As it happened: WA news on Monday, December 2

That’s all for the blog today. Thanks for joining us.

To recap the day’s local news, a Halls Head mother charged with careless driving over a Wheatbelt car crash that killed her twin daughters has pleaded guilty to the offence and will be sentenced in March next year.

Rachel van Oyen with her twin daughters, Macey and Riley, who died in a crash in February.Credit: Facebook

Rachel Van Oyen, 32, was travelling on Great Eastern Highway in Carrabin when her Toyota Camry sedan veered off the road and crashed into a tree.

Also news from the courts – four people accused of murdering teenager Cassius Turvey have formally pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Cassius, a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, died in a Perth hospital 10 days after an incident as he walked home from school with friends on October 13, 2022.

Brodie Lee Palmer, 29, Mitchell Colin Forth, 26, Jack Steven James Brearley, 23, and Aleesha Louise Gilmore, 22, pleaded not guilty in the WA Supreme Court on Monday.

And almost two years after sourcing a stolen Italian passport, chartering a private plane in Western Australia and fleeing to Thailand, high-ranking Hells Angels chief Rodrigo Elices’ life on the run was over.

Sitting handcuffed aboard a flight from Manila to Melbourne after weeks of country-hopping while trying to escape extradition to Australia to face dozens of firearm and drug charges, Elices was a man with nowhere left to run.

Have a lovely evening and we look forward to you joining us again tomorrow.

Recently, we brought you the news that WA’s cat control crusaders were accusing the state government of failing to stop free-range felines from killing 47 million mammals, birds and reptiles in Perth every year.

Households who already have more than two cats in permanent residence would not be required to obtain a permit. Credit: Claire Ottaviano

You can read more from that story here.

Today, the City of Melville has taken matters into its own hands, joining a list of other local governments which have drafted Cat Local Laws.

The proposed laws in Melville will include the creation of ‘cat-free’ zones in places with important flora and fauna, or significant conservation reserves within the City, and the introduction of a two-cat per household limit.

Any additional cats would need approval.

Cats being fostered or looked after short term won’t count towards the limit and shelters and veterinary practices are also exempt.

Melville deputy mayor Karen Wheatland said the city recognised cats were much loved companions for many residents, enhancing their health and wellbeing

“I believe the proposed law and its recent revisions provide a good balance that takes into account our feline friends and their owners, alongside our responsibility as guardians to protect significant natural places and wildlife for future generations to enjoy,” she said.

Public comment on the revised, draft law is open until 4pm on January 20.

Fremantle recruit Shai Bolton is a “unique” weapon who can make his new teammates more dangerous too, says Dockers skipper Alex Pearce.

Former Richmond dynamo Bolton, who returned to Western Australia in the trade period, looms as the missing piece in Fremantle’s search for an elusive AFL premiership.

Shai Bolton.Credit: Getty

The two-time premiership Tiger and 2022 All-Australian forward has 165 goals from 135 AFL games but can also push through the midfield with devastating effect.

“He’s pretty unique in the competition,” Pearce said of the 25-year-old on Monday.

“Just his agility and how quick he moves, bit of polish with the ball.

“We’ve seen that he’s a talented player and he can play in the forward line and play in the midfield as well.

“So that’s also another good thing to have because our mids like to get forward as well so they can flip with him and hopefully create - they can get dangerous in that way as well.”

AAP

Bringing you back to our post from 9.13am and fresh images have emerged, showing the devastation caused by a fire that engulfed what appears to be a luxury boat off the WA coast this morning.

The images from the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter clearly show the boat was beyond saving. Luckily, the two passengers on board made it out unharmed.

The helicopter and Surf Life Saving WA crews were called around 8.25am and spotted the two men in a dinghy near the burning boat.

They helped Water Police guide the pair back to shore. You can see several images of the disaster captured by the chopper below.

The boat was beyond saving by the time rescue crews arrived. Credit: Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter

A firefighting vessel extinguishes the flames. Credit: Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter

A locally made film about a girl and her dog who tries to save their farm has dominated this year’s WA Screen Culture Awards, taking home all four of its nominations.

Craig Silvey’s novel Runt was adapted into a film which surpassed $5.5 million in sales at the Australian box office.

Squid as Runt with Lily LaTorre as Annie.Credit: Court McAllister

While Runt is a children’s book, the Fremantle author has also written adult novels including Jasper Jones, another book turned into a movie and filmed down in the southwest town of Pemberton, and Honeybee.

