Warnbro Electorate

[GIGS20]

Well It appears I've been put to shame by TG, Warnbro electorate is a lot harder to track down. the candidates are

Paul Papalia - Labor
Ph 9523 4770
email paul.papalia@mp.wa.gov.au

Colin Booth - Green
Ph - 0427 546 059
email - boothc@missionaustralia.com.au


Matt Pollock - Family First
Ph - not known
email - not known

Shane Bathgate - Liberal
Ph - not known
email - shane.mitchell-bathgate@wa.liberal.org.au
Jeez that was like pulling teeth!
Seriously, I'm on the phone to the Liberal Party now....they don't know either!
On hold again, it's been like ten minutes now!


I'll update these details for all who're interested as I get them, and will post the messages I send along with the replies.

[GIGS20]

Dear Paul,

As you are the local member for Warnbro, I am wondering if you could respond to a few questions I have before I cast my vote.

Firstly I was wondering where you stand regarding your party’s policy to build a multi-purpose stadium in Kitchener Park?

I wonder if you would ever consider responding to the increasing public pressure to take the sensible course and build a dedicated rectangular stadium to cater for regular home games of rectangular field codes.

I wonder if you would press the senior members of your party to release the promised 25 million dollars to fund an upgrade to Members Equity Stadium which will bring it up to a suitable standard for Super 14 Rugby fixtures.

I wonder if you would propose a review of the planning for Perth Stadium before 1.1 billion dollars of this state’s revenue is poured into a stadium which will fail to meet the needs of all of it’s tenants.

Where do you stand on the Rectangular Stadium issue Mr Papalia, My vote counts upon your response!

Please feel free to call me on XXXXXXXXXXXXX to discuss this important issue.

Yours Sincerely

[GIGS20]

Dear Shane

As a constituent in the electorate of Warnbro, I am interested in your policy stance regarding a rectangular stadium for Perth.

You might be aware that there is significant public pressure for a dedicated rectangular stadium to be instituted as a part of the sporting landscape of Western Australia.
Are you aware that the Proposed stadium in Kitchener Park is fraught with issues and will most likely be only a cause of tension between AFL followers and the followers of other codes?

The regular reconfiguration of this oval is apparently guaranteed by the independent trust which will have governance of the stadium, however to public knowledge there is NO GUARANTEE that such reconfiguration will not cause damage to the surface in the same way reconfiguration of ANZ Stadium in Sydney and Telstra Dome in Melbourne do.

My vote depends on your response to this issue Mr Bathgate, Where do you stand on the question of a Dedicated Rectangular Stadium for Perth?

Will you ensure that your party approves the release of the 25 million dollars which was promised by the Gallop government as part of the startup package for the Western Force, or will you allow the WAFC to destroy sporting infrastructure in this state for another 50 years with their anti-competitive practices.


Please feel free to phone me on XXXX XXXXXXXX to discuss this question.


Regards

[GIGS20]

I just fired an email to Colin Booth, the Greens candidate, it was a photocopy of the Shane Bathgate one, so I won't post the full text. I was going to use the same one for all the non-sitting members seing as I'm in a labour held seat.

No answers yet from the other two.

[jono]

gigs. check your phone...

[GIGS20]

I recieved a response from Paul Papalia regarding the Stadium Issue today, I have posted it in it's entirety.

Dear Rob,

Thank you for your email and for raising this matter with me. I sought some detailed information regarding the new stadium from the office of the Minister for Sport and Recreation. They provided the following (I have made additional comment at the bottom):

The Major Stadia Taskforce was convened in July 2005 with the task of reviewing the state of the major football (all codes) and cricket stadia in WA and to develop a plan to provide suitable, viable venues well into the future.

They ultimately recommended a “two-stadia” policy, a major multi-purpose stadium and a dedicated rectangular stadium. They obviously recommended construction of the new stadium but also that no further investment be made in a rectangular stadium (Members Equity) until such time that a business case exists to do so. The cost of providing a dedicated rectangular stadium of around 35,000 (what the sports were asking for) would be in the order of $456 million. It is obviously difficult to justify this level of investment on current 6-7 games of Super 14 each year. The decision was ultimately taken that a significant investment ($1.1b) into a multi-purpose stadium was more beneficial than $25m on upgrades at Members Equity.

As a dedicated rectangular stadium, in its present capacity MES will continue to host A league soccer games, rugby league competition games and some rugby union games. As recommended in the Taskforce’s report, work has been carried out on the ground’s surface, its lighting and its scoreboard as well as other minor improvements.

The new multi-purpose stadium will have the ability to convert the entire lower bowl of about 22,000 seats in eight hours from an oval configuration to a rectangular playing field that closes around the corner flags through the use of a hydraulic pivot and lock system.

The venue will be State-owned and managed by a Trust and it will be the Trust’s task to manage the schedule of events with the intention of maximising its use to the benefit of all sporting codes and the WA community.

My additional comments:

So Rob, in the end I tend to agree with the decision process outlined above.

I am in favour of a new stadium. However, $1.1 billion is a lot of money to be spending and an additional $25 million on Members Equity would be hard to justify noting that the new stadium will be designed to adjust for sports played on a rectangular field.

