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WA news as it happened: Carolina Wilga discharged from hospital, Albany train crash

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Today’s headlines

Thanks for reading our live coverage today. We’ll be back tomorrow with more live coverage.

Here’s a wrap-up of today’s top headlines.

  • A woman is in a critical condition after a car she was in was hit by a grain train near Albany this afternoon.
  • German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been released after six days in hospital.
  • Docker Luke Jackson will continue to be employed as a big-bodied midfield “weapon” even if Hayden Young makes his highly anticipated return in Sunday’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG.
  • The Perth man accused of ploughing into a bystander during a Burswood car meet, leaving her fighting for life was granted bail in court today.
  • Bradley John Murdoch, one of Australia’s most notorious killers, has died in custody in the Northern Territory.

Ute hit by train in Albany

By Hannah Murphy

A woman is in a critical condition after a car she was in was hit by a grain train near Albany this afternoon.

The ute was hit about 2pm on Redmond-Hay River Road, near the intersection of Siding Road.

A man and a woman in their 30s and three children all under the age of 10 were in the car at the time of the collision.

The man and children were taken to Albany Health Campus for treatment.

Carolina Wilga released from hospital

By Hannah Murphy

Carolina Wilga has been released after six days in hospital.

Carolina Wilga.

Carolina Wilga.Credit: AP

The German backpacker was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital for treatment following her 11-day ordeal in Western Australia’s remote bushland.

She was admitted to the facility on Friday suffering from dehydration, an injury to her foot and mosquito bites.

She was released this afternoon, and managed to slip past waiting media with the help of security.

Wilga has signalled her intention to return home to Germany after her hospital stay.

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‘We’re tempted’: Freo weigh up big call on Young gun

Luke Jackson will continue to be employed as a big-bodied midfield “weapon” even if Hayden Young makes his highly anticipated return in Sunday’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG.

Young missed the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury and played just four matches upon his return before tearing his hamstring again.

Hayden Young.

Hayden Young.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

Surgery has kept the 24-year-old sidelined since early May, but Young is ready to return to playing duties this weekend.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is yet to decide whether to ease Young back via the WAFL, or unleash him straight into battle against ladder leaders Collingwood.

Using Young as the sub against Collingwood is another option, but Longmuir is confident the star midfielder could play a full game at AFL level if required.

“We’re tempted,” Longmuir replied when asked if Young would play against the Magpies.

“His whole rehab has been mapped out for this week.

“You can manage players. We’ve got mids who play lower game time, we could even go lower (for Young) than we do with some of our other mids.”

Jackson is enjoying a career-best season, with his work in the ruck particularly exquisite in a campaign in which he is averaging 27 hitouts and 17.5 disposals per game, to go with 13 goals.

The return of Young would put a squeeze on midfield spots, given the likes of Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Shai Bolton are A-grade regulars in there, complemented by the likes of Jaeger O’Meara, Matthew Johnson and Nathan O’Driscoll.

But Longmuir is eager to persist with the Jackson midfield experiment.

“We’ve chopped and changed a fair bit with Jacko, and I want to keep it pretty consistent with him, get that continuity going,” he said.

AAP

Burswood car meet driver clocked 96km/h before hitting bystander, court hears

The Perth man accused of ploughing into a bystander during a Burswood car meet, leaving her fighting for life, has just faced court following his arrest yesterday.

Chun Lai Yuen, 25, allegedly hit Caitlyn Dickson, 17, while travelling at nearly 100km/h along Camfield Drive, a 40km/h zone, on Monday night as people were beginning to disperse from the event.

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Mobile phone footage of the incident shows a black Honda Civic and another vehicle quickly speed up as they drive down the road which is flanked by crowds either side.

The teen was struck with such force, she was flung four metres into the air and suffered serious internal injuries including broken bones and torn organs.

She remains in a stable but serious condition in intensive care with police charging Yuen with dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.

During the Chinese national’s bail application in Perth Magistrate’s Court this afternoon, the police prosecutor, who opposed bail, said Yuen disposed of his car’s dashcam memory card in the aftermath of the crash, and declined to be interviewed at the police watchhouse, saying he “feels so sorry for the lady getting injured”.

The electrical engineer student, who has lived in WA for three years, was granted bail but is not allowed to drive, leave the state, or contact any witnesses.

Former WA union boss appointed to salaries tribunal

By Hamish Hastie

Labor has selected a former WA union heavyweight to join the panel that determines the pays of politicians, bureaucrats and judges.

Former Unions WA secretary and current head of West Australian Music, Owen Whittle was appointed to the committee to replace former member John Day whose appointment was deemed invalid earlier this year.

