The picture above, shows what I generally look like, when I am out and about, walking. You might be more likely to recognize me from the above picture, than from the picture that the Electoral Commission has, for my nomination.
The picture that the Electoral Commission has, for my nomination, is below. Not a lot of difference, but a little.
Whether you vote for me, or against me, PLEASE VOTE. We do not have enough say in what goes on, but, we can decide who gets elected to the council, so we should at least use that. And, if you look elsewhere on this web site, you will find that this ward had the lowest voter turnout in the state, at the last local government elections. Only about a quarter of eligible voters, lodged valid votes.
Since the Tonkin Highway extension procedure cut Forrest Road, and further separated Forrestdale from Brookdale and Armadale, we need a councillor who lives in the ward on the city side of the Tonkin Highway extension, and who is affected by the cutting of Forrest Road, and, who has discussed the cutting of that road, with local residents, and with business owners affected by the loss in passing traffic, due to Forrest Road being cut, and, who knows of the absence of consultation with victims of Forrest Road being cut. As a resident in the area close to Forrest Road and who previously used Forrest Road top travel to the freeway, and, who was not asked about the cutting off of Forrest Road as a through road, along with other residents, and, along with the businesses on Forrest Road, affected by that decision, who found that the decision had been made before we knew anything about it, the lack of consultation was offensive.
If you live in this ward, and are eligible to vote in the 2007 Armadale City Council election, in the Lake Ward, you may have read the many letters to the editors of the local newspapers that I have written, trying to improve conditions for the people who live in Armadale and the people who work in Armadale. You may also have seen me at the water forum that was held in Armadale, and seen me on television, relating to that forum. You may also be aware of me, from the campaign which included a Special Meeting of Electors in Armadale, in trying to save the parks in Armadale from being sold off by the city council, the sale intended to lead to the parks and reserves being developed for housing, including Gwynne Park having been designated for development, as a reserve “considered unsuitable for recreation” (as stated in the city council Proposed Town Planning Scheme No.4 Invitation for Public Comment, as published and distributed by the Armadale City Council in 2004). And, you may have seen me in the shopping centre, or on the streets of Armadale, because I live in the Lake Ward in Armadale, and have lived in the area covered by the Lake Ward of Armadale, for over fourteen years, and I regularly walk along local streets, so I see what is happening in the area.
I have also been involved in the Forrest Community Association, which is a residents and ratepayers association that is now dormant. The organisation has been for residents and ratepayers of the Brookdale/Wungong areas, in the Forrest Ward, which the council changed to become the now Lake Ward. I was the President of the organisation, for a couple of years, before the organisation became dormant. I would like to see the Forrest Community Association, renamed to better reflect what it is (now that the Forrest Ward, for which it was named, no longer exists), and revived. Forrestdale has had its own residents and ratepayers' organisation, the Forrestdale Community Association, for people living in and around Forrestdale.
I have also attended council meetings, in previous years, and have raised issues at council meetings, in the only way that residents could raise issues at council meetings – at Question Time, where council minutes over the years, will show my participation.
So, my interest in local issues, is not something new, but is something that I have had, and acted on, over a number of years, to try to make Armadale, and, especially, the area of the Forrest Ward, that is now the Lake Ward, a better place to live.
If you are interested in local issues, and/or if you are a voter in the Lake Ward of Armadale in the 2007 Armadale City Council election, please read all of this document. Whilst it may be long, it contains many things. And, the more of it you read, the more informed you will be about me and my policies, and whether you agree or disagree with them.
Hopefully, you will look at all of my web page at Armadale City Council Neglect , to get an idea of some of the problems in the area. Please visit that web page, and you will hopefully get an idea of some of the issues that I would seek to have fixed, if I am elected.
I have created this web page, to publish political material relating to Armadale in Western Australia. The opinions expressed on this page, are my own. I am not a member of any political party, and I am not affiliated to any political party.
I am also, significantly, not allied to any city councillor or other candidate standing for election. Thus, I am not endorsed by any sitting or past councillor of the Armadale City Council.
I am standing as a fully independent candidate, to represent the interests of electors, not the self-interests of political parties or political factions.
I will be working on this web page as time goes on.
Please come back, especially if you haven't decided to vote for me, before you cast your vote, as I will be updating this web page, as things happen.
If you have read all of the material on this web page, at some time, then, if you page down through the web page, and read the headings, you can find material that has been added since the last time that you read the document.
If you are only interested in particular issues, similarly, if you page down through this web page, and read the headings, if the issues are mentioned, you should be able to find them that way.
