Follow our live coverage here.
Follow our live coverage here.
Back to the election campaign, and we have some footage of Libby Mettam’s press conference in Byford earlier today which turned very awkward after Liberal candidate for Darling Range Paul Mansfield was shown a series of old Facebook posts he had made.
The posts, made around 2014, included a joke about gay sex and one where he shared an article about a Brazilian winner of the Miss Bum Bum contest captioned: discipline, devotion and sacrafice [sic].
Mansfield deleted his Facebook shortly after the press conference.
See the vision below.
And in other news, retail giant Vicinity Centres has revealed it plans to begin the long-awaited $350 million revamp of Morley Galleria in the coming months just days after being lambasted over delays.
In a presentation to the market, the company confirmed it intended to commence initial construction in the third quarter of FY25 and move to full site mobilisation by year’s end.
The redevelopment — first floated in 2013 — was thrust into the headlines last week, when City of Bayswater mayor Filomena Piffaretti attempted to use an amendment the company had sought to its 2016 approval to strongarm it into beginning works.
The long-awaited project spearheaded by Vicinity and Perron Investments has evolved significantly over the past decade, including being scaled back and officially deferred in 2019 before being amended again in 2021.
In that time almost a dozen retailers have vacated the centre, prompting calls to action from the community, the City of Bayswater council and the state government.
The situation reached fever pitch in December, with the centre’s owners being handed a 6000-signature petition by Morley MLA Amber-Jade Sanderson demanding they sell up or begin the overhaul it promised eight years ago.
During the planning meeting, the proponent’s representative maintained the owners remained committed to the project but had “significant issues” with the mandating of construction deadlines.
Returning to an exclusive story our political reporter Hamish Hastie brought you this morning on Liberal candidate for the Kimberley Darren Spackman describing a break-in at his pub as a “welcome to country” in a social media post in 2022.
Liberal leader Libby Mettam was asked about her candidate during a press conference this morning and said she had not spoken to Spackman but continued to back him.
“That was a poor choice of words, but he was expressing the frustration that he has seen during Roger Cook’s crime crisis, which has really hit the Kimberley, like many other regions across the state,” she said.
“He is a strong advocate for his community and for ensuring that we have better supports in place in terms of addressing crime as a key issue, ensuring we fix our hospital system and as well as cost of living pressures right across the state.”
Cook responded by saying the language was “disgusting and regrettable” before turning his attention to Mettam.
“What I’d like to see is the leader of the Liberal Party, Libby Mettam … be accountable in relation to the activities and the attitudes of her candidates,” he said.
“Quite frankly, this mob are a rabble. They’re dysfunctional. They’re chaotic, and they represent a risk to WA.”
Turning to some breaking business news now, and the billionaires behind the Wright Prospecting empire have entered into a $US5.3 billion deal to sell the bulk of their stake in Rio Tinto’s Rhodes Ridge iron ore project to Japanese trading giant Mitsui.
In a statement released to the market today, Rio Tinto revealed Mitsui & Co had entered into agreements to acquire 40 per cent of the interests held by the descendants of Lang Hancock’s former business partner Peter Wright.
They retain their stake via Wright Prospecting shareholders VOC Group and AMB Holdings – entities controlled by Wright’s daughter Angela Bennett and granddaughters Alexandra Burt and Leonie Baldock.
Under the deal, Mitsui & Co has agreed to acquire all of VOC Group Limited’s 25 per cent interest in the joint venture, with a further 15 per cent from AMB Holdings.
Rio Tinto’s 50 per cent interest in the joint venture remains unchanged, with the Wright family to retain a 10 per cent stake.
The transactions are subject to regulatory approvals.
In a statement released to WAtoday, an AMB Holdings spokesperson said the company was delighted to bring Mitsui in as a partner to develop the project.
“Mitsui’s interest in Rhodes Ridge is testament to the high-quality nature of this development and the opportunity it brings,” the spokesperson said.
