Gareth Parker

View Profile »

An inelegant solution but now the genie is out

While Treasurer Troy Buswell will be applauded in many quarters for his extension of trading hours in an expanded area of inner Perth, it is at best an inelegant solution.The problem now is that the genie is out of the bottle and the inherent...
Wed, November 18, 2009, 7:45 pm WST
Western suburbs fun is wasted on its residents

It's often said that youth is wasted on the young.Which is exactly how I feel about residents of Perth's western suburbs - or at least, that particular subset of malcontents and busybodies who flood the letters pages of The Post newspaper on a weekly...
Mon, November 16, 2009, 8:14 pm WST
The commissioner's latest authoritarian fantasy

Is Karl O'Callaghan kidding?Our police commissioner's ambitions to turn Perth into Lockdown City took another disturbing step today when he suggested police would "probably" set up walk-through metal detectors in Northbridge and at Perth Train...
Wed, November 11, 2009, 2:48 pm WST
Another sad chapter in the Nanny State

British public intellectual Charles Landry could not have been more correct in 2007 when he identified Perth as "the city that says no"....
Fri, October 23, 2009, 10:39 am WST
Sir Charles, Perth's urban fabric and a school newspaper

So this post is going to be a little bit different. Think of it as a blogging three-pack.--Charles Barkley, the former NBA basketball great, stirred some controversy on Tuesday when he claimed Australian footballers were "some damn idiots" (it...
Tue, October 20, 2009, 8:10 pm WST
Measuring public opinion on shopping hours

Friday 1.30pm update: If you want to see what a mess WA's trading regime actually is, head on over to the Department of Consumer Protection's website, where they have helpfully summarised the state of play in an easy-to-follow guide....
Thu, October 15, 2009, 4:59 pm WST
A fluid line between humour and taste: The Sequel

Jeremy Hallam is a little fellow who has a knack of finding himself in the middle of big controversies.Mr Hallam, 25, is a curiously self-styled entertainer. On his MySpace page, he dubs himself "The People's Dwarf"....
Tue, October 13, 2009, 12:15 pm WST
Hey, hey, we just don't want to know

In "The Man Who Owns the News", Vanity Fair columnist Michael Wolff's superbly entertaining book about Rupert Murdoch's takeover battle for the Wall Street Journal, the author attempts to describe the media mogul's determined...
Sat, October 10, 2009, 9:03 am WST
The ticket-scalping myth

Tonight I'm going to a baseball game at Citi Field - the home of my beloved New York Mets - a brand new ballpark that opened this year in the car park of adjacent old Shea Stadium.We've got great seats behind home plate, and we paid less than half of...
Wed, September 23, 2009, 8:05 am WST
A brief pause...

Brilliant readers, I'm out of here for a few weeks. Be good while I'm gone. There might be an occasional post or tweet while I'm away, but there might not be. Either way, see you in...
Thu, September 17, 2009, 6:37 pm WST
Another site update: we're acting on your feedback

On Thursday last week, I gave you a bit of an update about where we were up to with the relaunch of thewest.com.au. We also asked you to tell us how you thought we were going, and plenty of you took the opportunity to do just that....
Tue, September 15, 2009, 8:21 pm WST
Friday Q&A: social and indigenous affairs reporter Jessica Strutt

Her old boss, Paul Armstrong, described her ABC radio last week as "a world class reporter", and her new boss, Brett McCarthy, gave her her first big break in journalism at the Sunday Times. At 29, Jessica Strutt is one of WA's most respected...
Fri, September 11, 2009, 4:11 pm WST
One month in, how are we going?

Tomorrow marks exactly one month since we relaunched the new thewest.com.au. How do you think we're travelling?We're thrilled with some things, and we think we have a lot of work to do on other things. On breaking, relevant, important local stories, we...
Wed, September 9, 2009, 6:47 pm WST
This is Perth: the video

This short film, posted on YouTube yesterday, is all over the internet this afternoon and it's just too funny not to share. After seeing it a couple of times, I had to get in touch with the creators and ask them for the story behind the story. Turns out...
Mon, August 31, 2009, 2:41 pm WST
Friday Q&A: Retiring newspaper legend David Hummerston

Today is a big day at The West. One of the most popular, humble and respected people that's ever worked for the paper, Editorial Counsellor and Saturday Editor David Hummerston, is retiring after 37 years. "Hummo", as he's universally known,...
Fri, August 28, 2009, 4:24 pm WST
The Perth Files*: Cricket at the pub

I've been tossing whether to write this post for a week now, but seeing this post by "gav" (beware of the some colourful language if that sort thing offends) at his blog Pat The Dog, via @bonniebullock on Twitter, has my mind made up. Firstly,...
Thu, August 27, 2009, 5:29 pm WST
Friday Q&A: thewest.com.au editor Chris Manly

Any journo will tell you it's always hard work writing about your boss, but usually that means the proprietor. In this case, I was interviewing the man who calls the shots on this site, online editor Chris Manly. A 25-year newspaper veteran, Chris made...
Fri, August 21, 2009, 3:15 pm WST
Thursday afternoon update: more bloggers!

Another day, another blogger. Yesterday it was Online Sports Editor Ross Lewis' debut post where he called for more accountability from the people who run our sporting teams.Today, I'm excited to point you in the direction of our Aviation Writer...
Thu, August 20, 2009, 4:56 pm WST
Retail trading reax, new bloggers and a site update

Eric Ripper says: "There’s no community support for Colin Barnett’s package . . . it’s about the view of people in our suburbs, it’s about the view of Western Australians. They’ve had a chance to express their...
Tue, August 18, 2009, 5:34 pm WST
Get out of the way and let us shop

Tuesday 1.20pm update: Well, it looks like political obstructionism has won the day. Despite Labor going to the last election with a policy of deregulation, the caucus decided today to block the Liberal Party's Bill when it's...
Sat, August 15, 2009, 4:35 pm WST