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Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti has conceded immediate help for Lancelin residents fearing the rampant erosion of the town’s coastline would be “difficult”.
Confronting photos of erosion of coast near the Lancelin pub went viral earlier this month.
In question time on Thursday, Nationals leader Shane Love asked whether the government would commit to supporting the Shire of Lancelin in its fight against erosion and what immediate support it could provide.
Saffioti said immediate action was difficult.
“I’m going to say, in relation to immediate action, it is difficult. It is difficult because trying to reinforce a coastline in some areas is very, very difficult,” she said.
“There’s no easy solution. We have increased the number of grants and also the magnitude of grants.
“We continue to work with local governments to support them in what is a very, very big challenge.”
West Coast are wrapping their arms around Jeremy McGovern, telling the star defender to keep things business as usual while he awaits to see whether his AFL career is over.
McGovern’s playing future hangs in the balance, with a panel of concussion experts to determine his fate.
The 33-year-old has been sidelined since suffering a head knock in West Coast’s loss to Melbourne in round eight.
McGovern was initially optimistic he would be given the green light to return after missing just one game, but his failure to progress smoothly through the AFL’s return-to-play protocols raised red flags.
He will now have to meet with an AFL concussion panel to find out the next step.
McGovern may be put on a personalised treatment or rehabilitation plan, handed an extension of the return-to-play time frame, be recommended to undergo further tests or be told to retire on medical grounds.
The five-time All-Australian walked laps and did some light jogging at training on Thursday, and coach Andrew McQualter praised the way McGovern is handling the situation.
“The unknown is a bit of a challenge, but he’s doing OK,” McQualter said.
“We’re going to continue to support him. He’ll have a couple of days off work as we go to Adelaide this weekend.
“And then it’s just so uncertain at the moment as to what happens next.
“We know it’s going to the panel. When that will happen, we’re not sure yet. We’ll just wait and see and keep supporting ‘Gov’ through the process.
“It’s just business as usual at the moment.”
McGovern is one of West Coast’s best and most experienced players, and he is continuing to help his younger teammates despite his own personal circumstances.
“Gov’s one of our leaders, and he’s still one of our terrific leaders,” McQualter said.
“He’s been involved all week in our leadership meetings and our meetings in general.
“We understand it’s a challenging time. But Gov’s been doing this for a long time.
“He’s a very mature guy. He’s got a great family and network around him as well.”
With McGovern’s future in doubt, more responsibility will be placed on inexperienced defenders Harry Edwards and Sandy Brock.
It may also mean co-captain Oscar Allen plays more games in defence, potentially even this week when the Eagles face the Crows’ tall trio of forwards Darcy Fogarty, Taylor Walker and Riley Thilthorpe.
West Coast will feature a new-look forward line in Adelaide on Sunday after Jamie Cripps (knee) and Matt Owies (calf) were struck down in last week’s breakthrough win over St Kilda.
AAP
To a bit of art news now, and a seven-metre sculpture of a graffiti-covered spaceman has been unveiled in Stirling Gardens at Perth’s Council House.
The latest iteration of contemporary artist Brendan Murphy’s signature BOONJI Spaceman series was unveiled on Thursday ahead of the launch of Murphy’s premiere solo exhibition Life is Electric at Cottesloe’s Gullotti Galleries.
Keeping with the Life is Electric theme, the unique spaceman currently residing in Stirling Gardens has been titled Lightning, which is reflected in its electric-blue colourway and spidery graffiti markings.
Its name is also a nod to Perth’s moniker as the “City of Light”, which was bestowed on the WA capital after US astronaut John Glenn passed overhead while aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft in 1962.
“Each BOONJI Spaceman is uniquely sculpted to reflect its setting, and the Perth installation is no exception—designed to inspire wonder, spark imagination, and enrich the city’s cultural fabric with a symbol of limitless potential,” Murphy said.
“Perth instantly came to mind as the perfect home for this work, with its vibrant energy, forward-thinking spirit, and deep appreciation for the arts.”
The public art installation will remain in Stirling Gardens for 12 months before a “forever home” is revealed by the City of Perth.
Watch this space.
The WA Greens have not yet decided whether to support or block the opposition’s attempts to scrap firearms regulations in the upper house.
Labor used its control of the lower house to defeat a disallowance motion brought on by the WA Nationals to scrap the regulations and rendering Labor’s firearms reforms, which were passed last year, moot.
However, another disallowance motion brought on by Liberal Steve Thomas is still active in the upper house and is expected to be debated in the next few months.
Labor no longer controls the Upper House after new MPs were sworn in on Monday, meaning if the Greens support Thomas’ motion, the regulations could be scrapped.
Greens leader Brad Pettitt said the party was now talking to stakeholders about the regulations but noted that a disallowance motion was a serious step.
“We’ve been discussing it as a team … we’re now talking to stakeholders, talking to different parts of the community around that,” he said.
“There’s clearly some problems with how the regulations have been rolled out and how it’s working, so we’re keen to actually see how they can be improved, but a disallowance motion is a nuclear option in many ways, because then you’re left with no law, no workable law.”
The lower house debate on Wednesday was fiery at times, with Nationals Leader Shane Love accusing Labor of rushing through the regulations last year, which left law-abiding firearms owners in disarray.