Armadale in Western Australia, has many problems and issues relating to it, and these include both issues relating to the local government that is the Armadale City Council, and to the state government of Western Australia.
Some of the problems and issues, involve both levels of government.
An example, is the failure of the Armadale City Council, to keep its verge trees out of and away from the overhead electricity supply lines, and the state government regulations that exempt local governments from being required to maintain the same clearances of trees from electricity supply lines, as private property owners are required to maintain. The most glaringly obvious clearance, that does not apply to local governments in Western Australia, is the requirement for property owners (apart from local governments), to keep trees at least 2.5 metres (or 8 feet four inches) from the overhead electricity supply lines that run between power poles. As the requirement does not apply to local governments, the Armadale City Council allows its verge trees to grow into the overhead electricity supply lines, with immunity from punitive action from the state government, jeopardising both the electricity supply and public safety.
The different levels of government, as landowners, should be subject to the same rules as other landowners in Western Australia – whether the rules apply to keeping vegetation clear of power lines, or keeping vegetation low on land, to minimize fire risk, or using water for irrigation of land. And, local governments should be required to have roadside trees pruned so that they do not at any time, obscure road signs, and so that they do not otherwise obstruct the vision of people who lawfully use the roads and footpaths, such as drivers and pedestrians.
And, people, different levels of government, and government and commercial bodies, should be made responsible for their actions and property. If a person, council, state government body, or business, owns land on which a tree stands, and the tree or one of its branches, falls on electricity supply lines, breaking the lines, disrupting the electricity supply, or otherwise needing work to be done due to the tree or its branches falling on the electricity supply lines, whoever owns the tree or the land on which the tree was growing, should be liable for all costs and any damages associated with the tree or its branches falling. Similarly, where a publicly accessible facility such as a parking lot, has trees, and one of them or one of their branches, falls on a car parked properly in the parking lot, whoever owns the tree, should be held responsible for any damage that it causes. Trees are a valuable resource, and they need to be maintained, to prevent damage and injury.
The Armadale City Council needs to lead by example – all verge trees should be kept pruned back at least 8 feet four inches (2.5 metres) from overhead electrical supply lines. It is a matter of public safety, apart from a matter affecting the electricity supply.
Then, after that is done, all verge trees should be pruned (or, if appropriate, removed), so that no verge tree is higher than the overhead electricity supply lines, than the distance between the tree and the power lines, to prevent trees or their branches, from falling on power lines in storms, or strong winds, or, when the trees or branches, simply fall over.
And, there should be no verge trees within 50 metres of a road intersection, to avoid traffic safety hazards, of which, we have too many, due to blocked views at intersections, from verge trees.
The parks and reserves of Armadale, are not all properly maintained. These are open spaces for recreation, and to keep the local people active (and, hopefully, fit and healthy). The parks and reserves need to be kept regularly maintained, to make them pleasant to look at, and, to make them safe for recreation. They are neither, at present, and this needs to be fixed.
A serious lack of street lighting, exists in the ward, and in Armadale. Street lighting along Mornington Street, close to the Gwynne Park Primary School, is virtually non-existent, and is hopelessly inadequate, and that is just one example.
In the Armadale Central Business District, along Commerce Avenue, between Fourth Road and Church Road, on 4 April 2005, was no street lighting at all, not even at the park where the man was murdered a few years ago, at the Church Road end of Commerce Avenue. As at Friday 07 September 2007, the street lights at the roundabout on Commerce Avenue, in front of the RSL Clubrooms, are still not working. This is simply not good enough, and is inexcusable, and needs to be fixed immediately.
The state government may regard it as okay for WA to be regarded as a state of neglect, but Armadale should not be a city of disrepair, in a state of neglect. Shopping in Armadale, should be reasonably safe and secure, and, the lack of street lighting, especially around the new train station, is unsafe and insecure, and makes the city look shoddy. This should not have been allowed to happen.
On Thursday, 7 April 2005, the piles of bird droppings on the awnings on the south side of Jull Street, where the shops are located, are still there, after the council having been contacted about this problem, a number of years ago. As you can see from my web page at Armadale City Council Neglect , the problem has been ignored by the city council. Apart from the bad look to the place, from the piles of bird droppings, people walking along that side of Jull Street, will be breathing in, bits of the bird droppings, especially the people going in and out of the restaurants there. This is a public health risk, and makes the city look bad, and needs to be cleaned up as a matter of great urgency. We cannot have the city, especially where restaurants are located, like a dirty toilet, and the probability of people getting dangerously ill from going to Armadale restaurants.
And, on that web page, you will see that in September 2007, the problem has still been ignored by the council. And, as mentioned on that web page, this is now over four years after the council was made aware of the problem.
