Mundaring resident rates gripe
Dear Echo News,

I am a 77 year old living in the Shire of Mundaring and have been increasingly concerned about costs and to that end have sent an email to the Mundaring shire listing the costs I contribute to by way of rates.

My concern is I am paying for items I do not even use or need so why should I be charged for these items?

The following is a list of items I do not use but have to contribute to.

This is a list taken from the shire’s cost budget on their website.

Libraries (don’t use them) $1.49m, community engagement (whatever that is?) $920k, making it happen ( whatever that is?) $5.28m, youth services  (at 77 don’t think I fit in here)$153k, tourism (I can’t understand how that affects me ) $200k, aquatic facilities (do not use them) $986k, recreation centres (do not use them) $906k, health administration / inspections (not sure how this affects me) $426k, animal control (what animals are they controlling?)$686k, access to all (access to what?) $156k, halls (do not use them) $940k, recreation grounds (do not use them) $3.45m, street lighting (no lighting in Haigh Road  where I live) $725k, FOGO waste services $1.8m (not logical to change the colour of the bin lid would have been cheaper to supply new bin lids or just a can of paint, Sawyers Valley oval reticulation (do not use it) $170k, Glen Forrest tennis club (do not use them) $50k, Brown Park Community Centre upgrade (do not use)  $272k, Brown Park practice nets (do not use)  $100k, Norris Park BBQ upgrade (do not use)  $30k.

The shire allows a pittance of a discount on rates for the elderly who over their lifetime have contributed enough through taxes.

A fair go is required here, but I won’t hold my breath till I get it!

P Harrington
Childlow

Housing crisis due to Howard
Dear Echo News,

The unaffordable housing crisis can be squarely traced back to the Howard federal government and their ideological commitment to Thatcher and Reaganomics which promised a financial boon by abolishing capital gains tax and promoting negative gearing.

Since that time house prices have risen from 2.5 times the average income to over eight times.

10 per cent of investors will get 50 per cent of the $100 billion concessions over the next decade.

They have incomes greater than $180,000 so get bigger tax benefits. Someone in the top tax bracket is more than three times more likely to have a negatively geared property investment.

Mum and dad investors with just one property get just 5.6 per cent of the benefits.

It’s true rents increased in Perth when Keating tried to reverse the negative gearing and this was clearly due to a supply issue as WA was rapidly increasing its population.

Rents fell in Sydney and Melbourne. No thanks to Keating, university graduates in teaching and nursing now have massive HECS debts which make it almost impossible for them to get a loan.

Incremental changes like help to buy will never meet the 200,000 new affordable homes needed each year.

Only by abolishing the capital gains tax concessions and negative gearing and using those tax savings currently going to those with multiple investment properties and giving that to state governments to build affordable public housing will we stop the increasing inequality in Australia and turn the housing nightmare back to the Australian dream.

C Hughes
Midland

Call to reopen Macri’s Fruit Shed
Dear Echo News,

I am writing to draw attention to a concerning situation in Gidgegannup regarding the recent shutdown of Macri’s Fruit Shed.

This beloved local business, known for its fresh produce and friendly service, has been closed due to a single anonymous complaint.

Many of us in the community are shocked by the decision and believe it is vital to support the Macri family as they await the necessary permits from the City of Swan, already submitted, for reopening.

I urge our community members and local leaders to rally behind Macri’s Fruit Shed and appeal to the City of Swan to expedite the permit process, which will allow locals to once again enjoy their favourite fruit shop.

A small business like this enriches our community, and its closure is a loss for all of us.

I hope to see our community come together to help a business that serves so many of us and our families.

R Osborne
Gidgegannup

Thanks for the Waugh celebration
Dear Echo News,

Thank you for the 60 years of marriage article of Russell and Bernadette Waugh Swan View couple celebrate 60 years of marriage.

The Waugh family liked this article and is very grateful to Echo News for writing such a good article about their mother and father, and grandma and pa.

The Waugh children and grandchildren visited Russell and Bernadette for a home-cooked lunch in August and they have fond memories of their time with grandma and pa, including many visits to the Swan View Tunnel and John Forrest National Park.

And, yes, grandma and pa did a lot of voluntary work in the local community over many years which we hope can be continued by the grandchildren in due course, as some of them live in the local area.

R & B Waugh
Swan View

Need to be proactive on weeds
Dear Echo News,

Invasive environmental weeds damage local ecosystems, so we need to be proactive and nip them in the bud.

Allowing them to proliferate massively before reacting is not even a concept of a plan, it’s a recipe for disaster.

The Shire of Mundaring’s weed control team spends eighty-five percent of their time on Watsonia.

Both of them - yes, it’s a two-person crew for the whole shire - spray this shockingly destructive weed with great success but only on a limited scale.

How can they deal with the long list of other out of control weeds, and some serious emerging weeds?

They can’t and the result is plain to see.

Sadly, the current policy for the 80 bushcare ‘friends’ groups prevents volunteers doing weed control on verges or using herbicides in reserves.

I call on the shire to establish a system for training, supervising and coordinating dozens of eager volunteer weed slayers.

M Jones
Hovea