“It is an arrogant government with zero respect for firearm owners and their lawful possession of firearms,” Love said.
Police Minister Reece Whitby focused his criticism on Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas, coining him “both ways Basil” for publicly supporting the firearms legislation but voting for the disallowance motion.
Zempilas’ office declined to comment.
Pop icon Mariah Carey is bound for Perth, touring Australia in October as part of the Fridayz Live r’n’b festival.
Carey is headlining the festival, which is due to be held at Langley Park on October 24 and will also travel to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Joining the iconic singer-songwriter on tour will be Mr Worldwide himself, Pitbull, as well as rappers Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon, and UK hip-hop star Tinie Tempah.
The festival, which has been touring Australia since 2016, took a hiatus in 2024 when organisers promised a “bigger and better” return in 2025.
Pre-sale tickets go on sale Monday. For more information, visit the Fridayz Live website.
A missing persons mystery in Queensland has links to the other side of the country, with the revelation a teenage girl who hasn’t been seen since May 15 was scheduled to fly to Perth that day.
Pheobe Bishop, 17, failed to check in for her journey from Bundaberg to Western Australia about 8.30am on May 15.
Police are now unsure if Bishop ever made it to the airport.
Investigators believe the disappearance is suspicious, and on Wednesday declared her home in the nearby township of Gin Gin a crime scene.
A grey Hyundai ix35 SUV belonging to Bishop or one of her housemates has also been seized.
It’s been a lively morning at Parliament House with climate activists forming a drum circle to welcome the increased presence of Greens MPs in the upper house.
Three new Greens MPs will join the upper house today after being sworn in along with two new One Nation MPs, an Australian Christians MP as well as one from the Animal Justice Party.
One of those Greens MPs is Walkley award-winning former journalist Sophie McNeill, who is also the party’s new climate spokeswoman.
Before heading into parliament, McNeill said her priority would be to agitate for the rejection of Woodside’s North West Shelf project extension, which federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is due to make a decision on within a fortnight.
“We are the worst state in the whole country when it comes to climate, Western Australia is the only state without a 2030 target with rising emissions,” she said.
“We can’t afford for this project to go ahead, and we just are calling on Murray Watt here to do the right thing.”
McNeill is also a passionate advocate for Palestine and entered parliament wearing a red keffiyeh.
“We, the Greens, are really proud to firmly call out what’s happening there, to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza, the people of Palestine, and to say that we oppose this genocide at every turn,” she said.
A new report from multinational consultants KPMG has tipped 192,000 jobs to be created in Perth over the coming five years, with AUKUS, critical minerals demand and the global energy transition among the drivers of growth in the western capital.
The Enterprising Cities report, released on Thursday, also identified a recovery in housing development in Perth, “but more needs to be done to boost housing supply”.
It also pointed to a “substantial increase” in employment in the state’s healthcare industry, which went from employing 136,500 people in 2019 to 201,500 in 2024. The mining sector also saw a “notable increase”, rising from 81,500 people in 2019 to 114,500 in 2024.
KPMG Perth partner Matt Woods told Nine’s Today show the WA economy had been in a prolonged period of growth over the past five or six years.
Woods said the figure of 192,000 new jobs represented a 2.4 per cent employment growth rate, which outperformed the rest Australia’s major cities.
He said the diversification of WA’s economy and opportunities outside of mining and energy were “looking really good”.
The trend in dwelling approvals was “heading in the right direction” and construction was the third-fastest growing industry in WA, Woods said, which painted an optimistic picture for the state’s under-pressure housing market.
South West local Jacob Willcox kept the Australian flag flying while Californian Crosby Colapinto secured his place on tour as The Box delivered high-consequence surfing at the Margaret River Pro on Wednesday.
Action returned to the heavy slab break, instead of Main Break, for the first time since 2019 for Wednesday’s men’s round-of-16.
And it produced a day of pulsating action, Griffin Colaptino’s early nine-point wave, Barron Mamiya’s 15.17 total, Willcox’s lone Australian hand and Jordy Smith’s (17.33) clinic the highlights among a series of heavy wipeouts.
Griffin Colapinto (16.00) knocked out Australian Mikey McDonagh (2.43), with Willcox’s comfortable defeat of Brazil’s Joao Chianca leaving him as the sole local hope in the final eight.
Griffin’s younger brother Crosby then hung on in a low-scoring, emotional heat with Jackson Bunch that determined who survived the mid-season cut.
His 6.53 total was enough to oust the Hawaiian (3.34) and set up a quarterfinal with Willcox.
Bigger swell is tipped in coming days, but mostly off-shore, with no surfing on Thursday and the next call on Friday morning.
Alive and waiting in the round-of-16 as one of five Australian women, Sally Fitzgibbons needs at least a quarter-final appearance to avoid a third straight top 10 mid-season cut.
AAP
A 64-year-old man will face court today over alleged child sex offences dating back to 1992 and 1993, when he was a teacher at a high school in Perth.
The man, who now lives in Spencer Park in Albany, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a female student at the school.
Sex assault squad detectives charged the man on Thursday last week with one count of sexually penetrating a child over 16 years under their care, and one count of indecently deals with a child over 16 under their authority.
The man is due to appear before Albany Magistrates Court today.
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