As it happened: WA news on Monday, June 15

A Perth towing company has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay legal costs in the first conviction under the state’s new reforms aimed at improving accountability in the industry.

Towlife Enterprises was convicted in Perth Magistrates Court after it was found that the company failed to provide requested material, such as paperwork and other records, needed to investigate potential breaches of the towing laws.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of $60,000.

The Towing Services Act 2024 was passed in October 2024, immediately introducing a ban on advertising or payment of spotter fees.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is wary of the need for his AFL ladder leaders to nail their preparation on return from a bye in the blockbuster clash with Geelong.

The Dockers are set to regain vice-captain Caleb Serong (calf) at Optus Stadium on Thursday night, and could also welcome back fellow midfielder Matthew Johnson (hamstring) and defender Brennan Cox (knee) from injuries.

The boost in personnel comes as Longmuir’s men seek to pick up where they left off before the mid-season break, having posted a record 124-point mauling of North Melbourne last time out.

Teams across the competition have struggled to immediately find their feet after weeks off in recent seasons, especially when resuming against sides who were in action the previous round.

Sticking with the press conference, Water Corporation chief executive Pat Donovan and Water Minister Don Punch have been questioned over a burst water pipe that forced a Wellard family out of their home.

Donovan said that when crews first arrived at the Wellard home last weekend, the only impact was water “bubbling from the grass on the verge”.

Repairs were planned “in the coming days” but 24 hours later, the pipe burst and flooded the home.

Crews were back on scene within the hour.

To politics now, and Premier Roger Cook has just held a press conference and been asked about One Nation and how the party is faring in WA.

He has admitted “there are many people who are disillusioned and disappointed with where we are at the moment”.

“We have a generation of Western Australians that are impacted by the financial crisis, the shocks of the Ukrainian war, the current situation with the crisis in the Middle East, and I think everyone’s just wondering when we’re going to catch a break,” Cook said.

“That’s why they’re anxious about their standard of living, about inflation, about employment.

There are growing tributes for a young Perth girl shot dead in Pakistan in a tragic case of mistaken identity.

Hania Ahmed, 9, was travelling with her family in a hire car on Wednesday when they were mistaken for armed robbers. Police peppered their vehicle with bullets, killing the Year 4 student and seriously injuring her father, 39, and brother, 11. Her mother was unharmed.

The family had travelled to Saudi Arabia for an Islamic pilgrimage, and were visiting Pakistan to celebrate with relatives when the fatal shooting occurred.

They were robbed at gun point, with police mistaking their vehicle for the thieves.