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As it happened: WA news on Friday, June 12

Updated ,first published

Key Posts

Police investigate after body found on Goldfields road
Woodside to pay $320m for greater Browse stake as it muscles Inpex out of joint venture
Federal consultation opens for Kimberley fracking proposal
BHP faces $120 million loss from strike action at major WA port
Convenience stores across WA shut down over illegal vapes, tobacco

Today’s headlines

By

Thanks for joining us this week.

Here’s a reminder of today’s top headlines:

  • The Electrical Trades Union remains hopeful mining giant BHP will come to the table and negotiate after all of its members working at the company’s Port Hedland operations voted in favour of strike action this week.
  • West Australian Labor politicians have hit back after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson put their seats in the party’s sights during a whirlwind trip to Perth this week.
  • Police are investigating after a body was found on the side of an outback highway this morning near Kalgoorlie.
  • Close to 40 stores have been shut down across Perth over the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes under new laws pushed through state parliament last month.
  • A new report has revealed Perth drivers are now paying almost $40 a day to park their car in the CBD.

See you back here next week when we will continue our rolling coverage of the latest news. Have a safe weekend!

Kangaroos still sore after Freo drubbing

By Justin Chadwick

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson says even being on the moon wouldn’t have been enough to escape feeling down in the dumps following last week’s 124-point loss to Fremantle.

Master coach Alistair Clarkson.Getty Images

But the veteran coach insists he’s not feeling the pressure with just 18 months left on his contract, backing his players to put in a much better showing in Saturday’s clash with West Coast at Optus Stadium.

The Kangaroos conceded the last 19 goals of the match last week on the way to the 24.11 (155) to 4.7 (31) defeat in Bunbury.

It marked the equal seventh biggest loss in North’s history, and was a huge step backwards for a club that had thought its lengthy rebuild was on track.

Perth Bears already whacked with $40,000 fine

By Jasper Bruce

The NRL has slapped expansion side Perth and coach Mal Meninga with fines totalling $40,000 for breaches of the league’s anti-tampering rules.

The fines relate to media comments made by foundation coach Meninga about the Bears’ hopes of signing Penrith star Nathan Cleary and Canterbury duo Matt Burton and Jacob Preston.

Inaugural coach of the Perth Bears NRL team, Mal Meninga at HBF stadium.SMH

The NRL tightened its rules in the pre-season such that clubs risk fines over perceived public attempts to court players before the final year of their contract.

Cleary, Burton and Preston are unable to negotiate with rival outfits until November 1, given they are contracted with their current clubs through 2027.

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Labor accused of siding with ‘union mates’ ahead of BHP port strike

By Hannah Murphy

The federal member for Durack has slammed Resources Minister Madeleine King for allegedly siding with mining unions ahead of a potential strike action in the Pilbara next week.

Resources Minister Madeleine KingRoss Swanborough

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Electrical Trades Union membership bases voted for a strike at BHP’s Port Hedland facility on Thursday, after seven months of stalled negotiations over a new employment agreement with the miner.

On ABC Radio this morning, King said unions in the Pilbara have a right to industrial action, and workers on sites in the region “deserve every cent” due to its harsh conditions.

Liberal party member Melissa Price – the federal member for the Pilbara region – said King’s comments had shown “exactly who [the Labor party] represents” and “who’s interests they care about”.

Police investigate after body found on Goldfields road

By Hannah Murphy

Police are investigating after a body was found on the side of an outback highway this morning.

Officers were called to the side of the Goldfields Highway about 10am on Friday.

It is understood a person’s body was found near the road, and officers are now searching through surrounding bushland.

Police have asked anyone with information to contact them as soon as possible.

The highway is open as normal, but motorists are warned to drive carefully due to emergency services working in the area.

Woodside to pay $320m for greater Browse stake as it muscles Inpex out of joint venture

By Derek Rose

Australia’s largest oil and gas company has moved to increase its stake in the country’s biggest undeveloped offshore gas resource off Western Australia’s northern coast.

Woodside Energy will pay at least $US225 million ($320 million) to increase its stake in the Browse joint venture, a $48.7 billion project 425km off the coast of WA that’s been under environmental review for the past seven years.

Woodside Energy chief executive Liz Westcott.Roy VanDerVegt

Woodside is exercising its rights to pre-empt the sale by one of its joint venture partners of its 10.67 per cent stake in the project to a third party.

PetroChina International, the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, had proposed selling its stake to Inpex Corp, Japan’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company.

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Federal consultation opens for Kimberley fracking proposal

By

The federal environment department has opened public consultation on a proposed fracking project in the Kimberley, just one day after newly released documents revealed it had unresolved concerns about Traditional Owner consultation and environmental risks.

Environs Kimberley Director Martin Pritchard. Holly Thompson

Texan company Black Mountain Energy’s subsidiary Bennett Resources is seeking federal approval to drill fracking wells in the Kimberley.

On Tuesday, The Guardian reported the Department of Climate Change, Energy and the Environment had repeatedly warned the company it had not provided enough information about water resources and ecosystems that could be harmed by its gas drilling plans.

WA’s Environmental Protection Authority has recommended approval of the development under state laws.

BHP faces $120 million loss from strike action at major WA port

By Michael Philipps

The Electrical Trades Union remains hopeful mining giant BHP will come to the table and negotiate after all of its members working at the company’s Port Hedland operations voted in favour of strike action this week.

ETU WA secretary Adam Woodage said members had voted to endorse a work stoppage that could last anywhere from 30 minutes up to 24 hours.

Electrical Trades Union WA secretary Adam Woodage.Michael Philipps

Should the latter eventuate, it could cost BHP up to $120 million – the value of the iron ore that is shipped out of Australia’s biggest bulk export port every day.

“And we do not shy away from that, because the only thing that these big businesses understand is when the profit margins are hit,” Woodage said.

Perth convenience store robbed at knifepoint, police allege

By

Thieves have targeted a tobacco store in Perth’s south-east overnight, with detectives and forensic teams spending the early hours of this morning investigating the incident.

The Free Choice tobacconist, along Archer Street in Carlisle, was broken into around midnight by two unknown men.

WA Police have alleged that one of the men involved in the incident was armed with a knife.

The pair stole cash and a number of other items from the store before fleeing on foot.

9News Perth has reported there was no damage to the shopfront, and the staff member working at the store during the incident was not harmed.

The alleged offenders were both wearing black hoodies and black tracksuit pants – one wearing a balaclava and the other using a medical mask to hide their faces.

They remain on the run, and officers are urging anyone with information to come forward.

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Convenience stores across WA shut down over illegal vapes, tobacco

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Close to 40 stores have been shut down across Perth over the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes under new laws pushed through state parliament last month.

Convenience stores in Hamilton Hill, Perth, are closed under new laws aimed at halting the sale of illicit tobacco and vapes.Cameron Myles

Health authorities now have the power to close down shops for up to 90 days if they are found to be stocking the illegal products.

Health Minister Meredith Hammat revealed that 39 stores had been closed in entertainment hotspots like Fremantle and Northbridge and in the suburbs during question time in parliament on Thursday afternoon.

“The first closure order happened the day after the laws were proclaimed, and that closure order was given effect in Kalgoorlie,” she said.

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