As much as I sympathize with rugby and round ball enthusiasts, in the end governments have to make difficult decisions that often end up with some degree of compromise. I can tell you that many people in our community are critical of any money being allocated to stadiums of any type in lieu of policing, health and education. They too will be unhappy.

I am sorry to hear that you intend making your voting decision based solely on this issue. Despite this, I am very happy to meet and discuss this or any other issue further – please feel free to contact my office to make an appointment if you wish.

Thank you again for raising this matter.

Kind Regards,

Paul


I'm still wondering whther there's any point in making contact regarding that comment about FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS to build a 35,000 seat rectangle!

Will we be sitting in golden seats and each have our own plasma screen to watch the replays?

Bluetongue was built from the ground up for 160 million wasn't it?

As for 6-7 rugby games a year, thanks for the research Paul how about 13 games a year by the time you've finished building it, plus a probable NRL franchise and an A League soccer team for about another 12. Geez it pisses me off when people just assume you're dumb without even reading what you've written

[jargan83]

thats nothing but utter bullshit. You should email him back and ask him which AFL team he is a member of. Of course will be his response, he is Labor.

Is Bluetongue the one on the NSW central coast? Don't forget Skilled Stadium on the Gold Coast, with its 27,500 capacity I think, don't remember the exact cost of that stadium though.
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[laura]

work has been carried out on the ground’s surface, its lighting and its scoreboard as well as other minor improvements.

Well thats a lie, because last time I was there for a reds game, the scoreboard was a pieve of ply wood, in the back of a ute, with nails in it for some kid (sitting on a bale of hay, in the back of the ute) to hang the numbers off and he fell asleep so there was so no scoring for a while.

[Swee_82]

I'm still wondering whther there's any point in making contact regarding that comment about FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS to build a 35,000 seat rectangle!

Yeah, they quoted that figure in the WSW article too- still trying to find a reference for how they managed to get to that number.

Be a sweet looking stadium for that kind of coin too!

[jargan83]

it would be, Skilled Stadium on the Gold Coast couldn't have cost more then $250 million, i think the figure could have been closer to $200ish million.

I am a freguent visitor to MES for the mungoes and the soccer and have not noticed any sizeable "improvements"
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[Swee_82]

The most expensive option put forward by the Town of Vincent to upgrade MES to 35,000 permanent seats was $250 million, whihc basically looks like pulling it down and starting again.

The cheapest optiont they came up with was $94 million, to develop to 32,000 permanent seats, retaining the existing pitch, bowl and grandstand as a staged revelopment.

[GIGS20]

Thank you for your prompt reply Mr Papalia, I am concerned that you don’t think the waste of 1.1 billion dollars of the state’s revenue is not a large enough issue to count for a vote, however that it your concern not mine.

I know you are in a safe Labour seat, and therefore spruiking the party line as you have will more than likely win the election, but it is apparent to me that you know nothing of the real issue here as evidenced by the sections of the report you quoted and the tone of your reply.

I wonder how it will look to the AFL supporters of your electorate when I write to the editors of the Sound Telegraph and the Weekend Courier that you are 100% behind siting Rugby home games in a stadium despite the fact that such a move requires reconfiguring the ground using “a system of trenches and rails situated underneath the grass playing surface” I’m sure the Warnbro Swans would be delighted that you support a stadium which is likely to damage the knees and ankles of their midfielders.

This is not an issue solely for rugby in this state, it’s an issue for the sporting public of this state and indeed every taxpayer.

Your figures for the construction of a 35,000 seat stadium are questionable at best, Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford seats 21,000 was constructed from the ground up at a total cost of 160 Million. I fail to see how 10,000 extra seats would cost another 300 million dollars, You also fail to estimate the impact of the schedule on such a facility. The Langoulant report’s own projections proposed up to Fifteen reconfigurations of this ground per annum, with eight of these being completed within 24 hours returning to Oval configuration.

You have made no mention of the expansion to Super 14 which has been approved by the SANZAR borad and only requires the format to be decided, this alone could see up to 13 home games of Rugby by 2016. You don’t mention Association Football in your comments, would you build a 30,000 seat stadium for rugby and have Soccer and Rugby League still inhabit Members Equity? The A League would offer another eight home games along with the Proposed NRL team which will require a stadium in 2016. There’s another 13 home games. Without even considering Concerts and other events, such as are hosted at MES currently, this stadium will see regular crowds for upwards of 34 events, more events than Subiaco Oval saw before the institution of the Dockers!

I feel that your flippant comments when talking about 1,100,000,000 dollars of my taxes are unreasonable and ill-informed.

Would you care to comment before I write to the Newspapers.

Regards

Rob Hill

[Swee_82]

LUV IT GIGS!!!


You got the rugby and 'round ball' repsonse in there.

The 'grounds-gonna-be crap-for AFL' angle.

Just brilliant- be sure to be equally angry when you do write to the papers

[jargan83]

blasted him through the covers there GIGS, love ya work

Should have asked him if knew how his labor collegues in marginal seats may feel about this? Word of mouth is still a powerfull tool
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[GIGS20]

I'm pretty sure Mr Papalia is no longer my friend and will not be talking to other Labour candidates to find shit out for me....Looks like I'll be voting Greens, Family First or Liberal this year!