As it happened: WA news on Thursday, March 20​on March 20, 2025 at 8:22 am

Police have released more details about that pursuit which ended on Scarborough Beach not long ago.

A police spokesman said officers tried to pull over the white Toyota Prado in East Perth about 11am, but the car allegedly failed to stop.

As might be obvious from our earlier post, the chase came to an end on the sand and a man has been taken into custody.

Witnesses told 9News Perth reporter Sarah Smith the man allegedly started to swim out in the water before being tackled by police.

Other witnesses said they had to rush out of the way as the car drove down the beach’s iconic amphitheatre to get to the sand.

There has been no reprieve for politics-weary West Australians after the state poll with a cavalcade of federal MPs heading west in anticipation of the federal election.

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was in town to announce a promise to fast-track approval of the North West Shelf decision, while today federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen stood in front of the Kwinana big battery alongside WA Premier Roger Cook for three major announcements.

The first was the announcement of four successful tenders for big batteries in Boddington, Merredin, Muchea and Waroona that will collectively have the stored electricity to power 600,000 homes on the south-west energy grid for four hours from October 2027.

The batteries were successful bidders under the Commonwealth’s Capacity Investment Scheme, which underwrites the bidders’ revenue from the projects once operational.

Bowen also announced $814 million was awarded to Danish investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to build a 1500-megawatt green hydrogen project in the Murchison.

The project is the first to get money from the $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart fund established in 2023. It will produce 900,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually.

“To put it in context, at the moment, around the world, there are 100,000 tons a year of green hydrogen being produced,” Bowen said.

Some breaking news in Scarborough now, where it appears a police pursuit has come to an end on the sandy shores of one of Perth’s most famous beaches.

9News Perth’s Sarah Smith has been tracking the pursuit, which wound through the city’s north on Thursday morning.

Photos from the scene show a white Toyota Prado on the sand at the water’s edge, with apparent damage to one of its rear wheels.

Meanwhile, a TikToker has captured the scene, asking her followers for information after “I nearly got ran over by a cop car because there were about 8 coming from all directions running onto the beach”.

Details are still scant, but a WA Police spokesman said a person was assisting officers with their inquiries.

We’ll bring you more on this story as it comes in.

To some Australian Bureau of Statistics unemployment figures released today, and WA is leading the pack with unemployment falling 0.2 percentage points to 3.4 per cent in February.

Nationally, unemployment remained steady at 4.1 per cent, weaker than economists had been expecting, as fewer older people returned to work in February.

The number of employed people fell by nearly 53,000, well under expectations for a gain of about 30,000, with ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis saying there were lower levels of employment in older age groups compared to the same time last year.

“In contrast, we continue to see growth in employment for people aged between 15 and 54 over the year,” he said, noting employment was still more than 260,000 people higher than in February 2024.

The rate of underemployment – those holding down a job but wanting to work more hours – fell 0.1 percentage points to 5.9 per cent and continues to sit considerably lower than in March 2020. Meanwhile, hours worked fell by 0.4 per cent in February, in line with the fall in employment.

Full-time employment rose by 6400 people, and part-time employment climbed by 8800.

Victoria’s unemployment rate was unchanged but the highest of the states at 4.6 per cent, followed by NSW (4.1 per cent) and Queensland (4.1 per cent).

WA Police are on the hunt for a flash muscle car used in a ram raid on a Jandakot scooter shop earlier this month.

CCTV released by police shows the red Ford Mustang Coupe – complete with double white racing stripes down the middle – repeatedly reversing into the front of the shop, causing extensive damage to both the car and the shop’s roller door and window.

The raid happened in the early hours of Sunday, March 2, and the crooks took off with an e-scooter from the shop, which was found abandoned in a car park nearby.

Police are still hunting for the car at the centre of the robbery, which was described as a newer-model Mustang.

A quick check online prices a 5L Ford Mustang around the $80,000-$95,000 mark, depending on the accessories included – such as racing stripes.

Anyone who has information about the incident or knows the identity of the driver is urged to contact crime stoppers on 1800 333 000, or make a report online.

Western Australia’s population has grown 2.5 per cent over the past year, despite national population growth falling to its slowest rate in two years as net overseas migration continues to ease.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the population grew by 1.8 per cent in the 12 months to September last year.

