Follow our live coverage here.
Follow our live coverage here.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch has revealed how it was an Instagram post allegedly made by a 16-year-old Bunbury boy, threatening to “Christchurch 2.0” a Sydney mosque that led to him being arrested and charged overnight.
Speaking with Nadia Mitsopoulos this morning on ABC Perth, Blanch said the mosque made a complaint to NSW Police about the social media post who then traced it back to a computer in Bunbury.
WA Police then searched the home and arrested the boy, Blanch said.
He added that the investigation was “yet to determine” whether the boy had been radicalised or not but stated that there was “no way he could carry out that threat” and that there was no ongoing threat to the Islamic community.
Blanch also said the boy’s parents were “horrified”.
“They’re fully cooperative with police,” he said.
“I think they are just sitting there wondering, how did this happen to us? And again, the messaging for parents out there – and it’s difficult parenting at the best of times, but be plugged into your children’s activities online because if they go down this pathway, having people in blue, and in this case, probably people in black, turn up to your house and come through the front door is a nightmare that no one wants.”
To Saturday’s upcoming state election now, and nearly one fifth of West Australians have already placed their vote.
It’s anticipated up to half of eligible voters will head to a pre-polling station before the weekend, with 317,000 out of 1.86 million having already done so, according to this morning’s updated figures by the WA Electoral Commission.
Experts are tipping a comfortable win for Labor, which holds 53 seats of 59 seats in the lower house with the Liberals and Nationals holding three each after Labor’s unprecedented landslide victory in 2021.
Its massive majority is likely to shrink, however, with the Liberals expected to win back about 10 lost seats.
Labor could also lose control of the upper house.
More than 5000 Perth homes remain without power this morning following a series of pole top fires yesterday that plunged 40,000 homes into darkness.
Western Power, in a statement, said people were most affected in Beechboro, Hocking, Thornlie and Balcatta.
“There were 63 incidents in the Perth metro area yesterday impacting 40,000 customers at the peak,” it said.
“We appreciate the inconvenience and frustration outages cause, please be assured we are continuing to work as quickly as possible and thank the community for their patience.
“The outages resulted from pole damage due to light, drizzly weather causing pole top fires. Our crews priority is making the network safe and preventing potential additional damage. Once hazards are made safe, we began isolating damaged parts of the network and backfeeding where possible to restore power.”
The last of impacted homes and businesses are expected to be back online by later this afternoon.
Returning to our story about a 16-year-old WA boy being arrested over alleged mass shooting threats against a Sydney mosque.
The teen has just been charged with creating false apprehension to the existence of threats or danger. He was bailed by police and is due to appear in Bunbury Children’s Court on April 4.
“There is no ongoing threat to the community,” the AFP said.
Last year, Police Minister Paul Papalia revealed there were nine West Australians participating in a federally funded deradicalisation program, including five juveniles.
One of the juveniles was shot dead by police in May after stabbing a stranger in a car park and lunging at police.
It is not known who the other young people in the program are.
A trio of Chinese warships has passed Perth and is now off the coast of Kalbarri in WA’s north.
The vessels tracked past Garden Island, Australia’s largest naval base, near Rockingham yesterday afternoon.
The base will be the home of the AUKUS nuclear submarines, and right now has a US nuclear submarine visiting for a training program.
The Chinese warships have almost finished their lap of Australia after making headlines last week when they conducted a live fire exercise in the Tasman Sea off New South Wales.
The vessels are in international waters and are being tracked by Australian authorities.
In a statement, Defence said the People’s Liberation Army-Navy Task Group 107, comprised of a Jiangkai-class frigate, a Renhai-class Cruiser, and a Fuchi-class replenishment vessel, is operating 300 nautical miles (556 kilometres) north-west of Perth.
“Defence continues to monitor the task group while it remains in the vicinity of Australia’s maritime approaches,” it said.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after a western Sydney mosque was allegedly targeted with threats of a mass shooting referring to the Christchurch massacre, sparking a major police investigation.
A social media user allegedly threatened to “christ church 2.0” the newly opened Australian Islamic House Masjid in Edmondson Park. The mosque contacted police on Tuesday after finding the post left on its Instagram page.
Following a referral from the New South Wales Police Force to the Western Australia Police Force, a 16-year-old boy was arrested at Eaton, in south-west Western Australia, NSW Police said last night.
“He is currently assisting police with inquiries. There are no ongoing threats to the community.”
Here’s what you need to know as we get into what’s sure to be a busy news day.
Summer may technically be over, but we’ve got a warm, sunny day ahead with a top of 34 degrees.
Good morning readers, and welcome to our live news blog for Wednesday, March 5.
Well, we’re only days away from the state election and the tension is palpable. At least in the WAtoday newsroom.
But the average reader may still be unsure of what, exactly, has changed in WA since Labor took power in 2017.
And chief among the issues WA voters are interested in is the housing crisis looming over the state.
So, what do the numbers tells us about the state of the housing and rental market today compared to 2017?
Sarah Brookes has pulled together and pored over the data. You can read her report here.
And political reporter Hamish Hastie has this feature article on our premier, Roger Cook, with the two sitting down to enjoy a meal together in the lead up to Saturday’s election.
Meanwhile in culture news, are you keen for a bit of live theatre? If so, make your way to the State Theatre Centre post-haste for the Black Swan/Belvoir Street co-production of August: Osage County.
Mark Naglazas says the play is “the absolute highlight of this year’s Perth Festival”.
“Anyone who craves great theatre should not miss it.”
High praise indeed. You can read Mark’s full review of the Tracy Letts classic here.
Thank you for joining us today readers, stay tuned as we bring you more news you need to know.