Follow our live coverage here.
Follow our live coverage here.
Barry Cable, former WA football legend, has won his bid to have his child sex abuse trial heard by a judge only, instead of a jury.
Cable, 81, is alleged to have sexually abused a young girl in the 1960s.
He was charged by police last May with seven offences dating back to 1967, including five counts of indecent dealing with a girl under 13 and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 13 years.
Police said the girl was aged between nine and 10 years old at the time.
Cable pleaded not guilty to the allegations at his first appearance in Perth Magistrates Court, paving the way for a trial.
Yesterday his legal team argued in defence of a judge only trial, claiming he would not get a fair hearing of his matter in front of a jury due to his high-profile and media coverage.
Today, that request was granted.
To more crime news now and two people who were driving recklessly in Kalgoorlie this week have been arrested and charged – one who allegedly tried to mow down a police officer in an ATV while they were arresting the other.
Around 8am, WA Police spotted a stolen white Toyota Landcruiser – towing a trailer with a small crane – travelling recklessly through bushland areas in Karlkurla.
An hour later police intercepted the Landcruiser, which was no longer towing the trailer, and arrested a 19-year-old woman.
During the arrest, a Polaris ATV being driven by a 29-year-old man was directed to stop by police.
The man allegedly refused and instead drove the ATV directly at the officer who was arresting the woman, who was forced to take evasive action.
He and the woman were not injured, and the 29-year-old accelerated away from police.
About 10.20am, police located the ATV in a laneway in West Lamington, where the driver allegedly drove the ATV at speed directly towards police.
The ATV rolled and caused significant damage to the police vehicle, with two officers inside. Neither were injured.
They exited the vehicle and quickly arrested the man, who was allegedly in possession of methylamphetamine.
A search warrant at a nearby residence revealed a stolen trailer and a Bobcat, alongside hazardous material (mercury) and a paintball gun.
Goldfields-Esperance District acting inspector Shayne Knox said it was reckless behaviour which could have caused “catastrophic outcomes” for the public and officers involved.
In case you missed the wash-up from Thursday’s AFL draft, West Coast’s mid-season reinforcements could be thrust into action in the coming weeks and they’re also being encouraged to let loose on the waves in Perth.
The Eagles used pick No.1 in the mid-season rookie draft to snare late bloomer Tom McCarthy, who was playing division-two football for Highett in the Southern Football Netball League before joining Richmond’s VFL program last year.
West Coast were initially planning on having only one pick in the draft, but Jake Waterman’s season-ending shoulder injury meant they were able to add South Australian Jacob Newton as well.
McCarthy will line up for West Coast’s WAFL side this Saturday and a strong performance there could land him a senior call-up as early as next week.
Newton is nursing a minor quad injury that will keep him out of action this week, but there’s hope he will be able to replenish West Coast’s battered stocks in the near future.
The Eagles have been hit hard by injuries recently.
Jeremy McGovern’s career could be over due to concussion, Waterman will undergo season-ending surgery this week while Jamie Cripps (knee) and Matt Owies (calf) will be sidelined for at least three more weeks.
Star midfielder Elliot Yeo, who is yet to play this season due to a serious ankle injury that required surgery, is still 5-6 weeks away from resuming, while Dom Sheed suffered a season-ending knee injury during the summer.
Newton loves surfing – a sport that comes with huge risks for professional athletes.
But McQualter doesn’t want his players to live in a bubble and is encouraging Newton – or anyone else for that matter – to jump on a surfboard.
“We encourage that, it’s good,” McQualter said.
“I was speaking to Crippa yesterday, he told me he used to surf a lot when he was younger, and it was the fittest he’d ever been.
“So we might have to get a few more of our boys to start surfing.”
West Coast were interested in snaring Newton during last year’s national draft, but they decided against it after the 18-year-old was struck down by a foot injury.
McQualter is flagging a role up forward for Newton with a possible move into the midfield down the track.
West Coast (1-10) are back in action on Sunday when they host Geelong.
AAP
The WACA redevelopment has been hit with another $15 million cost blowout that will be picked up by the state, taking the total of the project to $182.5 million and the state’s contribution to $105 million.
The extra money, described as “post-construction costs” will be included in the upcoming state budget.
It is the latest escalation in building costs that have plagued many state government projects since COVID-19.
Construction of the redevelopment reached its highest point on Friday and lead contractor ADCO said it believed the facility would be open by November this year.
The redevelopment includes new high-performance cricket training facilities, a community pool with waterslides, gym, cafe, playground and new cricket museum.
The federal government tipped in $30 million for the project, while the City of Perth is spending $25 million and the WACA has raised $14.5 million.
Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said the project would be an incredible hub for East Perth.
“You’re looking at what is a reinvigorated East Perth. You’re looking at the Boorloo Bridge, which is just incredible just a few 100 meters away, you’re looking at new apartments being built, and you’re looking at a whole new community hub,” she said.
The project has been the cause for controversy and was one of the earliest issues that Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas locked horns with the government on when he was City of Perth Mayor.
Zempilas managed to avoid the City of Perth taking on any ongoing maintenance and operational costs for the aquatic centre and only pay for its construction.
The state government will underwrite the aquatic centre and Saffioti revealed the reason the huge slides and gym were included in the redevelopment were to help the centre break even.
“One of the reasons the slides have been included to make sure it has the best opportunity to break even over time,” she said.
“The lessons we have learned is having things like slides brings family in and also the gymnasium.”
