Tim Hammond (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sure all of those within this chamber will be familiar with the adage that life begins at 40. Having ticked over into that phase of my life in the last year or so, I could not feel more strongly about that being the case. Whilst 40 might only be getting started in human years, there are not many community groups that can say they are going to celebrate their 40th birthday this coming year, but that is very much the case for the Mount Lawley Society, a wonderful community group in the heart of my electorate.

They were formed in October 1977, when flares, turtlenecks and desert boots were all the rage. Just as those things come back into style, I can tell you one thing: the Mount Lawley Society have never gone out of style. They are going stronger than ever, led by their current president, Mr Paul Collins, and his merry and dedicated committee members. I will speak more about their patron shortly. I also have to make an appropriate disclosure to say that I was a very proud committee member and former president of the Mount Lawley Society back in the day.

The Mount Lawley Society are not only dedicated to preserving the heritage of our wonderful suburbs in Mount Lawley and their surrounds; they also get the balance right. They acknowledge that there is a need for development in the appropriate measure and there is a need to make sure that we manage our ongoing urban sprawl by having a balance of infill, where appropriate, to keep our streets, cafes and shops vibrant while also preserving our heritage. One of the ways in which that balance is currently under threat is in the way in which approvals are currently being managed under what is called the JDAP process—the Joint Development Assessment Panel. There are some developments that are going through that process that are clearly not fit for purpose when it comes to striking the balance between maintaining the heritage of a site and ensuring that we have appropriate levels of density.

The Mount Lawley Society are running a great campaign, led by Barrie Baker, to make sure that balance is right. I would like to use my remaining time to acknowledge Barrie Baker, the current patron of the society, who has also been a member since 1979. Barrie has toiled tirelessly, leading from the front in Mount Lawley and its surrounds, to make sure that the preservation of this wonderful suburb is carried forward for future generations, for my children and, hopefully, my grandchildren.

I will finish on this with one of the sayings that has underpinned the Mount Lawley Society:

How will we know it's us without our past? …They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories.

That is John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath. Well done, Mount Lawley Society.