Teenage worker accused of murdering Western Australia aged care resident

WA police allege the man, 19, who was an employee at the facility south-east of Perth, strangled the woman to death

A teenage worker has been arrested and charged with murder following the death of a 70-year-old aged care resident in Western Australia.

Police allege the 19-year-old from Orana was an employee at an aged-care facility in Albany in the great southern region, south-east of Perth, where the victim lived.

Continue reading...

Victoria police to prosecute pitch invaders; more contaminated spinach cases in Queensland – as it happened

Sport governing body says ‘such behaviour has no place in Australian football’. This blog is now closed

‘We will look at the facts’

James Johnson is asked whether Melbourne Victory has any outstanding sanctions for past incidents. He says he is not aware of any but past events may be considered as an “aggravating factor” as an investigation into the incident unfolds:

There is no other suspended disciplinary action that I’m aware of, but what I will say is that we will be working through that today. We have already started working on the show cause process as of late last night, and we will be moving forward as quickly and swiftly as possible to finalise it, because it is important we get ahead of this issue as a sport.

What I can say is that we will look at the facts, we’ll look at it objectively and we will take a decision that we believe is in the overall best interest of the game but I prefer not to comment on the specifics of the outcome because we have to go through that process first.

What happened during the game last night and what happens with the result;

A “show cause letter” to Melbourne Victory;

An attempt to identify individuals involved in the pitch invasion.

This is an element that … infiltrates our game and tries to ruin it for the people who love us was in. We’ll be looking to weed out those people from the sport.

Continue reading...

Police foil alleged plot to import 30kg of methamphetamine into WA inside 3D printers

Two men, alleged to be senior members of an international crime syndicate, face charges in Taiwan

Two men alleged to be senior members of an international crime syndicate have been charged in Taiwan over an alleged plot to import 30kg of methamphetamine into Western Australia hidden inside 3D printers.

It was revealed on Saturday that a 33-year-old man and a 36-year-old man were arrested in July and October this year after they were noticed by the Australian federal police as part of Operation Ironside.

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

Continue reading...

Australian student, 25, dies suddenly in Bali after flying in for dental treatment

Indonesian authorities investigating death of West Australian university student Niamh Finneran Loader ‘following medical procedure’

An accomplished West Australian university student has died suddenly in Bali, where she had travelled to receive dental treatment.

Niamh Finneran Loader, 25, died on 2 December. Indonesian authorities are investigating the circumstances of her death.

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

Continue reading...

Perth teen charged with murder over death of pregnant woman in shopping centre car park

The 17-year-old boy allegedly threw a concrete block through the open window of a car killing Diane Miller and her unborn child

A teenager accused of throwing a concrete block at a Perth woman, killing her and her unborn child, has had his charge upgraded to murder.

Diane Miller suffered a heart attack last week when the object was thrown through the open window of her car at a Karawara shopping centre.

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

Continue reading...

Temperatures forecast to reach mid-40s as heatwave hits northern Australia

North of Western Australia, NT and Queensland to swelter in up to 47C as ‘monsoon break’ allows build-up of intensely hot air mass

Temperatures are expected to soar across northern Australia over the coming days as a heatwave spreads across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said hot air was building over the north-west of the continent and moving east, driving temperatures in some areas as high as 5C to 6C above average.

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

Continue reading...

Grieving family pays tribute to pregnant woman who died in Perth after being hit by concrete block

Noongar woman Diane Miller and her unborn baby died in hospital three days after incident at Waterford Plaza shopping centre

Instead of planning a baby shower, Diane Miller’s family is preparing for her funeral.

The pregnant 30-year-old Noongar woman’s life support was switched off at 2am on Friday, three days after she was struck in the head with a concrete missile that was launched into her open passenger-side window at a Karawara shopping centre in Perth’s south-east.

Continue reading...

Covid-19 Australia data tracker: coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccination

Guardian Australia brings together all the figures on Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and state-by-state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT. Here you can also find the numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.

In September 2022, federal and state governments began releasing data once a week, on Fridays, rather than daily. As a result, Guardian Australia has aggregated the data released before that date to weekly values, to make the new figures comparable with the old.

Continue reading...

