Follow our live coverage here.
Follow our live coverage here.
Attention Bunbury four-wheel-drivers: have you lost your ride? Forgotten where you parked it? Maybe left the handbrake off?
You might want to check out the Leschenault Estuary – more specifically, near “the Cut”, where the estuary meets the ocean at the end of the peninsula.
A team from the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre was out there earlier this week looking for, well, do we have to spell it out for you? They put up some drones to check for dolphins in the area, but were not prepared for what lay beneath the waves.
A post to the centre’s Facebook page revealed a “large vehicle” under the water, which the centre said appeared to have been submerged for “quite some time” near Turkey Point.
“As part of our environmental and conservation duties, we reported the vehicle to the Police authorities as well as the City of Bunbury and Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia,” the post read.
“We are concerned that fuel, oil, grease, and other chemicals potentially leak into the estuary, which could harm dolphins, other marine wildlife, and the fragile ecosystem.
“We hope the car gets removed very soon as boats are also at risk of striking it, causing more danger and damage.”
For what it’s worth, we here at the WAtoday live blog desk reckon it looks like an older 4WD, perhaps a 70-series Landcruiser, or a Patrol. What do you think?
The Department of Transport told 9news.com.au it was only recently made aware of the submerged vehicle.
“It appears to have been there for some time, with no reports of it being a hazard to navigational safety,” a spokesperson said.
“DoT will in the first instance assess the situation and will if necessary work with other agencies to ensure the vehicle’s owner removes it from navigable waters.”
Some sports news now to break up the flood of election promises, and West Australian cricketer Cooper Connolly will make his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Galle.
The 21-year-old, who has played four first-class matches, is set to replace Todd Murphy in Australia’s XI. Murphy took 1-85 in the opening Test.
Connolly is predominantly a batsman but got picked on this tour for his left-arm orthodox spin and ability to take the ball away from a right-hander.
He’s never made a first-class hundred (his highest score was 90 in a Sheffield Shield final) and is yet to snare a first-class wicket.
Australia will start in the field in Galle, with Sri Lankan skipper Dhanajaya De Silva winning the toss and electing to bat.
If you want to follow all the action, you can check out our live coverage here.
More election promises now, and the WA Liberals have vowed to boost hospital funding by $275 million to fund 500 transitional care beds if elected in March.
Under the Liberals’ plan, the beds will be provided where they’re most needed, which would also free up beds in other parts of the health system.
Liberal leader Libby Mettam said patients across WA were waiting, “for an ambulance, for a specialist, for a bed, and, mostly, for targeted investment in our hospital system”.
“Addressing the issue of extended hospital stays is a critical step to delivering the healthcare system WA deserves, and the introduction of 500 new transitional care beds will do just that,” she said.
“This is about putting the well-being of West Australian patients first and ensuring they get timely care when it’s needed, across the entire health care system.”
The Liberals have identified a clear political target in Labor’s management of the state’s health system.
At his campaign launch on Tuesday night, Churchlands candidate Basil Zempilas lambasted the government for spending “$13 billion on a train line”, and openly pondered what the money could have done for WA’s hospitals.
On Thursday, Mettam said clearing bed block across the national health system could save between $800 million to $2.17 billion a year – “and WA needs to be a big part of that”.
“These beds will save our hospitals and save West Australian patients,” she said.
Roger goes to TAFE
Meanwhile, keeping with this week’s “education election” theme, Premier Roger Cook announced a $68.3 commitment to boost equipment at TAFEs and upgrade the Munster TAFE campus as well asestablish a heavy vehicle driver training facility in Neerabup.
The commitment includes $33.8 million for an expanded round of the Modern TAFE Equipment Program – itself a 2021 election commitment.
“We want WA students to leave TAFE fully prepared for success in their next job,” Cook said.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson was also in Bunbury announcing $26 million for youth mental health programs in regional WA.
Enjoying working from the office is one thing, getting into the CBD is another. And, amid growing cost-of-living pressures, who can afford to drive in and cop a parking fee upwards of $16 a day?
Then again, with a two-zone ticket on public transport costing as much as $5.20 – $10.40 a day, or $52 a week for regular CBD commuters – it’s not like that’s a much cheaper option.
Labor has pledged to slash fares to a “one-zone” system, where SmartRider holders would pay a flat fee of $2.80 a trip, if re-elected in March.
But the Greens reckon they can go one better. They want Perth’s “summer of free public transport” to become a year-round reality.
And Greens MLC Brad Pettitt reckons WA has the cash to afford it.
“In a wealthy state like Western Australia everyone should be able to afford the basics,” he says.
“Taking into account the summer of free public transport and the recently announced free transport Sundays, Western Australian commuters will already get 97 days of free public transport in 2025.
