DAP reforms needed

Dear Echo News,

WALGA, with strong backing from the Shire of Mundaring and other local governments, is calling for much-needed reform to the Development Assessment Panel (DAP) system.

While steps toward greater transparency are welcome, one critical safeguard is still missing: post-employment restrictions.

Without a mandatory “cooling-off period,” panel members can approve major developments and then be hired by the very developers they assessed.

This loophole undermines public confidence and raises serious concerns about integrity and impartiality in the planning process.

Pre-appointment disclosures alone are not enough – especially when the depth and verification of past affiliations vary widely.

If we are serious about restoring trust and ensuring fair, unbiased decision-making, these additional reforms must be implemented.

The community deserves a system that is not only transparent but also free from any perception of conflict to strengthen the integrity of our planning processes.

T Johns

Mundaring Ratepayers Association president

Umpire abuse is unneeded

Dear Echo News,

Our usual routine on a Saturday morning is to go to the Ray Owen sports centre to watch four of our granddaughters play netball.

It’s always such a pleasant experience – until yesterday.

Some of the parents of the team opposing ours were a loud, rude, insulting bunch – all their anger and frustration taken out on the young girl who was the umpire.

She was obviously learning the rules of the game and had a mentor following her.

The parents kept criticising her decisions, shouting abuse at her.

One father actually made a gesture of punching, obviously directed at the umpire.

Their behaviour was absolutely disgusting and the worst part of it all was that the girls playing were all aged eight or nine.

To see this poor young girl (the umpire) reduced to tears was a dismal sight and I just hope that she can overlook the terrible ordeal she went through and continues to learn her craft of umpiring.

I Sanderson

Kalamunda

Borers not an easy fix

Dear Echo News,

It is time people like WALGA president, Karen Chappel, learned about a subject before criticising those working on ways to solve it.

The PSHB problem was never going to be solved by eradication.

No pest such as this ever has been.

By the time the pests are found, they have already spread much further than first thought.

All government ministers can do is pass the problem to agricultural scientists in the hope they can come up with a plan to minimise the damage…not an easy, or quick fix.

As a former orchardist in the eastern states, I am well-aware of the difficulty in keeping control of all sorts of pests, including borer types.

The flying ones are much easier than the borer varieties to control, but virtually impossible to be eradicated.

I believe the scientists are working as fast as they can to come up with a spray that will penetrate the trunks of trees, and then they will have to work out a way to use it in forests.

This will be an extremely difficult assignment.

In the meantime, the PSHB will continue to spread.

Instead of all the government oppositions trying to make this a political problem, they should be stepping in and offering their help…where possible.

S Oliver

Ellenbrook