Owen Whittle.

Owen Whittle. Credit: Trevor Collens.

Unions WA is the peak advocacy body for unions in the state and its members have close ties with the Labor party.

“Owen Whittle brings a wealth of experience to the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal,” Premier Roger Cook said.

“The tribunal plays an important role in setting the salaries of senior public office holders independently from the government of the day.

“Mr Whittle will support the tribunal to continue to set executive position salaries that allow Western Australia to attract the best and brightest people to these important roles while being considerate of community expectations.”

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Cook denies he’s being naive over AUKUS certainty

WA Premier Roger Cook denies he is being naive about the future of WA’s role in AUKUS given the unpredictable nature of the Trump administration.

The Federal government has committed to investing $8 billion to expand HMAS Stirling’s navy base over the next decade to make it home to Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines.

Cook said he was very confident about the future of the pact, despite Australia pushing back against US requests for it to detail how it would help in a hypothetical conflict with China.

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“Obviously, you’ve seen the UK Government undertake its [AUKUS] review, you’ve seen the US Government currently undertaking its review in terms of their approach to it,” he said.

“But there’s two things issues around this; one, there’s a long-standing and abiding partnership and friendship between the UK, US and Australia, so that partnership will remain.

“But the second part is, of course, that if the US and the UK are going to meet their production targets in terms of the manufacture of their various classes of their submarines, they’ve got any Western Australian and Australian industry to be part of their global supply chain.

“We know that we live in globally uncertain times at the moment. We watch on a daily basis to see the way the Trump administration’s announcements bounce around on a day by day basis, particularly in relation to global trade.

“But what we do know is that the AUKUS partnership has actually spanned a number of administrations. It actually started under the previous Trump administration, was supported by the Biden administration, and now you have Trump 2.0.

“These things are hard-wired and deeply embedded in the administration of the US government.”

Minister reveals details of Synergy review

By Hamish Hastie

Staying with the Premier’s press conference, Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has just revealed more details about the independent review into Synergy’s overcharging of vulnerable customers.

Synergy overcharged 2845 of its most vulnerable customers using the Centrelink system Centrepay a collective $2.29 million since 2009.

The retailer has paid back 1400 customers since then, but Sanderson said she was very concerned about the breaches of its code of conduct.

“I am very disappointed that this has gone on for so long and gone on undetected,” she said.

Sanderson said she found out about the breach in an early briefing after becoming Energy Minister in March.

She said she had ordered Synergy to put a manual stop on all Centrepay accounts that were no longer in use and revealed the independent review would be expanded to other payment systems.

“I have instigated an independent review of all of Synergy’s billing systems and processes relating to all of their billing platforms, including BPAY Australia, post and credit card. So this is going to be quite a significant and wide-ranging review,” she said.

The timeframe for the review has not been settled, and two reviewers would be appointed soon.

Rio Tinto’s new WA boss a ‘cracking appointment’: Premier

WA Premier Roger Cook has just held a press conference to announce a funding grant to a local wind turbine manufacturer in Bayswater.

During the conference, he’s also commented on the news yesterday that West Australian-raised Simon Trott has been appointed to run Rio Tinto.

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“It’s a cracking, cracking appointment, I’m so proud of Simon, I’m so proud of his team,” he said.

“It’s an endorsement of everything that they’ve done to maintain Western Australia as one of the great mining jurisdictions in the world and now we have a homegrown product, a boy who grew up in the Wheatbelt, who now is heading up one of the largest mining companies in the world.

“We’re very proud of him, and we think he deserves it. He’s done a great job for Rio Tinto in Western Australia.”

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Rescued backpacker may fly home to family

An update on rescued German backpacker Carolina Wilga now.

The 26-year-old has spent her fifth night in hospital as she continues to recover from spending 11 days lost in WA’s outback.

Carolina Wilga was rescued by a station owner driving along a remote dirt track.

Carolina Wilga was rescued by a station owner driving along a remote dirt track. Credit: WA Police

The German Consulate has confirmed they are in close contact with Wilga, who has been travelling through Australia since January 2024.

They say they are offering any assistance possible.

Apart from a statement and some photos of Wilga in her hospital bed, little is known about what the backpacker was doing driving through the rugged Wheatbelt region before her van bogged, or how she survived her time in the bush.

National current affairs programs are interested in telling her story, however, WAtoday understands Wilga is considering flying back to Germany to reunite with her family.

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Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/western-australia/wa-news-live-burswood-crash-victims-parents-say-it-s-a-miracle-teen-is-still-alive-20250715-p5mf5i.html