Category Archives: Western Australian politics

Premier pleads for end to ‘language of division’ in politics after WA police foil alleged mass terror attack

Posted on by

Roger Cook condemned ‘dog whistling under the guise of immigration policy’ after police lay charges against alleged member of white supremacist group

The West Australian premier, Roger Cook, has urged the community to condemn the emergence of “dog whistling” and the “language of division” in mainstream politics after a 20-year-old man was charged with preparing a terrorist attack.

Jayson Joseph Michaels, from Bindoon, appeared at the Perth magistrates court on Friday, charged with acting in preparation for a terrorist act, possessing a prohibited weapon, two firearms offences and using a carriage service to menace or harass.

Continue reading...

Ten things we learned from Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Labor party campaign launch

Posted on by

The PM addressed a crowd of 500 people in Perth, spruiking new policies on housing and tax deductions, celebrating WA and invoking Donald Trump. Here’s what you may have missed

Labor’s election campaign launch in Perth was headlined by a $10bn housing pledge, a vow to help first home buyers and a new $1,000 “automatic” tax deduction for all workers.

It also featured a former prime minister, gags about rugby league and more than a few digs at Peter Dutton alongside Labor’s claims that he is copying Donald Trump’s political playbook.

Continue reading...

Perth mayor and former journalist Basil Zempilas’s bid to lead Liberals to power in Labor-faithful WA

Posted on by

Zempilas admitted he would continue to write unpaid for his former employer Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media and appear on Channel 7’s Sunrise program

Basil Zempilas’ punt for leadership has sailed straight through the goalposts, in a gameplay by Western Australia’s Liberals that surprised nobody.

As the nation waited for the federal budget to drop, Zempilas took centre stage on the steps of the state parliament to announce his unopposed appointment as opposition leader.

Continue reading...

Premier claims WA a ‘renewable energy powerhouse’ but leaked document shows wind and solar projects have ‘stalled’

Posted on by

Exclusive: Government document confirms electricity from large-scale renewables has flatlined, with one campaigner saying pipeline has ‘little sign of life’

Officials have warned the Western Australian Labor government that work to build wind and solar farms for the state’s main electricity grid has stalled under its leadership, a leaked document shows.

A confidential state government document reveals state bureaucrats advised the government that the “decarbonisation work program” in Perth’s electricity grid had “stalled to date”. It said there were “few new wind developments” advanced enough to be added to the grid before the promised closure of a coal power station in 2027.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

WA Labor multicultural group in revolt over treatment of Fatima Payman

Posted on by

Exclusive: Two officeholders quit, with one claiming the party had ‘become a spineless jellyfish’

Labor’s multicultural branch in Western Australia is in upheaval, with two officeholders quitting the party in protest at the treatment of Fatima Payman.

Guardian Australia can reveal that the branch’s treasurer and vice-president have resigned, with one claiming the party had “become a spineless jellyfish” that “throws its own under the bus at the drop of a hat”.

Continue reading...

Shadow energy minister says system in ‘dire trouble’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Australia needs more gas supply on east coast, Albanese says

Anthony Albanese is speaking to the ABC from Devonport.

We’ll work those issues through with Aemo.

We need more gas supply. We announced our future gas strategy a short while ago because we understand that we need more supply. Gas has an important role to play in manufacturing in particular. But also in providing firming capacity for the renewables rollout.

Continue reading...

‘A lot of asbestos in the streets’: WA declares ‘hazmat emergency’ after tornado hits Bunbury

Posted on by

More than 100 homes damaged when tornado ripped off roofs, collapsed walls and sucked up debris in state’s south-west

Asbestos scattered over residential streets has prompted a “hazmat emergency” response in Western Australia’s south-west, with specialist crews urgently working to contain any possible exposure aftter a devastating tornado.

More than 100 homes were damaged when the tornado ripped off roofs, collapsed walls and sucked up debris into the sky at Bunbury on Friday afternoon.

