Category Archives: Western Australia

Race to save almost 50 pilot whales after same number die in mass stranding on WA beach

Posted on by

Rare footage of mammals grouping offshore before they beached east of Albany sets event apart from previous strandings, experts say

More than 50 of the long-finned pilot whales stranded on a Western Australian beach have died, despite an overnight vigil by wildlife experts.

“Sadly 51 [pilot] whales have died overnight after a mass stranding at Cheynes Beach,” the Parks and Wildlife Service said on Wednesday morning in an update on social media.

Continue reading...

How a viral Channel 7 clip that had nothing to do with the voice was co-opted by the no camp

Posted on by

Confusion over Western Australia’s new cultural heritage laws is being co-opted by the no campaign and far-right opponents of the voice

The two-minute clip never mentions the Indigenous voice to parliament, but a now-viral Channel 7 news story about cancelled tree planting ceremonies in Western Australia was quickly seized upon last week by the no campaign and far-right opponents of the voice.

The video has now reached more than 1.5m views on Twitter, largely thanks to a significant boost from opponents of the voice, who have attempted to co-opt controversy over the state’s updated planning laws since at least early July.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Dozens of pilot whales beached in mass stranding east of Albany in WA

Posted on by

Whales grouped in pod off Cheynes beach before stranding event with wildlife officers hoping to rescue as many mammals as possible

At least 50 pilot whales have stranded on Cheynes beach east of Albany in Western Australia.

Almost twice that number of whales had been seen massing off the beach since Monday, according to the owner of Cheynes Beach Caravan Park, Allan Marsh.

Continue reading...

Aboriginal owners and energy investors team up in plan for $3bn green hydrogen plant in WA

Posted on by

‘Radically different’ partnership aims to construct more than a million solar panels to power electrolysers

A unique partnership between three traditional owner groups and a major clean energy investor is promising to establish a $3bn green hydrogen project in the far north of Western Australia.

In what could be one of Australia’s biggest clean energy projects, more than a million solar panels will power electrolysers to produce 50,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year.

Continue reading...

Mystery object: Australian police warn public away from huge cylinder found washed up on WA beach

Posted on by

Object at Green Head, 250km from Perth in Western Australia, could be from an Indian space rocket, experts said, but police say it is not hazardous

A giant metal cylinder has washed up on a beach in Western Australia, baffling locals and posing a mystery to police.

The huge copper-coloured cylinder was reported to police by local residents on Sunday, having washed up on a beach near Jurien Bay sometime earlier.

Continue reading...

Woodside LNG: Australia’s ‘biggest’ contribution to climate crisis a step closer to 50-year extension

Posted on by

WA EPA dismisses most grounds of appeal against extension of operation licence for gas processing facility in the Pilbara

One of Australia’s biggest fossil fuel developments is a step closer to having its life extended for nearly 50 years after Western Australian officials dismissed appeals arguing it should be stopped on climate science and cultural grounds.

More than 750 organisations and individuals last year lodged objections to a WA Environment Protection Authority (EPA) recommendation that oil and gas company Woodside be allowed to operate its gas processing facility in the Pilbara until 2070.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

WA family demand answers over the unexpected death of one-year-old daughter

Posted on by

The toddler died at Perth Children’s hospital less than 24 hours after being sent home by a GP, according to the family and advocates

A Western Australia family is demanding answers after the death of a one-year-old baby a day after she was sent home by a GP, before being rushed to a Perth hospital emergency room.

The family’s spokesperson, Desmond Blurton, said his niece, Charmain Blurton, and her partner, Cody Yappo, took their daughter to their local doctor when she began feeling unwell.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Cane toads’ spread through Western Australia’s Kimberley revealed by motion sensor cameras

Posted on by

Cane toads first crossed into WA from the Northern Territory 15 years ago and have slowly spread through the Kimberley

Motion sensor cameras have revealed the confronting spread of cane toads across Western Australia’s eastern Kimberley region.

Supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia, the Nyaliga Rangers deployed cameras at 141 locations between August 2020 and October 2022.

Continue reading...

‘Unseasonable’ cloud band could double monthly average rainfall in areas of central Australia

Posted on by

BoM forecasts show system to move from northern WA toward eastern states while alps in south-east could receive more snow

A large cloud band is set to bring unseasonable wet weather to parts of Australia as it moves eastwards across the country this week.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s forecasts suggest a rain band developing over northern Western Australia on Sunday into Monday will move towards the eastern states over the first half of the week.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Legalise Cannabis makes united push for personal marijuana use in three Australian states

Posted on by

The party’s bill allowing adults to possess and grow small quantities of the drug at home will be introduced across Victoria, NSW and WA

Legalise Cannabis MPs are launching a coordinated push to make marijuana legal for personal use in three states and overhaul what the party says is outdated legislation that unnecessarily criminalises people.

The party’s drug reform bill will be introduced on Tuesday in state parliaments in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia – the jurisdictions where it has representation in the state’s upper houses.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Giant saltworks proposed for Exmouth Gulf a threat to Ningaloo and endangered species, conservationists say

Posted on by

German company’s plan for 210-sq-km development in WA could ‘block the water that runs over that coastline into the gulf’

A proposal to build a giant saltworks in the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia has been condemned by conservationists as a threat to endangered species.