Western Australia’s official population at the end of that period was just short of 3 million, according to the ABS.

The country added 484,000 residents over that period, the smallest number and the slowest growth rate since the September quarter of 2022.

The slowdown was caused by a slowdown in net overseas migrants which added 89,806 people to the country. It was the smallest September quarter result since 2021, when the country still had travel restrictions in place, and was 38 per cent down year-on-year.

Natural population growth – births minus deaths – added 25,211 people in the quarter.

Deaths, traditionally high in the September quarter, increased to 51,600, the second-highest quarter on record.

Victoria’s population growth slowed to 2.1 per cent with the state now home to more than 7 million people for the first time.

NSW’s population went through 8.5 million with its growth rate easing to 1.4 per cent, while Queensland’s population is now 5.6 million.

The Malaysian government has officially approved the renewed search for missing airliner MH370, which began off the West Australian coast last month.

Ocean Infinity, which has sent its ship Armada to the suspected crash zone more than 1500 kilometres west of Perth, would receive $70 million if the wreckage is located, Malaysian Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook said.

“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers,” Loke said in a statement.

The government in December said it had agreed in principle with Ocean Infinity’s proposal to resume the hunt for MH370. The firm had conducted the last search for the plane that ended in 2018 but failed on two attempts.

Those followed an underwater search by Malaysia, Australia and China in a 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq mile) area of the southern Indian Ocean, based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.

The Armada was deployed to its Indian Ocean search zone late last month, even though a deal had yet to be signed with the government.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in 2014 in what would become one of the world’s greatest – and most deadly – aviation mysteries, with only a handful of debris linked to the plane after satellite data tracked it to the southern Indian Ocean.

The Boeing 777 was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew – including six Australians and Perth father Paul Weeks – when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Last month, aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas said the fresh search utilised “a new revolutionary tracking system using amateur radio waves”.

“The likelihood is extremely high that we’ll find it,” Thomas said.

The Malaysian government’s agreement now means Ocean Infinity is clear to search the new location, estimated to cover about 15,000 square kilometres.

with Reuters

A 32-year-old Ellenbrook man will face court charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and dangerous driving after allegedly crashing into a house on Wednesday afternoon.

Police were called to the property on Brookmount Drive in Ellenbrook about 5.30pm after the Toyota Camry, which was turning southbound onto Parham Avenue, crashed through the side fence.

Photos from the scene show the car went through the brick fence and crashed into a window on the side of the house, causing extensive damage.

9News Perth reporter Sarah Smith is on the scene this morning, where she reported the house’s elderly resident had just finished making sausage rolls and was sitting down to dinner when the car smashed into the house, pushing the chair she was sitting in across the room. Luckily, she escaped uninjured.

Nearby resident Joe Natoli told 9News Perth he heard screeching tires and the car hit the curb with such force it was “launched” into the house.

The 32-year-old driver also escaped uninjured. However, a WA Police spokeswoman said he would be charged by summons with driving under the influence of alcohol; dangerous driving; and no authority to drive.

The Ellenbrook man well appear in court at a later date.

Another fine day, top of 27 degrees following a chilly overnight low of 14 degrees.

Good morning readers, and welcome to our live news blog for Thursday, March 20.

Making headlines today is a “sudden” change at WA schools that has parents concerned.

Many parents were told at the start of the 2025 school year their children would no longer require a “documented plan” – an umbrella term used to describe ways of catering to the educational needs of students through individualised programs.

The changes were made after the State School Teachers’ Union WA’s latest enterprise bargaining agreement clarified seven specific disability categories where documented plans were required.

Perth parent Sophie said she had taken her young son – who has dyslexia and was listed as being “at educational risk” – out of her local public school and moved him to a nearby Catholic school for the start of year 2.

Holly Thompson has the full story. You can read all about it here.

Meanwhile, in case you missed it yesterday afternoon, a Halls Head mother will spend the next two months behind bars after a magistrate jailed her over the deaths of her twin daughters in a car crash last February deemed “unquestionably serious”.

Rachel Van Oyen, 32, was travelling on Great Eastern Highway in Carrabin when her Toyota Camry sedan veered off the road and crashed into a tree.

Read the full story here.

Thank you for joining us this morning. Stay tuned as we bring you all the news you need to know.