As it happened: WA news on Friday, January 31​on January 31, 2025 at 8:43 am

WA Police officers failed to take adequate preemptive actions which could have prevented the murders of a Floreat mother and her daughter, a damning internal report has revealed.

The inquiry was launched after Ariel Bombara, the daughter of double-murderer Mark Bombara, accused police of ignoring the threats her father posed in the lead-up to the tragedy.

Bombara, 63, shot and killed Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl in May last year before turning the gun on himself.

He had been searching for his estranged wife and Ariel, who were close friends with the Petelczyc family and had fled from their Mosman Park home in fear of him.

Bombara legally owned multiple guns, despite Ariel and her mother repeatedly warning police he was dangerous on three separate occasions between March 30 and April 2. Those warnings included fears that he may exact revenge after they left.

At a press conference on Friday ahead of the report’s release, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said it was found eight police officers failed to perform their duties, with “internal disciplinary action” already taken.

Blanch said if a proper risk assessment had been completed, Bombara’s guns could have been taken off him, potentially averting the tragedy.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

We take to you a live press conference now, where WA Police are speaking about an internal investigation following the horrific Floreat double-murder suicide last year.

Watch the press conference below:

A West Australian father who was found guilty last year on 97 counts of rape over the horrific assaults of 12 women has been sentenced to 28 years behind bars.

Adam Lusk, 46, drugged and raped the women between April 2020 and January 2022. During his trial, the Perth District Court was told one victim was just 16 years old at the time.

Some had no idea they had been assaulted until police contacted them after finding footage of the assaults on an iPad owned by Lusk.

On Friday, a judge told the court that Lusk had been in the army between 1996 and 2002, and that he likely had PTSD as a result of a deployment to East Timor.

When his marriage ended, life “slowly unravelled” and then, in 2020, he attacked his first victim.

The judge said his circumstances were no justification for the attacks, nor his pleas of not guilty, which forced the victims to testify.

“I still cannot work out in my own mind how you’re so self-deluded that you gave denial.”

Lusk’s sentence was backdated to when he was first taken into custody on January 20, 2022. He will be eligible for parole after serving 26 years.

Read the full story here.

To some politics news outside cost-of-living measures now and the WA Greens have called for a moratorium on seismic blasting off the state’s coast.

The call comes as oil and gas giant Woodside gears up to ask for permission to take on the practice at Scott Reef as it seeks approval for its Browse carbon capture and storage project.

At a press conference outside, you guessed it, Woodside’s headquarters in Perth, Greens WA fossil fuel and marine and coastal spokeswoman Sophie McNeill said the mining company had acknowledged its seismic blasting plans could harm endangered blue whales and loggerhead turtles.

“It is unfathomable that the federal regulators could approve such activity in this highly sensitive marine environment, home to dozens of endangered, vulnerable and threatened species,” she said.

“Western Australia’s oceans and our marine life are already suffering horrific consequences as a result of warming temperatures and continued fossil fuel production.

“The time to end seismic blasting and new oil and gas exploration off our WA coast is now.“

Woodside’s application for approval for the CCS project says the impact of blasting and other activities on marine life would be minimal.

Well, it’s not even 10.30am and the state election missiles are already firing – this time over help for West Australians in financial distress.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam fired first with a commitment to provide a 25 per cent uplift – $2.55 million per annum – in funding for financial counselling services for two years.

“With the rising cost of living, more people are seeking out financial counselling services to try and stay afloat,” Mettam said.

“Every day, Western Australian families make significant sacrifices between food, rent, bills, and personal care, with many uncertain they’ll ever see long-term financial security.

“At a time when financial management and support can often be the difference between stability and ongoing crisis, we cannot have West Australians stuck on waitlists due to inadequate funding.

“WA Labor has failed to address the cost of living crisis bearing down on hardworking West Australians – this funding is a significant step to rectifying their mismanagement.”