Runt won in key categories at the awards, including Innovation in Narrative Feature Film with a budget over $1 million and Outstanding Achievement in Writing, Production Design and Original Music.

Meanwhile, hard-hitting documentary Genocide in the Wildflower State – which explores the brutal history of state-run eugenics and racial assimilation in the 20th century – also took home multiple awards.

Find out more about the winners here.

Perth Wildcats coach John Rillie rates Bryce Cotton’s record-breaking 59-point explosion against the New Zealand Breakers as the best individual performance he has seen.

Rillie, in his third season in charge of the Wildcats, logged 481 games as a player from 1995-2010.

But the Wildcats boss has never seen anything like what Cotton crafted in Sunday’s 123-112 win.

“The best,” Rillie responded, when asked where the individual masterclass sits all-time.

“He was in a great groove. You could see the flow and momentum in the first quarter. When you have an elite shot-maker like that, it’s beautiful to watch.

“That was just music, that was poetry ... I just need to admire, watch and let it unfold.”

Cotton cruised past his previous career-best of 45 well before three-quarter-time, then motored past 51, which was the highest individual score of the modern 40-minute era, set by Brisbane import James Batemon against Perth a fortnight ago.

A pair of free throws with 20 seconds to go saw Cotton surpass the long-standing club record of 57 points set by James Crawford in 1987.

AAP

New figures released today paint a worrying picture of the race to build more homes for the state’s booming population.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that WA’s total dwelling approvals slid 12 per cent in October to 1776, while private house approvals fell 6 per cent.

Oxford Economics Australia senior economist Maree Kilroy said the dwelling commencement stage was also lagging, with the volume of approved but not yet started projects blowing out over the first half of 2024.

“Utility connection issues appear to be the primary impediment on beginning construction while skill shortages are currently impacting more on work done and completion volumes,” she said.

“Underlying demand for housing is running hot. The rapid return of migration inflows has pushed Perth’s annual population growth rate to 3.5 per cent.

“Combined with favourable, albeit deteriorating, affordability and a strong labour market, this will power a prolonged upturn.”

Kilroy said land lot prices and build costs had ballooned over the past year, providing downside demand risk further out.

In case you missed it yesterday, the WA Liberals are looking to start this week a little better than last, by announcing another major election commitment to reverse an electricity bill charge that was doubled by Labor more than seven years ago.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam.Credit: Trevor Collens

That portion of your bill, known as the “electricity fixed daily supply charge” was increased from 48.6 cents to 94.9 cents per day in Labor’s first budget in 2017 which the Liberals have calculated to total about $1350 in extra charges on household budgets since that time.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam announced on Sunday that, if elected in March next year, her government would cut the rate to 67.6 cents per day which would cost the government $676 million over four years.

“We will cut Labor’s unfair energy bills for homes to provide immediate and essential cost of living relief for families doing it tough,” she said.

Over the past three budgets power bills have gone down under the state Labor government thanks to consecutive one-off power bill credits.

Premier Roger Cook has just announced $86 million to go towards beefed up family and domestic violence responses in WA including $41 million for enforcing new laws like electronic monitoring of offenders.

Premier Roger Cook has just announced $86 million to go towards beefed up family and domestic violence responses.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

Speaking at a 16 Days in WA breakfast at Crown, Cook shared a memory of his GP father who, when he was younger, occasionally allowed a patient fleeing domestic violence to sleep on their family couch.

“Every now and then there was a strange person on the couch but it was never spoken about directly – in those days it wasn’t,” he said.

“It was talked around with veiled conversations and euphemisms, it made people uncomfortable and so, nothing was done. This meant the entire system was unprepared.”

Cook said $19 million of the funding would also go to provide funding injections at every refuge organisation around the state as well as $8.2 million for a new pilot program to support kids impacted by the scourge.

About $11 million will go toward FDV treatment and behaviour change programs.

“I recognise that ending FDV will require more than just money but funding definitely goes a long way,” Cook said.

To some breaking news now and a boat has caught fire in Cottesloe around two kilometres from the beach, forcing those on board to jump ship as it went up in flames.

The smoke could be seen from the shore.Credit: Facebook

Plumes of smoke could be seen from shore and authorities were called around 8.25am.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Marine Rescue and Water Police were all alerted to the blaze.

The fire had ignited in the vessel’s engine bay.

The two men on board were rescued – picked up by police and escorted back to shore – and are now safe and uninjured.

A firefighting vessel is on scene, but the boat has already been destroyed.