“Importantly, there is strong alignment between Mitsui, Rio Tinto and AMB with our shared commitment to the protection of environmental, cultural and biodiversity value during the development and operations of Rhodes Ridge, and we are excited about the potential for green mining for the future.”
It comes as the company continues to progress a pre-feasibility study on the development of the iron ore deposit, situated 40 kilometres north-west of Newman in the state’s Pilbara region, where first ore is expected by 2030.
Wright Prospecting’s shareholders netted more than $260 million in dividends last financial year courtesy of lucrative royalty agreements the company holds over swathes of Western Australia’s iron ore-rich Pilbara region.
The Commonwealth has blamed the WA government’s late submission of paperwork for delays in the federal environment assessment of the $30 billion North West Shelf extension project.
The Cook government approved the Woodside proposal to extend the life of its North West Shelf facilities for another 50 years in December after a six-year process.
The process was then transferred to the Commonwealth and environment minister Tanya Plibersek’s office said it had been requesting documents from the WA government which were only received earlier this month.
“The department now requires reasonable time to assess the project in accordance with Australia’s national environment laws,” a spokeswoman for Plibersek said.
“The Australian government’s energy experts have advised that the time needed to complete the standard federal assessment process will have no impact on gas supply or prices.”
The delay could put the decision on the project, which is vehemently opposed by environmental groups over its impact on Australia’s emissions, beyond both the March state election and the federal election.
Premier Roger Cook said he had not been briefed on the claims by Plibersek’s office but said if the decision was delayed by a few weeks it would not matter.
“If this is a delay of just a few, a handful of weeks, well I’m sure that won’t actually inconvenience everyone that greatly,” he said.
WA Senator Michaelia Cash said the delay was a “total joke”.
“Minister Plibersek has a history of rejecting viable projects for dubious reasons. It appears the unnecessary delay to this project is about gaining Greens and Teals preferences for the upcoming federal election,” she said.
An additional seven construction-related TAFE courses will be made free by the Labor government if re-elected, under a $58 million promise to boost Perth’s housing stock.
WA Premier Roger Cook announced the pledge this morning, with the new free courses to include Certificate III in civil construction, plumbing, brick laying and plastering. They will join 130 TAFE courses already free under a state government program.
Master Builders chief executive Matthew Pollock said he strongly supported the measure to rebuild the state’s construction workforce.
“We need to attract and train an additional 50,000 construction workers by the end of calendar year 2027 to meet the demand for new housing, schools, roads and hospitals,” he said.
Cook also announced an expansion to an existing wage subsidy program for apprentices, promising to fund an extra 225 jobs if re-elected.
In business news, beleaguered Mineral Resources boss Chris Ellison has vowed to retain his shareholding after he vacates the top job as part of a governance overhaul sparked by an offshore tax scandal.
During an analyst call held this morning, the mining boss was probed about whether he had discussed remaining with the miner in any capacity after his planned departure later this year.
“I’d like to think somewhere down the track I can get a bit of time to go and do some different things,” he said.
“Look, I’ll always be obviously supportive of MinRes and my intention is to retain my shareholding once we do the transition.
“I believe strongly in this business. I love it. I started it in my lounge room, and I’ve said openly that I’m available to the board to support this business in whatever way necessary going forward.”
Later, Ellison clarified that he believed any decision about his future capacity in the business should be made by the incoming chair.
“I don’t think I’d be a very good ex-managing director. I’d want to get into the weeds too much.”
The Osborne Park-headquartered miner embarked on a governance overhaul in November amid shock revelations by the Australian Financial Review that Ellison and four other executives had profited from an alleged offshore tax scheme that ran for a decade.
The revenue generated by the overseas entities benefiting was not disclosed to the Australian Taxation Office until 2021 when Ellison made a voluntary disclosure.
Ellison, the largest shareholder with an 11.5 per cent stake in the $7 billion company, was ordered to repay the $3.8 million in funds owed, forfeit up to $9.6 million in bonuses and donate $5 million to charity before stepping down.