“If you’re a school student then, but for a few weeks of school holidays, you can travel on public transport for free for practically the whole year.
“Investing in free and frequent public transport is a transformative way to make Perth much less car-dependent and much more sustainable as our population grows into the future. It will also save the average Perth commuter more than $46 per week or $2246 a year.”
Taking into account Labor’s pledge to slash fares, the average full-time worker commuting five days a week would save $1344 a year if transport were free.
The plan would cost the government $778 million in revenue over the forward estimates, based on current usage of the public transport system.
The Greens have also pitched a plan for 31 kilometres of mid-tier transit services along two new routes, connecting the University of WA to Curtin University and Fremantle Train Station to Murdoch University.
They reckon light rail along the UWA-Curtin route would cost $1.3 billion, or trackless tram services could be done for $420 million.
Light rail along the second route would cost $500 million, according to the Greens, and trackless trams would cost $200 million.
“With multibillion-dollar surpluses over each of the last state budgets and an obscene budget on new roads, it is time we shift our thinking and invest in long-term solutions to make our communities more liveable while providing much-needed cost of living relief,” Pettitt said.
One of the lingering after-effects of the COVID pandemic – aside from a fortified appreciation of hygiene and social distancing – has been the work-from-home culture which, particularly in white-collar jobs, has paved the way for a greater work-life balance.
However, it’s also led to a growing tug of war between bosses and workers as the former try to entice – or force – the latter back to their desks in offices across the country.
Now, fresh research from the Property Council of Australia reveals that Perth has joined Adelaide and Darwin in bucking the national trend to record a drop in CBD vacancy rates.
And, the council reported, demand for office space had increased to its highest level in three years.
The council’s latest Office Market Report, released Thursday, showed Perth CBD’s office vacancy had dropped to 15.1 per cent in January, down from 15.5 per cent in July.
This contrasted with national CBD vacancy growing from 13.6 per cent to 13.7 per cent.
Vacancy in Sydney’s CBD rose from 11.6 per cent to 12.8 per cent; Brisbane’s rose from 9.5 per cent to 10.2 per cent; Melbourne’s remained flat at a historic high of 18 per cent; but Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Canberra all recorded falls in vacancy.
Property Council WA executive director Nicola Brischetto said the findings showed “positive signs” for Perth’s CBD.
“Clearly there is confidence among the business community in Perth and in Western Australia’s economic future,” she said.
“Despite this confidence and demand, Perth has the lowest amount of new office supply in the pipeline of any major capital city.
“Other than Nine The Esplanade at Elizabeth Quay, there is no other office development in the pipeline for the Perth CBD.”
Brischetto also believed the data showed we enjoyed a “strong in-office working culture” in Perth.
For what it’s worth, your faithful blogger likes working out of Nine’s office at the top of St George’s Terrace.
There are lots of good cafés around, and we have a nice seat near the window. Just nobody take our stapler.
West Australians are heading over east to help communities that have been devastated by major flooding and severe bushfires.
The state is sending 46 emergency services personnel, including 28 volunteers, to north Queensland and Victoria.
On Thursday morning, 19 SES volunteers and two Department of Fire and Emergency Services officers left for Townsville to help with storm damage and recovery after record-breaking rainfall caused significant flooding.
Another 22 firefighters and three DFES officers also boarded a flight to Victoria, where they will spend five days helping fight a fire in the Grampian Ranges, Ranges, providing relief for local crews who have been working in severe heatwave conditions.
Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said the deployments would help manage local crew fatigue and upscale resources.
“I am proud to be sending some of our most talented and hardworking people to provide a reprieve for local crews and help communities under threat by fire and facing significant flood damage,” he said.
“I thank our personnel for putting their lives on hold, and their families and employers who allow them to continually go to the aid of Australians in need.”
The writs were issued yesterday, firing the official starting gun on the West Australian election campaign.
With 31 days until the election, it’s worthwhile revisiting who has promised what and luckily for you, we’ve got the perfect tool.
Check out the election promise tracker below:
Here’s what’s happening elsewhere today:
Perth Festival has had to cancel five days of screenings of its film program at the University of Western Australia’s Somerville Auditorium after a branch fell at the rear of the venue on Saturday.
On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the festival announced the closure of the auditorium and cancellations of screenings of Black Dog until February 10.
“Perth Festival regrets that it has cancelled its Lotterywest Films program until Monday 10 February, following an incident last Saturday night when a branch fell at the rear of the auditorium,” she said.
“There have been no reports of any injuries and the festival is working closely with the University of Western Australia to investigate the incident.
“The University has closed the venue and engaged arborists to do comprehensive additional checks on all trees before the venue can be reopened.”
Ticket holders will be refunded automatically.
The Lotterywest film program is one of the most popular parts of Perth Festival and has been held at Somerville for several years.
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