'The local government is not in financial difficulty. It has plenty of money. Can you imagine that?' Photo: Kalgoorliemine, Western Australia, by Matthew de Livera on Unsplash
Park life: Tony D’Souza is a mine of information
‘How does the local government in Perth do it?’
More greetings from Australia!
Some of what I have to tell you now will strain your credulity, and some of it will strain your imagination.
It all started with the parks in Perth, in Western Australia. They are all clean and tidy. Litter bins are everywhere, and they are emptied regularly. They even offer free dog poop bags, right next to the big red bins designed to receive them. As a park jogger, I think this is very thoughtful and hygienic. Pottering down the asphalt path, I give a silent blessing to whoever thought of it. But then a very British question came to mind: who is paying for all this? Well, local government obviously. And here is where you have to hang on to your credulity.
The local government is not in financial difficulty. It has plenty of money. Can you imagine that? It does not have to make cuts to services, or plead poverty all the time, like local governments in the UK. In fact, it has been in credit for years, decades even, and it doesn’t just provide poop bags for your pooch in the park. It runs efficient public schools and hospitals. It is very good at street cleaning and its refuse collection and recycling efforts are excellent. Its libraries are modern and well stocked, with free Wi-Fi. A couple of years ago it even offered free saplings and shrubs to residents for their gardens. Compare that to the average local council in the UK, which is so strapped for cash it has to use the mayor’s three-cornered hat for a whip-round.
How does the local government in Perth do it? That’s easy: royalties from the big mining companies. Mining iron ore is the backbone of the economy in Western Australia, and always has been. The annual sales are estimated at AUD $126 billion (about £66 billion).
Western Australia accounts for ninety-eight per cent of the country’s total iron ore reserves. It’s a massive business, and it demands a massive infrastructure. The open-air iron ore mines there count as some of the biggest excavations on earth; the vehicles used to move the ore from the bottom of the pit to the surface are so huge you need a ladder to get into the cab. Vast private rail lines have been built by the mining companies across the country, to transport the ore from mine to port. The iron ore is transported in box cars. The trains that haul the box cars are probably not the longest in the world, but they are contenders for the heaviest. Almost all of this iron ore goes direct to China to fuel its economic growth and its export market. It is the wealth from the iron ore exports to China that pays for the free dog poop bags in the parks.
It’s hot in the outback. As the days grow longer and temperatures climb, we’re greeted by a familiar chorus of buzzing. It’s fly season again. The Australian bush fly is everywhere, and is so persistent it is credited with inspiring the ‘Aussie Salute’ – a brief wave of the open palm just by the ear. There are also bluebottles, who like to sit on your dinner, reminding me why the free poop bags are so necessary…
