Society/Culture Northbridge

[Stronzo]

Its a genuine question.

I've got no idea about Perth nightlife.

Some Indigenous youth asking for money, wandering around aimlessy and occasionally being violent.

They're probably seen as one of the problems, but IMO what they get up to is pretty insignificant to some of the other things going on in northbridge.

 

[JimDocker]

Is it the aboriginal youth gang culture that causes most of the problems or are the troublemakers spread across all groups ?

There are definitely a lot of different groups or gangs that cause trouble there. Some are aboriginal, some are Asian, some are middle Eastern, some are Anglo.

Then there are the Northbridge identities who are associates of known criminals though they have never been found guilty of criminal offences themselves.

 

[sabre_ac]

Is it the aboriginal youth gang culture that causes most of the problems or are the troublemakers spread across all groups ?

No it is not, they are actually quite harmless and certainly not the problem.

The problem is drunk 18-22 yo guy's who have just endured a club with about a ratio of 2:1 in favour of the chicks, can't handle their drink and are now unable to get home. A few things that would help are

1. Sink the train lines and open the trains on the weekend untill 6am.
2. Make more places 25+ (Then let in the under 25 girl's who arn't the problem)
3. More cop's on horses roaming the streets, amazing the difference they make


While I think lines are bullcrap and dealing with snobby door people demeaning, there is something to be said for clubs/pub's that exercise descretion in who they let in.

Places that are consistently problems in NB are the one's that are a free for all (Paramount for example).

 

[Kram]

Haven't been there for a while but agree that 95% of the fights I've seen are between young white males.

IMO the meatheads usually try to suck people in, if someone says something to you just keep walking and ignore them..

 

[bbbbhall]

Is it the aboriginal youth gang culture that causes most of the problems or are the troublemakers spread across all groups ?

In April 2003 Dr Geoff Gallop, the Labor Premier of Western Australia (‘WA’), announced without warning that his government would enforce an after-dark curfew on all under-18-year-olds in the central city entertainment precinct known as Northbridge, unless they were accompanied by their parents.


At the same time he released a report of a recent crackdown by police in the area in which nearly 450 children were taken off the streets over a 12 week period. More than 400 of these children were Aboriginal kids from the outer suburbs, and more than two thirds of those were young girls

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ILB/2003/56.html

I wouldn't have a clue what things are like there now however ..

 

[Play by Numbers]

I thought gentrification was when arty areas with a working class ethos are invaded by yuppies wanting to be near the culture, then buying up the property and raising the housing prices and forcing the poorer people who made the area, out?? e.g. Like what has been happening to freo recently.

Anyway, on topic - Freo big fella made some good suggestions, but what i'd add is a stricter dress code at all the different venues.

Only if you watch Sex in the City or Law and Order.

Gentrification is just a name for urban renewal.

As for it happening soon, well if the city link ever goes ahead then yeah it will be sooner rather than later.

But no I won't hold my breath. We have been blessed with a succession of breathtakingly incompetent state governments, the current being no exception.

 

[Stronzo]

Only if you watch Sex in the City or Law and Order.

Gentrification is just a name for urban renewal.

I think we're both correct in this instance.

From what I've just read, gentrification can be due to government intervention, or it can be a organic social process.

 

[Rob]

The micro brewery was knocked back because it didn't fulfill the requirements of it's proposal. Apparently, some areas were severely lacking and as such, had to be denied. Whether that be on the actual or merely documented side is unknown.

As I understand it, it hasn't technically been knocked back yet. What i've read in the media is that they applied for a pub licence (backed by PCC), and along with every pub in Northbridge (who don't want more competition) it was opposed by the police commissioner, the head of DRGL, and the Northbridge taskforce. All people that essentially are interested in being seen to be doing something. Which was my point - the decisions are being made by a bunch of jokers that don't actually know how to solve the problem. So to be seen to be doing something, they just ban things. Then no-one can blame them if it gets worse (which it will).

Now what i've heard since from people much closer to DRGL is that they're pushing for them to get a restaurant licence - meaning they can't serve alcohol without a substantial meal. Which would be ****ing brilliant - "try our new pale ale, only $8 a pint if you fork out $20 for a burger or fish and chips as well". Not surprisingly the people behind the development have said that under such strict regulations it's just not viable - and once again backed by the PCC.

IMO it's got very little to do with the application itself and everything to do with the ideology of a bunch of blokes that probably haven't set foot in Northbridge after 9pm for 20 years (police commissioner aside, but I reckon he wouldn't have much understanding of the reasons behind the problems, he'd only hear about the problems themselves). Scaffidi recognises the problem and I think realises what needs to be done, but she's clearly up against it.

So I'm not sure how you came to those other conclusions...

Should they resubmit with a better proposal, who knows!?

You can't really blame the authorities if they have a set of standards and a proposal didn't meet them.

You can blame the people that set the standards though. And IMO, the standards are far too arbitrary. It relies very much on the personal opinion of the decision maker.
This is on top of a big advertising campaign recently talking about how the regulations are going to be easier to deal with and 'you'll feel a change of scene'. My arse.

 

[redbeardrum]

sad to say but the whole of perths gone to sh** nowdays

 

[Ted38]

sad to say but the whole of perths gone to sh** nowdays

Its not just Perth!

 

[Clay Davis]

Northbridge is a boring shithole. Never had a problem with aborigines there, have had a problem with lining up for taxis and having to put up with ****wits while waiting.

It makes Canberra's nightlife look positively cosmopolitan.

 

[Papa G]

Relax Perthite's, every city has an area like Northbridge. There's an article in the Brisbane Times today "Welcome to Fortitude Valley - Australia's Scariest Saturday Night Out". There was a shooting in Adelaide notorious Hindley Street strip on Saturday Night, Melbourne has huge amounts of street violence, Kings Cross and Oxford Street in Sydney aren't exatly havens for nice behaviour. It is across the board and is more a reflection of the attitudes of the current generation to drinking, drugs and violence more than anything else.

 

[Play by Numbers]

I think we're both correct in this instance.

From what I've just read, gentrification can be due to government intervention, or it can be a organic social process.

Yeah its usually both.

I think the first stage would be the city link, which is long over due for a raft of reasons.

This will have a flow on effect.

We have a rapidly expanding population in Perth, have been having relatively good economic times despite the international climate and are probably undergoing a bit of an identity crisis as a city, or at least friction between what the state Government does and what the city council wants.

In trade terms we are an international state or city, in actual terms we are a virtual backwater, our only saving grace being wealth and the conduit we provide to WA's natural resources.

Banning stuff is not going to help Perth city progress and develop. Developing the foreshore and the city link may help provide a positive step in the right direction.

The city link may help strengthen Perth's or Western Australia's economy and perhaps reputation (new business, help the city develop as an attractive destination, therefore boosting retail and service industries) and eliminates a divide between two parts of the city, which at the moment I think makes policing more difficult, decreases foot traffic and prevents the right kind of investment from flourishing.

The real problem is the conflicting attitudes of the public and a spineless state government, where the only time they usually show initiative is in banning stuff and picking soft targets to be "tough on crime".

Unless our attitude changes, at some point our economic fortunes will but the crime problems won't.