Indigenous advocates call for ban on unmuzzled police dogs in WA as ‘disturbing pattern’ emerges

Push comes after 13-year-old Noongar boy left ‘traumatised’ and needing skin grafts following mauling in Perth

Western Australia police have been urged to stop using unmuzzled dogs, as the state’s Aboriginal Legal Service raises concerns about the “disproportionate” number of canine-assisted arrests involving First Nations people.

The ALSWA said it was supporting the family of 13-year-old Noongar boy Jayden Abraham, who was hospitalised and needed surgery after being mauled by a police dog during an incident in Perth earlier this month.

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

Continue reading...

Mother of Aboriginal man injured in apparent vigilante attack condemns Facebook abuse

Kathy Penny calls on social media companies to put a stop to ‘hatred and revenge’ following comments about her son

A Noongar woman whose teenage son was seriously injured in an apparent vigilante attack says she has been threatened and abused online, but has urged supporters not to retaliate.

Kathy Penny’s 18-year-old son, Ronaldo, was left in a critical condition when a 49-year-old woman chased him and his friend through Perth’s northern suburbs after it was alleged they had stolen a motorcycle. The woman has pleaded guilty to charges of driving dangerously and causing aggravated grievous bodily harm.

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

Continue reading...

News live: Penny Wong condemns Russia’s deadly missile attacks; Deliveroo to end operations in Australia

Foreign minister says ‘Australia stands with Ukraine’ following reports a Russian missile landed in Polish territory killing two people. Follow the day’s news

ABC Radio asked Simon Birmingham about reports from this morning that a Russian missile has hit Poland near the Ukraine border: The shadow foreign affairs minister says:

This is deeply, deeply troubling news.

If an accident occurs it can result in a real escalation ... it shows just how dangerous a game Russia is playing.

We can’t expect instant miracles, but the ultimate test of dialogue will be the outcomes that are received if this dialogue is successful, to see breakthroughs in regard to those trade barriers... and also critically the just treatment of Australian’s detained in China.

And then of course challenges in terms of engagement within the region, that we must continue to argue for China to respect international law, international rules and norms

Continue reading...

Covid-19 case numbers exploding across Australia as fourth wave takes off

Chief health officers urge people to take up protective measures as Covid hospitalisations double in some states

The number of active Covid cases has exploded across the country as Australia enters its fourth wave, prompting renewed warnings to protect vulnerable aged care residents.

Jurisdictions collectively recorded more than 58,000 new cases of Covid in the past week, with some states reporting a doubling in the number of people hospitalised with the virus.

Continue reading...

Cassius Turvey’s mother urges calm at vigils saying she is angry but ‘violence breeds violence’

Mechelle Turvey says ‘outpouring of tributes across the nation has been so appreciated’ after her son was allegedly murdered

The mother of schoolboy Cassius Turvey, allegedly murdered in Perth, has called for calm ahead of nationwide vigils to honour her son who she says was the “heart and soul” of the local community.

A 21-year-old man has been charged with the Indigenous teenager’s murder after the alleged attack on 13 October when Cassius and several of his friends were walking home from school in Middle Swan.

Continue reading...

AFP foil plan to import $1.6bn of liquid meth in coconut water bottles – as it happened

People have been cleared to return to their homes as flood threat eases in Victoria, but the Bureau of Meteorology is warning of renewed flooding in parts of NSW. This blog is now closed

Chalmers on the size of government debt and making it ‘sustainable’

The treasurer is asked whether the government will consider rethinking taxes like GST and PRRT.

We have already found $22bn in savings, $28.5bn in budget improvements overall. We kept real spending growth flat across the forward estimates. We have got the debt down over the forward estimates. We have let 99% of the temporary revenue surge from higher commodity prices flow through to the budget.

That is good progress when we have shown in doing that … you can move sensibly on all fronts, restraint, trimming spending, sensible tax reform, you can make the budget more sustainable and that will be the task of the two or three budgets remaining in this parliamentary term as well.

We need to work out how do we maintain a focus on Australians with a disability and their families, how do we put them front and centre, and at the same time make sure that spending on the NDIS is sustainable and important part of that is making sure we get value for money for every dollar that is spent in what is a really important, really, really important service that we provide to Australians.

I do understand there is a substantial part of the community that would prefer that that PRRT take was higher.