In a similar vein, Premier Roger Cook committed to expanding the hardship utility grants scheme (known as HUGS) which gives struggling people access to a maximum of $1060 annually to pay their power and water bills.

Under the plan social housing tenants will also be able to access HUGS to pay for their water bills.

“My government has a strong track record of providing important cost of living relief to Western Australian households, including over $1 billion in the past financial year alone,” he said.

“This commitment further highlights WA Labor’s resolve to keep easing cost of living pressures, if re-elected.”

To some sports news now and Western Force flanker Carlo Tizzano has praised Perth’s presence in the 2027 Rugby World Cup, describing it as a major boost for grassroots rugby in WA.

It follows confirmation Perth will host the world cup opening ceremony and clash.

“It’s huge,” Tizzano said. “It’s all about growing the game here at the Western Force and I think this is going to be one of the major steps for us.”

The Force will open their season on February 15, playing Moana Pasifika at HBF Park.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has released a glimpse into the conditions firefighters were facing as they battled multiple fire fonts across the long weekend.

Footage of the fire at Mount Holland mine site shows just how intense things got. The blaze has since been downgraded from an emergency to advice level. It burned through 40,000 hectares.

The Department wrote that it was “the kind of bushfire you can see from space”.

A heatwave which lasted throughout the weekend made conditions tougher for emergency personnel, with temperatures rising to 44 degrees in some parts of the state.

You can watch the footage below.

It’s bad news for those looking to buy a home, with a record 37 suburbs added to Perth’s million-dollar club last year, compared to just eight suburbs the year before.

Real Estate Institute WA data shows more than 100 suburbs now have a median house price over $1 million.

Three suburbs returned to the list after exiting in previous years – Highgate, Burswood and West Swan.

Institute chief-executive Cath Hart said the Perth property market had recorded some of the highest growth since the 2006 to 2007 boom, with annual median house sale price growth peaking at 24.8 per cent in October.

“The previous record for suburbs added to the million dollar club during a calendar year was 14, which was set in 2006,” she said.

Gavin Hegney, from Hegney Property Group, said it was good news if you owned a home, but “not so great if you’re trying to buy a home, and horrible if you’re renting.”

Peppermint Grove, Cottesloe, Dalkeith, City Beach and Swanbourne are the most expensive – the first recording a median house sale price over $5 million.

Hart said this was the first time a Perth suburb had recorded a median price that high.

Peppermint Grove’s most expensive sale in 2024 was 59 Keane Street, Peppermint Grove, which sold in March for $20.1 million.

Perth’s most expensive sale in 2024 was 177 Wellington Street, Mosman Park, which sold in May for $25 million.

The latest ‘smart freeway’ has opened along the Mitchell Freeway with the promise of saving peak hour commuters seven minutes, but Perth drivers say the roads are more congested than ever.

A new survey from the RAC of 360 drivers has revealed 80 per cent hold that belief, and two in three of them say road rage has also increased as a result.

The average one way commuting time in Perth has risen by seven minutes in the past two years – now at 37 minutes total.

The increase has been put down to population growth, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics saying WA’s population is rising faster than any other state.

RAC external relations general manager Will Golsby said the way to resolve the problem was through increased transport infrastructure and alternative modes of transport.

“Sitting in traffic not only places a significant toll on our community’s health and wellbeing – it also hinders the state’s economic performance,” he said.

“Road network upgrades and improvements to public and active transport that keep pace with population growth are essential to ease the impact of congestion.

“We know in many cases upgrades to roads induces demand – meaning the extra capacity is eaten up over time by drivers who, ironically, want to benefit from reduced travel times.

“That’s why we need to see greater focus on encouraging commuters to reduce car trips whenever they can and opt to walk, ride or catch public transport instead.”

Both Labor and Liberal state and federal campaigns have promised they will widen the Kwinana Freeway if elected.

Here’s a glance at what’s making news this morning.