A man who fled to New Zealand from Perth nine years ago after allegedly attacking people with meat cleaver, and then proceeded to taunt detectives by calling and telling them “catch me if you can”, has finally been arrested.
The now 26-year-old man was extradited from Auckland on Thursday night.
In September 2016, he allegedly entered a fast food outlet along Walter Road East in Morley around 11.50pm, armed with a large meat cleaver.
He then allegedly threatened the two staff members with the meat cleaver, demanding money, and was given a sum of cash before fleeing the area in a Honda CRV station wagon.
During the armed robbery, the staff members received lacerations allegedly from the meat cleaver, which required medical treatment.
Detectives from the Regional Investigations Unit spoke to the then 18-year-old, and a day later he boarded a flight to Auckland.
He allegedly continued to taunt investigating detectives, phoning them from New Zealand and saying, “catch me if you can”.
Well, they finally did.
He has been charged with armed robbery over the attack and will appear in court today.
He also has an outstanding return to prison warrant for charges of aggravated armed robbery, armed robbery, attempted aggravated armed robbery and assault occasioning bodily harm, which relate to incidents that occurred in 2014 and 2015.
The accolades keep on coming for Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, who last night was crowned Western Australian of the Year.
Pickett was also crowned WA Senior Australian of the Year for 2025 earlier this year for his nearly 30 years of work with his charity Wheelchair for Kids Australia.
Since 1996 Pickett, a former metalwork teacher, has been making wheelchairs for children in developing countries free of charge.
Since then, he and his team of volunteers have built more than 61,000 wheelchairs for children all over the world.
Pickett also won the community award.
A full list of the winners in other categories can be seen below:
Aboriginal Award: Dr Mara West
Arts and Culture Award: Lucy Durack
Business Award: Nigel Satterley
Professions Award: Sue Fletcher
Sport Award: Nina Kennedy
Youth Award: Kennedy Lay
Former Labor senator for Western Australia Pat Dodson has urged Environment Minister Murray Watt to go and meet Aboriginal people from the area around Murujuga National Park, after he gave preliminary approval to Woodside Energy’s bid to extend the life of its North West Shelf project.
The approval gives the project – a vast network of offshore oil and gas infrastructure and the onshore gas processing hub in Karratha – permission to operate until 2070.
“I would get in contact with the minister and encourage him to go up there and sit down with those people, with the Aboriginal people from that area, and talk to them, and listen to them,” Dodson told the ABC’s Radio National breakfast program.
“And they’ll understand that it’s not just the Woodside complex, but there’s an ammonium plant that’s being constructed as well, which is closer to the rock art that’s there, and to listen to them, I’m sure he’d be prepared to do that.
“It’s one thing to be bound by the decision-making processes, but it’s another thing to go and talk to people and let them know that you are taking on board what their concerns are.
“I’m not across the detail, but I do know from the past that the emissions that were coming out of the boats coming into that port [were] part of the cause for the acid rain that was coming down and affecting those petroglyphs.”
Traditional owners describe Murujuga as a living library, which – for those who know how to read the petroglyphs – tells stories about earthly and spiritual realms, men’s and women’s business, and even how to butcher a kangaroo.
Western Force and former Wallabies lock Sam Carter has decided to hang up the boots on a decorated 14-year career.
Carter, 35, informed his Force teammates of his decision before last weekend’s game against the NSW Waratahs.
He will play his last game at Optus Stadium next month against the British and Irish Lions.
Carter calls time following a career that earned him 16 caps for the Wallabies including being part of the side’s 2015 World Cup squad.
The lock played 132 Super Rugby games after debuting for the ACT Brumbies in 2011.
He played 122 times for the Brumbies (2011-2019), adding another 10 caps at the Force – joining in the 2024 season.
“It’s been an incredible journey, full of unforgettable experiences and great memories,” Carter said.
“Now feels like the right time to move on and begin a new chapter.
“Reflecting on my career, I feel incredibly grateful to have been part of some amazing teams.
“One of the big highlights for me was making my debut for the Wallabies in 2014, something I had dreamed of since I was a kid.”
Force head coach Simon Cron said Carter had been a great addition to the team.
“His leadership, maturity, rugby brains and knowledge have contributed a lot to the organisation,” he said.
“He’s been a pleasure to coach and a real legend of a man.”
A possible 30 millimetres of rain could fall across the metropolitan area today, prompting police to warn WA drivers to stay safe over the upcoming long weekend with more wild weather predicted.
Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are predicted Friday, and again on Monday and Tuesday next week as drivers head back from any long weekend trips.
Double demerits will also be in place.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said up to 50 millimetres could fall Monday.
He said they were predicting patchy rain and isolated storms all the way down from Exmouth to the south coast in the lead up.
“Saturday will be a wet and showery day. That rain will move inland, finally clearing coastal areas by Saturday night, Sunday is fine but then Monday – big weather system to come in, lots of rain and lots of wind,” he said.
“The heaviest falls will be from just north of Perth all the way down the south coast.”
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Craig Waters has also urged people to tidy up around their properties before severe winter weather hits.
State Emergency Service volunteers responded to 1056 calls for assistance between June and October last year, with the majority for roof and structural damage, fallen trees and water ingress.
“Loose roof sheeting, unstable fences and even outdoor furniture can become dangerous in destructive winds,” Waters said.
“Taking a couple of hours to storm-proof your home now can protect your family and help reduce the pressure on SES volunteers.”
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