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

Continue reading...

Two 17-year-old climate activists claim WA premier Roger Cook defamed them over Woodside protest

Posted on by

Emma Heyink and Tom Power say the premier made false comments about protest at company’s annual general meeting

Two 17-year-old climate activists are alleging the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, defamed them by falsely claiming during a press conference they intimidated and threatened the children of the CEO and chair of petroleum giant Woodside Energy.

The two teenagers, Emma Heyink and Tom Power, are activists involved with campaign group Disrupt Burrup Hub and were involved in a protest at the Woodside annual general meeting at Crown Casino last Wednesday.

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

Continue reading...

Western Australian MP admitted alleged child sexual abuse to wife before charges laid, court told

Posted on by

James Hayward, 53, has pleaded not guilty to the abuse of an eight-year-old girl

A Western Australian MP on trial for child sexual abuse admitted the crimes in an email to his wife before he was charged, a court has been told.

James Dorrin Hayward has pleaded not guilty to four offences relating to the alleged abuse of an eight-year-old girl.

Continue reading...

WA premier Roger Cook axes Aboriginal cultural heritage laws after outcry by landholders

Posted on by

Government apologises for new laws it says went too far and placed unnecessary burdens on everyday property owners

The Western Australian government has apologised and scrapped its controversial Indigenous cultural heritage protection laws just weeks after they came into effect.

The premier, Roger Cook, and Aboriginal affairs minister, Tony Buti, made the announcement after days of speculation and months of intense pressure from the state’s farming, mining and pastoralist industries over concerns the new laws were confusing and difficult to implement.

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

Continue reading...

WA cultural heritage laws: Indigenous group condemns reports of Labor backflip ‘within days’

Posted on by

Roger Cook’s government foreshadowed about-face with resources companies and Indigenous groups on Friday

An Indigenous group says it is devastated by reports cultural heritage laws that came into effect in Western Australia just over a month ago may be scrapped following a backlash from farmers.

The Labor government foreshadowed the about-face at a briefing with big resources companies and Indigenous groups on Friday, the West Australian reported on Saturday. An announcement is expected “within days”, it added.

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

Continue reading...

Rockingham byelection: WA premier plays down swing from Labor as party holds on to Mark McGowan’s old seat

Posted on by

Magenta Marshall claims victory in former Western Australian leader’s seat but opposition leader says plunge in ALP’s primary vote should be a ‘wake-up call’

Western Australian premier Roger Cook is playing down a swing away from Labor in the wake of his government comfortably retaining the seat of Rockingham in Perth’s south.

Labor strategist Magenta Marshall cruised to victory in the Rockingham byelection, triggered by the retirement of former premier Mark McGowan, after polling 49.41% of the primary vote.

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...

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...

Dominic Perrottet rules out Sydney congestion tax after confidential plans leaked

Posted on by

Researchers say the major road transport reform should not be ruled out so quickly as city faces growing gridlock

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, says his government will not introduce a congestion charge but researchers are calling for the major road transport reform not to be ruled out so quickly.

“There is no plan for a congestion tax and and we can rule it out completely,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

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

Continue reading...

Former WA treasurer Troy Buswell given suspended sentence for ‘cowardly’ attacks on ex-wife

Posted on by

Charges related to incidents in 2015 and 2016 in which Buswell assaulted Melissa Hankinson multiple times

Former West Australian treasurer Troy Buswell has been handed a suspended prison sentence for repeatedly attacking his ex-wife.

Buswell, 56, pleaded guilty in Perth magistrates court to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated assault causing bodily harm.

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

Continue reading...

Western Australia premier Mark McGowan tests positive to Covid while in isolation

Posted on by

A member of the premier’s family contracted the virus earlier this week

The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, has tested positive to Covid while isolating at home with his family.

McGowan had initially returned a negative test after a family member contracted the virus earlier this week, rendering him a close contact.

Continue reading...