WA news LIVE: Margaret River surfers report being chased by shark​on March 11, 2025 at 6:26 am

Surf Life Saving WA has just reported that two surfers have been chased into shore at Margaret River Mouth.

Police are appealing for witnesses to an incident that occurred in Wanneroo on Sunday March 9, when a man riding an e-scooter on Wanneroo Road lost control and fell off, to come forward.

The man, 41, died at Royal Perth Hospital.

Major Crash investigators are conducting an examination of the scene and are appealing for any
witnesses to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online at
www.crimestopperswa.com.au.

Famous British YouTuber Yung Filly has appeared in Perth Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to accusations he raped and choked a woman in her 20s in a hotel room at the start of his Australian tour last year.

Andres Barrientos was charged with sexual penetration without consent, assault, and impeding a person’s breathing following an alleged incident in his hotel room after he performed at Bar1 in Hillarys on September 27.

Barrientos will be forced to remain in WA while he fights the charges – which police prosecutors flagged would revolve around the issue of consent – and cannot communicate with his millions of followers via social media about the case.

On bail, Yung Filly declined to answer questions from reporters as he exited the courtroom.

His next appearance will be in the Perth District Court in mid-June.

• with 9 News Perth

More tragic details are emerging after the horrific attack of a surfer by a shark yesterday, with police confirming the victim was a 30-year-old man from Victoria.

Police Commissioner Col Blanch has told 6PR Radio that drone footage taken after a surfer was attacked by a shark on the south coast of Western Australia yesterday shows “large amounts of blood in the water”.

The search for the man resumed at first light today and continues but it is now confirmed to be a recovery effort.

“So I think the family have been notified – I suspect it will be a recovery of a body, if we can find it,” Blanch said.

“It’s just one of those tragedies in our community that happen.”

A Perth property developer has called on the re-elected state government to take an even more ambitious approach to its Metronet on the Swan project and include additional ferry stops at Burswood, Belmont and Maylands.

Limnios Property Group managing director James Limnios, who campaigned for years to expand the ferry service in Perth, said the strong support the Labor Party received from riverside suburbs such as South Perth was due in part to their pledge to Metronet on the Swan.

“The Labor government launched their election campaign on January 5, 2025 with Metronet on the Swan and a $107 million pledge to build five new electric ferries and two additional ferry stops at Applecross and Matilda Bay,” he said.

“In contrast, the Liberal Party effectively finished their election campaign by deferring this key infrastructure project when they announced their costings.

“As a result, voters were given a clear choice, and they enthusiastically endorsed the Labor Metronet on the River policy especially in the riverside suburbs.”

Limnios said the plan would alleviate road congestion around the inner-city area and stimulate much needed new infill housing development in the inner city.

“Despite the fact that our city has been built around one of the most beautiful waterways in the world, it has been a national embarrassment that we have still only one ferry service – the Mends Street ferry service – that was established nearly 130 years ago when the population of the city was only 190, 000 compared to over 2 million people today,” he said.

West Australian students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are preparing to sit down for their NAPLAN testing from tomorrow.

Almost 1.3 million students are expected to take the tests in more than 9400 schools and campuses across Australia.

For the first time since NAPLAN was reviewed and changed to a new system, results of this testing will be able to be compared to past testing to see how a student, and a school, is progressing.

“This year, you will be able to compare how the same cohort of students have progressed in their NAPLAN assessment results since 2023 when the annual test changed,” Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority chief-executive Stephen Gniel said.

“This will help education authorities, schools, parents and carers to see how Australian children are reaching important literacy and numeracy goals and are progressing against national standards.

“A big thank you to our fantastic teachers and schools across all jurisdictions and sectors for all their efforts to get ready for NAPLAN.”

Good news if you’re out house hunting with fresh data out today showing active property listings settled at 4948 at the end of February, 23 per cent higher than a year ago.

Houses in Perth are also taking longer to sell, posting a median of 13 days in February, four days slower than a year ago.

REIWA chief executive Cath Hart said while property prices continued to grow, there was a definite change in buyer behaviour.

“Last month we reported buyers were being discerning and taking their time in their purchasing decisions. They are also being very prudent when it comes to prices and making an offer,” she said.

“A year ago, FOMO saw buyers seek to borrow as much as they could in order to secure a home. Now they are looking at what they can comfortably afford to repay.

“While many sellers are still getting multiple offers and an outcome above the asking price, people looking to list their home now will have a different experience to sellers last year with moderate price growth, homes taking slightly longer to sell and fewer homes selling at the first home open.”

According to REIWA Perth’s median house sale price rose 1 per cent in February to $757,750, more than 22 per cent higher than the same time last year.

The suburbs that saw the most growth in February were Mandurah (up 2.9 per cent to $530,000), Doubleview (up 2.5 per cent to $1.19 million), Carlisle (up 2.3 per cent to $775,000), Lesmurdie (up 2 per cent to $908,750) and Bullsbrook (up 2 per cent to $625,000).

To some overnight news now, and WA Police have shot a man who allegedly lunged at them with a knife in Perth’s east on Monday night.

Officers were called to a property on Wilsley Street in Gosnells around 5.40pm to investigate reports of a robbery that had allegedly occurred earlier that afternoon.

When they arrived, officers were confronted by the man aged in his 40s and commenced negotiation attempts.

Read Heather McNeill’s report here.

We broke the news yesterday that a man had been attacked by a shark in just chest-deep water near Esperance.

This morning, as the search for the missing man continues, a former abalone fisherman from the area has spoken out about the lack of action from authorities after several fatal attacks.

Esperance abalone diver and Bite Club member Marc Payne said the community had suffered considerably from recent fatal shark attacks.

He told Radio 6PR this morning that authorities were completely ignoring the situation, and that only closing the beach and driving up and down with their boats after an attack was not enough.

Of the last six confirmed fatal shark attacks in WA, three were in the Esperance area.

Payne said there were also many of near misses.

“We’re talking about human lives here,” he said.

“The interactions [with sharks] are increasing considerably,” he said.

He said the sharks in the Esperance area were now targeting humans in the water. They were attacking people in crystal clear waters.

“It’s not a mistake,” he said.

Here’s what’s making headlines around the country this morning.

• A caravan laden with explosives and 14 other antisemitic attacks across Sydney’s east were “con jobs” by powerful crime figures trying to either distract police or influence a prosecution, rather than racially motivated hate crimes or terror plots.
• As we head to a March 25 federal budget, Donald Trump’s tariff war and flooding damage from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred will weigh on Jim Chalmers with growing concerns they could stymie Australia’s economic recovery.
• The Albanese government has insisted it will not be intimated by hostile rhetoric from Vladimir Putin’s regime after Russia warned of grave consequences if Australia contributes to an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

• Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s attendance at a Sydney fundraiser at a billionaire’s waterside mansion last week has raised questions about his movements as Cyclone Alfred loomed. This is what we know about the timeline of events.