We haven’t been working up an option to do that to change the PRRT arrangements but the treasury has been commissioned by my predecessor and by his predecessor to do some of this work around the taxing point in the PRRT.

We do want to make sure Australians get a good return for their resources. We need to balance that against the investment that’s been made into the sector. When I get that advice from I will engage in it a meaningful way and I will listen to it.

We have seen I think as you acknowledged in your first question, on this topic, company taxes are up quite substantially. That’s a good thing and we have let that flow through to the budget. The PRRT, there’s a modest increase. I will wait to see what the treasury advises us on the conclusion of the review that my two predecessors put in place.

Continue reading...

Cassius Turvey killing: mother questions why police took only a brief statement before he died

‘We did not hear from any detectives, no police. Nothing. For five full days. That was their opportunity’ said Mechelle Turvey

The grieving mother of 15-year-old Cassius Turvey, killed in an alleged violent attack in Perth, has paid tribute to her son while questioning why police took only a brief statement from the schoolboy before he died in hospital.

Mechelle Turvey, the mother of the year 9 student, said the family has been left heartbroken after the attack. She remembered him as a “young leader” who loved basketball, school and his friends. The Noongar teenager died on the weekend.

Continue reading...

Tim Winton urges Fremantle Dockers to drop Woodside Energy sponsorship

Group of fans including former WA premier Carmen Lawrence say having fossil fuel company as major sponsor is ‘no longer appropriate’

High profile Fremantle Dockers fans, including Tim Winton and former Western Australian premier Carmen Lawrence, have called on the club to end its partnership with Woodside Energy.

In a letter to the club’s president, Dale Alcock, and other board members, the group wrote it “it is no longer appropriate to have a fossil fuel company as our major sponsor moving forward”.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Covid quarantine centre to reopen for flood evacuees – as it happened

Daniel Andrews says 500 homes have been flooded and another 500 have been isolated. This blog is now closed

An estimated 500 homes are flooded in Victoria with number expected to grow: Daniel Andrews

Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, has been on ABC radio Melbourne this morning, providing listeners with an update on the floods.

Obviously this has been a very, very significant flood event and it’s far from over. There’s a little bit more rainfall but as that weather event passes through, the real challenge is waters continuing to rise and more and more houses being inundated, more and more communities being closed off, becoming isolated, then of course we move to clean up and all of those issues.

We think there’s about 500 homes that are flooded, we think there are another 500 that have been isolated across the state. But I would just say they’re very early estimates and the aerial intelligence gathering choppers are up in the air now ... they’ll be doing all their reports back to the state control centre. So I’d say those numbers are absolutely certain to grow. And indeed, we’re still asking people to leave in some areas. There have been important, important evacuation notices have been issued in a number of communities. So those numbers will go up. That’s why we’ve got nine important relief centres opening and 50 sandbag collection points. There’s an enormous amount of work going on.

Continue reading...

Doctor claims 55-year-old man may have been alive when sent to Perth morgue

Coroner’s court also investigating allegations doctor was asked to backdate man’s death certificate

A palliative care patient may have been alive when he was transferred to a Perth morgue, according to claims being investigated by the coroner’s court.

The court has confirmed it is investigating the allegations, first reported by Business News, which include claims a doctor was asked to backdate the man’s death certificate in an apparent attempt to cover up the incident.

Continue reading...

Fears for Indigenous rock art as construction begins on WA’s Burrup peninsula

Ex-chair of Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation says hydrogen plant, gas facility and proposed urea plant are all threats to cultural sites

Traditional custodians fighting to protect ancient rock art on the Burrup peninsula have raised concerns that construction work has begun at multiple sites despite the federal government ordering a cultural heritage assessment of the area.

The peninsula in northern Western Australia is home to industrial operations including of the country’s largest gas producer Woodside, the Yara Pilbara ammonia plant and a proposed urea plant by Indian company Perdaman.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Queen public holiday: Australian business groups express concern over lost revenue and staffing disruptions

Industry bodies join medical association in criticising Albanese government over notice for national day of mourning after death of Queen Elizabeth

Australian retail and business groups have joined the medical association in raising concerns about disruptions caused by the public holiday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II after her death on 8 September.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made the announcement on Sunday that a “one-off public holiday” would be held on 22 September as a national day of mourning, after the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...