German industrial company K+S has submitted its proposal to build a 210-sq-km saltworks on the pristine gulf – a crucial part of the adjacent world heritage-listed Ningaloo coast.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Murder charges to be laid over death of Perth police officer dragged under car during arrest

Posted on by

Constable Anthony Woods, 28, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, three days after he was run over by a car allegedly bearing stolen plates

Murder charges will be laid against the accused driver of a car that ran over and killed a West Australian police officer.

Constable Anthony Woods, 28, was in an induced coma at Royal Perth hospital after the incident on Thursday but WA police on Sunday night confirmed that he had succumbed to his injuries.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Allegations of abuse at centre accused of ‘extreme religious practices’ raised in WA before Coalition’s $4m grant

Posted on by

Exclusive: State officials heard claims about Esther Foundation in 2018 before Scott Morrison announced funding in 2019, inquiry told

Health authorities in Western Australia heard allegations of abuse at the Esther Foundation in 2018 – well before the Morrison government awarded the foundation a $4m grant.

The grant to the religious rehabilitation centre, which has been accused of exorcisms and gay conversion practices, was part of the $2bn Community Health and Hospitals Program (CHHP). The national audit office this week accused the former government of deliberately breaching the CHHP guidelines, giving out grants likely to be unlawful, and falling short of “ethical requirements”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Mark McGowan: why the only way was down for Western Australia’s political rock star

Posted on by

After being lauded for his tough Covid response and winning the most one-sided election in Australian history, Labor premier goes out at the top


It is telling that, at the age of 55, Western Australia’s premier, Mark McGowan, cited exhaustion, rather than the fulfilment of political ambition, as the main reason for his sudden resignation.

McGowan strode into the state’s highest office in 2017, but it was his Covid response that propelled him into unprecedented power in 2021, with his party wining the most one-sided election result in Australia’s history – taking 53 of 59 seats in the lower house.

Continue reading...

Nurses union fined $350,000 for West Australian strike; Rex Patrick loses FOI challenge – as it happened

Posted on by

The former independent senator has lost his legal challenge against what he argued were unreasonable delays in the freedom of information (FOI) system. Follow the day’s news live

Evacuated dental hospital near site of Sydney blaze becomes emergency services hub

While the light rail that runs past the charred husk of the burnt out building on Randle Ln is running this morning, many of the roads are blocked off by police tape, including a usually very busy section of Elizabeth St, which will likely have an impact on morning traffic.

There’s else a lot of work to be done. The building opposite has been damaged by that extreme heat. Firefighters were able to cut that fire off from spreading into the building across the road. But the main priority is that wall. There are two walls that are in a precarious position.

We are talking about tonnes and tonnes of bricks that could come down and become projectiles that is why we have such a tight exclusion zone, not allowing anyone in, including firefighter[s], until we get the engineers in.

Continue reading...

Cold snap with damaging winds, hail and snow forecast for Australia’s south-east

Posted on by

Severe weather warnings for wind gusts of up 100km/h issued for Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, BoM says

A cold front is set to sweep across Australia’s south-east in the coming days, bringing icy winds and steep drops in temperature.

The front is brushing the southern tip of Western Australia and is expected to strengthen and intensify as it approaches south-eastern Australia.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

BHP worker found guilty of raping colleague at WA mining camp

Posted on by

His victim said she woke up to find Ryan John Zabaznow raping her after she passed out after drinking heavily, a court heard

A BHP worker has been found guilty of raping a colleague at a mining camp after a night of heavy drinking.

Ryan John Zabaznow, 37, was convicted on Monday of sexual penetration without consent in the town of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Breaking the cycle: protesters demand solutions for youth detainees of Banksia Hill

Posted on by

Advocates say system is broken and government needs to work with local community to support young people

They came to call for change.

Among the 700 protestors outside Western Australia’s Banksia Hill Juvenile detention centre on Sunday afternoon was Lee-Anne Mason.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Clive Palmer’s company plans to sue Australia in fresh claim, budget papers reveal

Posted on by

Exclusive: Palmer’s Zeph Investments could receive compensation if successful in second and potential third dispute beyond existing $296bn case

Clive Palmer’s company Zeph Investments has given notice it intends to sue Australia in a fresh case in addition to the existing $296bn investor-state claim, with a potential third claim in the works.

The two new prospective investor-state claims are revealed in budget papers, released on Tuesday, as contingent liabilities that could cost the budget bottom line.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Mother who murdered her three children and burned their bodies sentenced to life in prison

Posted on by

Margaret Dale Hawke will spend at least 25 years in jail for killing her daughter and two sons in the family’s Port Hedland home

A mother who stabbed, strangled and suffocated her three children before burning their bodies in a house fire will spend at least 25 years behind bars.

Margaret Dale Hawke, 36, pleaded guilty to three counts of murder after killing her 10-year-old daughter and two sons, aged seven and four months, in the family’s Port Hedland home in Western Australia on 19 July 2022.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...