Once again – Armadale – the city of disrepair, in a state of neglect. The city council can do better, and, WE deserve better.
The city council needs to provide public liability indemnity, for incorporated, non-profit organisations, to allow them to have low-risk display stands (to provide information, not selling or engaging in strenuous or otherwise risky physical activity), to encourage greater participation of such organisations, and thence members of the public, in public events in Armadale, such as the Minnawarra Festival and the Armadale Highland Gathering.
I have been pushing for years, to get much more emphasis and spending, on pathways. At a council meeting, the mayor advised that, at current spending rates, it would take 70 years, to get a skeletal pathway network in Armadale. We need to have a properly useful (wide enough and smooth enough, to allow two motorised wheelchairs, or “gophers”, going in opposite directions, on the same path, at the same time) path network, implemented before someone dies due to the lack of proper pathways.
Women should not have to push prams on the roads in Armadale. People in wheelchairs and people restricted to travelling in “gophers”, should not have to travel on the roads. None of these people should be required by the council, to be competing with cars, trucks and buses. That is dangerous, and that is what we have now. We need path networks to start being developed, radiating out from each of the schools, to have a complete path network completed within ten years. If the council has to borrow money to do this, then so be it. It would probably be cheaper than lawsuits for compensation from children dying due to the council failing to provide a safe living environment, due to the lack of proper pathways. And, it could save people's lives, and save people from serious injuries that would be caused by the council's neglect.
Several years ago, when the previous proposal was before the council, for the Armadale shopping centre expansion, when Graham Kierath was the state minister for planning, the then developers had a proposal to the council, that, in exchange for being allowed to remove the tree, the developers would donate money to heritage projects in Armadale, to compensate for the loss of the tree.
At a council meeting when that proposal was being discussed, I put the question to the council, as to whether money so donated for heritage projects, could not be used to install a footpath or multi-use path along the Forrest Road frontage of Gwynne Park (I campaigned for years, to get a footpath installed there), so that mothers pushing prams, and small children on foot and on bicycles, and people in wheelchairs and riding “gophers”, would not have to travel on the road, in competition with cars, trucks and buses, as, as I emphasized, the children are the heritage of Armadale, and the most vulnerable people need to be protected.
That suggestion was laughed down, by the then council, most of the members of which, are still sitting councillors.
Eventually, we got the pathway along the Forrest Road frontage of Gwynne Park.
Powell Crescent is just one road in desperate need of a pathway alongside the road. It is also one of the roads, that needs traffic control devices, such as roundabouts at intersections, to reduce the road hooliganism in the area.
The Armadale Redevelopment Authority removed Minnawarra House, for the sake of a supermarket expansion, which is a great loss to Armadale, including a loss to the heritage and character of Armadale. We need to protect buildings like Minnawarra House from being removed, to preserve the character and facilities of Armadale.
The story about Minnawarra House, Armadale, is at Minnawarra House .
We need the full-time ranger services restored, so that we again have rangers dealing with roaming dogs and stock, especially after business hours, to prevent after-hours dog attacks and danger from roaming stock. Also, importantly, we need enough rangers, so that, during business hours also, if dogs or stock are roaming, they have a good chance of being dealt with by rangers, instead of endangering the public.
In the 2005 local government elections, only 25.61% of eligible voters, lodged valid votes. That is only about one in four of the eligible voters. That is simply not good enough, and shows that the people of the ward, simply do not care about local conditions
Please vote. Whether you vote for me or against me, at least have your say. If you are happy with the way things are, and have been going, then vote for the sitting councillor. If you are not happy with the way things are, of have been going, then, vote for me (or any other nominated candidate who you think might improve things).
Remember, if you are eligible to vote, and you do not make the effort and vote, then you cannot justify making any complaint about anything for which the council or the councillor who wins the election for the ward, does, or does not do, during the term of the elected councillor, as you have chosen to not have any say in what goes on. And, you must take responsibility for whatever is done, or not done, by the city council, because it is YOU who determines who gets elected to the council.
In summary, the people of Armadale should be treated better than we have been. We should have a greater say in issues that affect us. And, the people of the ward, need to exercise their right to vote, so that they use whatever say they have. And, we need a councillor who lives in this area, who knows what it is like, to live in this area, and, who knows of the problems in this area.
I can be contacted by email by clicking on my name at the end of this sentence - Bret .
This web page is authorised and printed by Bret Busby, 2 Pelham Street Armadale.
(Whilst the web page may be printed by someone else, I am advised that the wording in the above sentence, is required by the legislation governing the election.)
This web page was last updated on 15 September 2007