BY ANTHONY BENBOW
PERTH — The local community in the Serpentine-Jarrahdale area 40 kilometres south of Perth has united to oppose planned sand mining in the area and to keep open a hostel for mentally ill men.
Two hundred residents and their supporters rallied at the Whitby Falls Coach House on May 21 in Mundijong, a quiet rural area threatened by a proposed mining lease sought by mineral sands company Iluka Resources. Iluka was previously Westralian Sands, a company run by Ken Court, brother of WA Premier Richard Court.
Residents have been fighting sand mining since 1987 and are angry about further threats to their community, including the mooted closure of the Whitby Falls hostel for mentally ill men and a planned "link road" through the area.
The Whitby Falls hostel has been in operation since the 1940s and its country atmosphere has speeded many patients' recovery. For those with chronic conditions, it has provided safe and pleasant surroundings. Many of the current residents, some of whom have been there for 35 years, would find leaving traumatic.
For the last two years, the hostel has been run down and starved of patients; only 21 of a possible 60 places are currently filled. The Armadale-Kelmscott Health Service, which supervises Whitby, has said its closure is now planned, breaking a promise by health minister John Day that Whitby would not be closed "unless superior accommodation is available".
"How can a hostel in the suburbs, where people sit inside all day, be superior to one that allows people the supportive atmosphere of a rural community?", one speaker at the rally asked. The hostel falls within one of the proposed mining lease areas.
Likewise, the "link road" — actually a major bypass that will cut a swathe through the foothills area and the heritage-listed town of Jarrahdale, connecting the Brookton, Albany and South Western highways — runs through both of the proposed mining lease areas and could provide them a vital transport link.
Tom Hoyer, speaking on behalf of the local residents' and ratepayers' association, called on mines minister Norman Moore to use his discretionary powers to block the leases, arguing that the costs to the area will be far greater than the benefits.
Liberal member of parliament Fred Tubby received a hostile reception from the crowd when he attempted to defend the government's record and described the mining companies as "responsible corporate citizens".
Labor opposition leader Geoff Gallop promised he would keep the Whitby Falls hostel open. He criticised Iluka Resources but did not make a commitment about stopping the sand mining leases.