The comments come after the company unveiled its half-year results last night, posting a loss of $807 million amid lower commodity prices and extreme weather events.
The news has sent the share price plummeting more than 20 per cent to $24.18.
To breaking news now and Perth obstetrician Rhys Bellinge will soon be behind bars after being refused bail this morning in Perth Magistrate’s Court.
The doctor is accused of losing control of his Jaguar on Saturday night, causing him to clip the curb and crash into an Uber car on the opposite side of the road, killing passenger Elizabeth Pearce, 24, and critically injuring the driver.
The 45-year-old was allegedly drunk and speeding 130km/h in a 50 zone when the crash occurred on Birdwood Parade in Dalkeith.
Dashcam footage from his vehicle allegedly reveals he was angrily ranting about his wife in the moments before the crash, and in the weeks leading up to it, following their separation a month earlier.
Police prosecutors opposed bail, alleging there was evidence of him repeatedly driving dangerously, and that they held concerns for his wife.
His lawyer, Tony Hager, said Bellinge was in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital with a spinal injury, and would not be able to receive appropriate care if bail was denied, and he was taken into custody.
Hager said Bellinge’s family – one of the richest in Perth – could put up $1 million surety for his release if he was allowed to reside in his father’s riverside mansion, “effectively on house arrest” while the matter proceeded through the courts.
He is facing one count of manslaughter and another count of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
Perth Magistrate Clare Cullen, in considering bail this morning, said the main issues were whether the offending was too serious, whether Bellinge was a flight risk, and whether he was a risk to the community.
She said she was concerned by Bellinge’s willingness to engage in “reckless and dangerous conduct when faced with emotional upset” and his “aggression to the world at large”.
“Having viewed the footage … I am of the view that a grant of bail would be inappropriate,” she said.
“Over the period of February, there appears to be some evidence of a willingness to offend and act in a reckless manner when emotionally upset. I am not satisfied that I can make a finding that you would not commit further offences in the community.”
The police prosecutor also argued Bellinge is facing a significant term of imprisonment if convicted.
“The seriousness of this cannot be understated … the fact that he was going to kill someone was inevitable,” she said.
Bellinge could be heard crying on his bedside hearing audio link when his bail was refused.
In a glimmer of hope for tenants, new figures show that for the first time since the pandemic Perth’s rental vacancy rate has hit 2 per cent, but remains well below what is considered a balanced market.
REIWA chief executive Cath Hart said the vacancy rate is a reflection of demand and supply, and these factors have been changing over the past six months.
“Demand has been self-moderating. We’ve seen an increase in the size of tenant households, and people choosing to buy over renting or choosing to remain in, or return to, the family home to avoid the rental roundabout,” she said.
“We’ve also seen completed investor new builds come to the market and boost supply. In addition, some tenants finally had their new homes completed and moved out of their rental, which freed up some existing supply.”
But Hart warned while the overall vacancy rate was rising, conditions varied across Perth.
“Anecdotally, some suburbs, such as those closer to the city, are experiencing strong demand and the vacancy rate remains low,” she said.
“In those areas where a lot of new builds have become available in the past few months, vacancies are taking longer to fill.”
REIWA considers a balanced market to have a vacancy rate between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent. The last time it was 2.5 per cent was September 2019.
It predicts if current trends continue, Perth’s vacancy rate could reach equilibrium by mid-2025.
To overnight news now, and four men who arranged to meet in a Highgate alleyway overnight have been involved in an altercation.
A 38-year-old and 39-year-old arrived at Harold Street around 7pm to meet two other men, however shortly afterwards a fight broke out.
The younger man was stabbed in the face and chest, while the older man was punched several times before the offenders fled the scene.
The 38-year-old man was conveyed to Royal Perth Hospital with non- life-threatening injuries.
Police inquiries are continuing.
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