Category Archives: Western Australia

Western Australia bushfires: homes reportedly lost and thousands told it is too late to leave

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Three properties lost near Arthur River, about 200km southeast of Perth, while another property near Yellanup destroyed and many homes without power

At least four homes have been burnt down as large bushfires sweep Australia’s west, with thousands of residents told it is too late to leave their properties

Hot weather and strong winds have fuelled several bushfires in Western Australia, including one in the Wheatbelt region that has burnt about 11,000ha.

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Wild NSW weather expected to ease as WA’s Pilbara region braces for cyclone

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Cleanup continues in parts of NSW as tropical low threatens heavy rain between Port Hedland and Ningaloo

The skies above New South Wales are expected to clear this week, bringing relief to thousands who have been left sitting in the dark as massive storms swept the state and knocked power offline.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the NSW capital and parts of the state suggests calmer skies in the week ahead, with light winds and a chance of a thunderstorm over Sydney on Tuesday.

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New weather system to strike eastern Australia with strong winds and rain

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Eastern NSW, particularly northern rivers, and Gold Coast at high risk for severe thunderstorms and winds on Thursday, BoM forecasts

Persistent rain and strong winds will sweep across New South Wales into the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts, with parts of Victoria and south-east Queensland also likely to be affected.

Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said Sydney’s weather could shift from storms to a “dreary” mix of wind, rain and cloud. It would be “persistently windy” and “quite chilly”, he said.

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Driver in Perth crash that killed four was speeding on wrong side of highway

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A taxi driver, 58, a mother and daughter, aged 56 and 81, and an unidentified driver of another car died at the scene

A mother and daughter are among four people dead in a fiery crash after an SUV was driven at high speed on the wrong side of a highway.

A grey Toyota RAV4 and a silver Camry taxi collided about 3.40am on Monday on Leach Highway in Perth near the intersection of Abernethy Road, police said.

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Andrew Forrest fires back at ExxonMobil’s claims of ‘smear campaigns and lawfare’

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Iron ore billionaire says he is ‘personally delighted’ at lawsuit as fossil fuel giant has ‘opened themselves up to cross-examination’ in a US court

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest is among a group accused of orchestrating “smear campaigns and lawfare” against the global oil and gas sector “for politics, publicity, and private gain” in a dramatic defamation claim launched in US courts by fossil fuel company ExxonMobil.

But the iron ore billionaire, who is not himself a defendant in the case, said he is “personally delighted” at the court action and that “Exxon has walked themselves into the court and opened themselves up to cross-examination”.

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Foreign tourists among three dead after Rottnest Island seaplane crash

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Privately owned Cessna 208 Caravan 675 plane was carrying seven people when it crashed off Western Australia coast

Three people have died after a seaplane crashed near Western Australia’s popular tourist destination Rottnest Island with seven people on board.

The privately owned Cessna 208 Caravan 675 seaplane is believed to have struck a small limestone outcrop called Phillip Rock while taking off from Rottnest Island, off the coast of Perth, at about 4pm local time on Tuesday.

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Three missing after private plane crashes off Rottnest Island in WA

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Four pulled from the water – three with serious injuries – but the search goes on for three other people on board

Four people have been pulled from the water – but three are still missing – after a privately owned plane crashed into the sea off Western Australia’s popular tourist site Rottnest Island.

Rescue efforts – led by police and emergency services crews, but also involving civilian vessels - was still under way on Tuesday evening.

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Southern Ocean winds to break stifling heatwave baking Australia’s south-east

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Front dragging warm air from the Pilbara brings ‘particularly hot’ weather to SA, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania

Winds from the Southern Ocean will bring relief on Monday to parts of south-eastern Australia sweltering through a three-day heatwave.

A heatwave warning for South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for the weekend as temperatures were expected to spike in some parts to 40C.

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Man dies in Canberra river as life savers warn of elevated drowning risk over summer holidays

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The country has recorded more than 30 drowning deaths in December, including multiple fatalities over the weekend

A 21-year-old man has died while swimming in a river on Canberra’s southern edge, bringing the number of drowning deaths around Australia in December alone to more than 30.

The man was swimming in the Murrumbidgee River at Pine Island reserve, near Tuggeranong, with family and friends on Sunday afternoon but failed to resurface.

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Alleged WA cocaine importing ring used small plane, remote airstrip and night-vision goggles

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Two men from Victoria and South Africa are charged with trafficking the drug into Australia

Two men are accused of trafficking 200kg of cocaine into Australia in a clandestine plot involving a small aircraft, a remote airstrip and night-vision goggles.

Australian federal police arrested a Victorian man, 48, and a South African national, 44, in Perth’s central business district at 6pm on Saturday after an investigation that began in October.

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Three drownings over weekend add to Australia’s growing toll as lifesavers plead for caution

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Drowning deaths in 2024 were overwhelmingly male, accounting for 22 of the 29 lives lost

Another three people have drowned in Australian waters as the summer death toll continues to climb during the festive period.

