Follow our live coverage here.
Follow our live coverage here.
Sticking with the CEDA breakfast, where WA Premier Roger Cook has just railed against what he called “misinformation” surrounding the LNG sector.
The premier said the state needed to have a more “sophisticated conversation” around the importance of gas in helping trading partners like Japan to decarbonise their economies by moving away from coal.
“If we are to see further investment in our LNG sector, we will need to work together to counter the misinformation put forward by some, many of it from a well-meaning place, all of it from a misinterpretation of that data that’s sitting in front of all us” he said.
“If we’re to realise the economic and environmental benefits from helping our major trading partners to transition over the long term, we need to fight for them now.
“And we will need a ‘Team WA’ approach to do this. One where industry consistently tells the story of how LNG is contributing to the decarbonisation efforts of the countries that it sells into.”
Cook’s comments came as a small group of climate protesters gathered outside the Westin Hotel where the breakfast is being held this morning.
The event is sponsored by gas players Woodside, BP, ATCO, Australian Gas Infrastructure Group and Horizon Power.
Cook also said the social licence of WA’s gas sector is underpinned by the state’s longstanding gas reservation policy.
More than 20,000 people have flocked to the WA Museum in the opening week of its exhibition of the Shaanxi terracotta warriors, according to government figures.
The exhibition – Terracotta Warriors: Legacy of the First Emperor – features 225 objects loaned from Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Site Museum and from 17 other museums across China.
Among the displays is 10 clay army figures: eight warriors, a seated attendant and a saddled horse.
Museum director Alec Coles told WAtoday last month that the exhibition was the largest of its kind outside China, with objects on display spanning a 1000-year period.
“Nearly three quarters of the objects have never been seen in Australia and we’re told almost half have never before left China,” he said.
Creative Industries Minister Simone McGurk on Thursday said the exhibition had far-reaching impacts for WA’s tourism and hospitality industries as interstate visitors travelled west to see the warriors.
“Exhibitions like this show that Western Australia can stage blockbuster exhibitions and offers something for everyone,” she said.
The government expects about 180,000 people – including more than 60,000 from interstate and overseas – will visit the exhibition over the 7½ months it is open.
Sticking with the CEDA breakfast, where WA Premier Roger Cook has just railed against what he called “misinformation” surrounding the LNG sector.
The premier said the state needed to have a more “sophisticated conversation” around the importance of gas in helping trading partners like Japan to decarbonise their economies by moving away from coal.
“If we are to see further investment in our LNG sector, we will need to work together to counter the misinformation put forward by some, many of it from a well-meaning place, all of it from a misinterpretation of that data that’s sitting in front of all us” he said.
“If we’re to realise the economic and environmental benefits from helping our major trading partners to transition over the long term, we need to fight for them now.
“And we will need a ‘Team WA’ approach to do this. One where industry consistently tells the story of how LNG is contributing to the decarbonisation efforts of the countries that it sells into.”
Cook’s comments came as a small group of climate protesters gathered outside the Westin Hotel where the breakfast is being held this morning.
The event is sponsored by gas players Woodside, BP, ATCO, Australian Gas Infrastructure Group and Horizon Power.
Cook also said the social licence of WA’s gas sector is underpinned by the state’s longstanding gas reservation policy.
To politics now, and WAtoday is at the CEDA’s energy transition breakfast this morning, where the WA Premier Roger Cook is the keynote speaker.
Cook has been espousing the merits of the changes his government made to environmental laws over the past two years in the effort to build new renewable energy projects across the state.
He has also made some of his strongest comments to date over the state’s planned exit from coal-fired electricity generation.
“There have been some tired arguments from some cynics that we won’t have enough generation to replace coal,” he said.
“But let me put it on the record – they are wrong. Over the next two years, more than 1.2 gigawatts of new energy generation and storage will enter the market.
“Then, in the final three years of the decade, we have identified a pipeline of credible and prospective energy generation projects that add up to around 8.5 gigawatts.
“That’s nearly 10 gigawatts in the pipeline.
“Enough to meet what our own modelling and what the independent market operator says will be required to replace coal and support the strongest economy in the nation, as well as the fastest growing population in the nation.”
A 57-year-old woman has died in hospital after being found with what police described as “critical injuries” in Albany on Wednesday night.
Investigators remain at the scene at Hardie Road in Spence Park this morning after emergency services were called about 8pm Wednesday, arriving to find the severely injured woman on the road.
She was given emergency first aid and taken to Albany Health Campus, but died a short time later.
Major crash investigators are probing whether the woman may have been hit by a vehicle, however police are still working to figure out exactly how she came to be injured so severely.
Anyone with information, dash-cam, mobile phone or CCTV footage, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or make a report online.
WorkSafe is in the final stages of a long-running investigation into the City of Nedlands over alleged staff misconduct, coinciding with a tumultuous week when the entire “dysfunctional” council was sacked.
WAtoday and 9News Perth can reveal more than 70 staff have quit in the last 18 months, prompting the workplace watchdog to scrutinise the besieged council for claims of inappropriate workplace behaviour.
One recently departed staff member, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said some of the claims related to bullying and harassment in the office.
A WorkSafe spokesperson could only confirm the investigation was open, saying it was launched after the “inspector [was] completing compliance checks relating to safe systems of work”.
Its inquiries have been under way since at least January, and 9News Perth reported on Wednesday the investigation would be completed within weeks.
The City of Nedlands was contacted for comment but did not respond.
It comes as sacked Mayor Fiona Argyle defiantly took to social media, a day after a baffling tirade where she claimed everyone loved dying children.
“All the cool girls get fired”, Argyle posted to Instagram from her overseas location, in a reference to a self-help book.
The mayor was one of five councillors sacked by the state government, after another four resigned on Monday.
A council meeting set to be held on Tuesday night was rescheduled, while one planned for next week is expected to be cancelled. Three commissioners will soon be installed to take over the council until elections in October.
Here’s what’s making headlines elsewhere today:
Good morning readers and welcome to our live news blog for Thursday, July 10.
Making headlines today is grim news for renters in our state, with revelations that Perth is tied for the second-most expensive capital city nationally to rent in for the first time on record.
The Domain Rent Report reveals median rents in the western capital have hit $700 a week.
Perth is tied with Canberra for the milestone, with only Sydney remaining higher at and median of $780 per week.
Holly Thompson has the full story. You can read it here.
Meanwhile, a Russian-born Australian soldier accused of spying for Russia worked for a company that boasted of its access to “government buildings” in WA.
Kira Korolev, 41, and her husband Igor Korolev, 63, were charged in Brisbane last year with preparing to carry out an act of espionage.
Ms Korolev, 40, was an intelligence officer with the Australian Defence Force, and Mr Korolev, 62, was a self-employed labourer.
WA Police documents have previously revealed both were registered security officers in WA years before their arrest – a process that requires either a WA or overseas police clearance.
Ms Korolev also allegedly worked for a cleaning company based in Perth before moving interstate.
Hannah Murphy has the full story here.
Thank you for joining us this morning. Stay tuned as we bring you all the news you need to know.