Police said on Sunday that two tourists were unable to be revived after a group of swimmers were pulled from a rip at a beach on Western Australia’s south-west coast.

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Renewed bushfire warnings for NSW, Victoria and WA as heat forecast to return for new year

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BoM says light winds are expected to temper the fire danger despite high temperatures, especially inland

Scorching temperatures and elevated fire dangers are forecast for the coming week as Australia rings in the new year – but light winds could protect towns from blazes becoming too severe.

Perth was the first hit by the heatwave, with a high of 34C recorded on Sunday, and maximums above 32C forecast for every day until Friday.

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Firefighters still wary of Grampians outbreak after fire destroys at least three homes

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Prime minister announces disaster recovery payments for survivors as premier gives ‘heartfelt’ thanks to firefighters

At least three homes and nearly a dozen outbuildings have been destroyed by the fire in Victoria’s Grampians, as a new fire threatens homes and lives in Western Australia.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said on Sunday morning that assessments of the damage were still continuing, and the full impact of the blaze was not yet clear. She thanked those in the path of the fire for listening to warnings and taking action to stay safe.

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WA bushfire caused by fatal car crash triples in size as firefighters warn ‘we’re not out of the woods’

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Authorities warn it is too late to leave some areas after bushfire in the Shire of Dandaragan cuts evacuation routes

Firefighters have gained the upper hand in the battle against a fierce blaze threatening coastal communities in Western Australia but authorities warn challenging weather conditions will test their defences.

The bushfire in the Shire of Dandaragan, about 170km north of Perth, has cut evacuation routes and razed more than 70,000 hectares of scrub since it was started by a fatal car crash on Monday.

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Western Australia’s endangered cockatoo among world’s longest-living birds

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Oldest Carnaby’s cockatoo in wild lived to 35, with eight recorded living beyond 21, researchers find

Western Australia’s endangered Carnaby’s cockatoos can live up to 35 years in the wild, making them one of the longest-lived bird species, according to a study that began in 1969.

Eight Carnaby’s cockatoos aged between 21 and 35 years have been recorded, according to research published in Pacific Conservation Biology.

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Fifty-year extension for one of Australia’s biggest CO2 emitters likely after WA ditches emissions-reduction rules

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Extending life of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas processing plant on Burrup Peninsula could result in billions of tonnes of climate pollution, critics say

The Western Australian Labor government appears all but certain to give one of Australia’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters the green light to operate until 2070 after it announced it would abolish state emissions-reduction requirements.

Scientists have warned the proposal to extend the life of the North West Shelf gas processing plant on the Burrup Peninsula in the country’s remote north-west is linked to the development of at least three major gas fields and could ultimately result in billions of tonnes of climate pollution being released into the atmosphere.

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More than half of Australia sweats through heatwave as BoM forecasts more scorching temperatures

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BoM expects hot weather to continue across parts of Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory next week

More than half of Australia is sweating through a heatwave, with scorching temperatures in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory expected this weekend.

Huge stretches of outback across northern Australia had been warned by the Bureau of Meteorology to expect heatwave conditions stretching into next week.

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Weather tracker: More rain forecast in Spain as storms push in

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Heightened risk Cádiz river could overflow, with yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern regions

The low-pressure system responsible for Spain’s most devastating floods in decades in Valencia also set new rainfall records across south-eastern Spain. In Jerez de la Frontera, 115mm of rain fell in 24 hours on Wednesday – the wettest day on record for the southern Spanish city. The deluge caused widespread flooding and road closures, and there is a heightened risk that the River Barbate in Cádiz could overflow as more rain is forecast through Friday and into the weekend.

While the rare red warning issued on Thursday for Valencia has expired, Spain’s national meteorological service, Aemet, has maintained yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern and Mediterranean regions as storms continue to push in.

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Frederick McCubbin descendant backs WA Museum acquisition of perspex vandalised by climate protesters

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Protective cover on acclaimed artist’s famous painting ‘an effective palette for this radical protest’, great-granddaughter says

A close descendant of the acclaimed artist Frederick McCubbin has come out in support of the Western Australian Museum after it came under fire over an unusual acquisition.

The museum confirmed this week it had acquired the perspex glass protecting one of McCubbin’s most famous paintings, Down on His Luck, from the Art Gallery of Western Australia. The perspex was spray painted with the Woodside logo by protesters in January last year.

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Mineral Resources and Woodside donated to WA Labor while it mulled gas policy changes

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A ban on exporting offshore gas was lifted in WA this week, and the Greens say two of the ‘biggest winners’ were the massive resources companies

Western Australian gas companies Mineral Resources and Woodside gave more than $20,000 to WA Labor while it was considering changes to its domestic gas policy that allowed more gas to be exported from the state.

On Thursday the state government lifted a ban on onshore gas being exported, allowing 20% to go overseas until 2031, in a change the premier, Roger Cook, said would boost the state’s gas industry.

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