As it happened: WA news on Monday, July 21

WA billionaire builder Len Buckeridge’s widow Siok Puay ‘Tootsie’ Koh has bought a $5.5 million sprawling estate east of Perth in a receivership deal.

The 143-hectare private retreat-turned-tourist destination on Toodyay Road in Gidgegannup was auctioned off in March, with the new owner only revealed today.

Le Lake Retreat in Gidgegannup.Credit: EPS

Known as Le Lake Retreat, the picturesque grounds include 10 hectares of lakes, a three-bedroom lakeside cabin, beaches, jetties, landscaped semi-formal and ornamental gardens featuring 12 gazebos, multiple waterfalls, and a plethora of sculptures and artworks sourced from a UK studio.

Nestled between two of the lakes, the parterre pays homage to the 15th century gardens of the French Renaissance, with the manicured formal lawns, intricate, low, clipped hedging, waterfall and cascading stream inspired by the Rothschild Gardens at Lake Como.

It last sold for $7.7 million in 2019.

Effective Property Solutions head of property investments Ollie Salimi said the property – which also includes an office, sheds and equipment –was originally owned by Perth-based shopping centre magnate Michael Coleman.

We’re bringing our blog to a close for today, thank you for joining us.

Here’s what made headlines today:

• The family of convicted drug smuggler Donna Nelson has flown to Japan to support the Perth grandmother through her appeal.

• Perth dancer Faith Ward has recounted how she found out she had been selected to join the world-famous Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad.

• Pharmacists will soon be able to diagnose and treat everyday health conditions like skin conditions, ear infections and asthma without the need for a GP-issued prescription.

• There are a growing number of inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floors of WA’s prisons due to overcrowding.

• WA’s flu season is ramping up, with the number of reported cases putting the state on track to break a previous record set in the post-COVID era of 2022.

• WA billionaire builder Len Buckeridge’s widow Siok Puay ‘Tootsie’ Koh has bought a $5.5 million sprawling estate east of Perth in a receivership deal.

Thank you again for tuning in. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for more news you need to know.

Two cows have died after a cattle truck rollover in the Broome town centre this morning.

The truck rolled on Gubinge Road between Cable Beach Road East, heading towards the town’s port around 6am.

Some of the cows, pictured in bush just metres off a main road in the centre of Broome.

The truck driver and his passenger weren’t injured, but a number of cows were able to escape the crash and were last seen roaming on the main highway and in nearby bushland.

WA police confirmed two cattle died.

Musterers are still working to round the rest of the cattle up.

Motorists have been warned to keep an eye out for any wandering on the road.

WA billionaire builder Len Buckeridge’s widow Siok Puay ‘Tootsie’ Koh has bought a $5.5 million sprawling estate east of Perth in a receivership deal.

The 143-hectare private retreat-turned-tourist destination on Toodyay Road in Gidgegannup was auctioned off in March, with the new owner only revealed today.

Le Lake Retreat in Gidgegannup.Credit: EPS

Known as Le Lake Retreat, the picturesque grounds include 10 hectares of lakes, a three-bedroom lakeside cabin, beaches, jetties, landscaped semi-formal and ornamental gardens featuring 12 gazebos, multiple waterfalls, and a plethora of sculptures and artworks sourced from a UK studio.

Nestled between two of the lakes, the parterre pays homage to the 15th century gardens of the French Renaissance, with the manicured formal lawns, intricate, low, clipped hedging, waterfall and cascading stream inspired by the Rothschild Gardens at Lake Como.

It last sold for $7.7 million in 2019.

Effective Property Solutions head of property investments Ollie Salimi said the property – which also includes an office, sheds and equipment –was originally owned by Perth-based shopping centre magnate Michael Coleman.

The head of WA’s peak medical body has just responded to the state government’s announcement today that pharmacists will soon be able to diagnose and prescribe medication for everyday health conditions like skin conditions, ear infections and asthma.

Here’s what Australian Medical Association WA president Dr Kyle Hoath had to say:

“We knew this was coming, we know we need to improve access to care, but really it shines a light on the bigger problem that we don’t have enough GPs, we don’t have enough doctors, we’ve left it too long to get to this point.

“Our health system is short-staffed, and this is what happens, we have to look for alternative solutions.

“GPs and pharmacists are not interchangeable roles.

“Taking GPs out the picture is dangerous, it’s a risk and something we don’t want to see happen.

“The problem here is if we widen the scope too much in what pharmacists can manage, we will inevitably have cases where we miss things and things fall through the cracks because people are complex, their health presentations are complex”

Hoath denied the AMA’s reservations about the new pilot program were akin to a ‘turf war’, and said the state government had listened to them about their requests for adverse outcome monitoring, and improved communication between GPs and pharmacists during the trial.

“It is not about a turf war, it’s making sure we have quality access to care,” he said.

An update now on some news we brought you on Thursday; an American staffy taken from the front yard of a Shoalwater home last month has been reunited with its owner.

Poppy was taken from her Gloucester Street home just after midday on June 30.

Poppy.Credit: WA Police

CCTV released last week showed the hound being scooped up and placed into a car by two men.

As a result of the community’s assistance and social media posts, the dog was returned to the owners the next day.

They would like to thank the community for their help in the matter.

Police are no longer investigating the incident.

WA’s flu season is ramping up, with the number of reported cases putting the state on track to break a previous record set in the post-COVID era of 2022.

This year has been unusual in that the level of flu cases has tracked higher than usual during WA’s summer and autumn months.

WA’s reported flu cases. Credit: VirusWAtch

And despite the steady flow of cases, our winter peak will come later than typical years.

Most recorded infections for far this year were in children aged 0 to 14.

There has already been 12,910 cases recorded, up from the 5-year average of 8390 at this time of year. There have also been 2148 hospitalisations, up from the 5-year average of 1463.

Deaths from flu are drastically down, however, with five deaths reported this year, compared to the 5-year average of 23.

There are a growing number of inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floors of WA’s prisons due to overcrowding.

Inspector of Custodial Services, Eamon Ryan spoke with Radio 6PR this morning, saying the population of those in prison on remand had “gone through the roof” in the past 18 months and the system was struggling to cope.

“Over the weekend, there were 300 men and women sleeping on mattresses on the floor, and what that means is a cell that was designed originally back in the 70s and 80s for one person, double bunked about 10 years ago, and now they have a mattress on the floor, so that’s someone sleeping on the floor with their head probably half a metre from the toilet bowl,” he said.

He said the solution was threefold: Better rehabilitation in prison, better community diversion programs and to build another prison.

Listen to his full interview below:

Pharmacists will soon be able to diagnose and treat everyday health conditions like skin conditions, ear infections and asthma without the need for a GP-issued prescription.

Health minister Meredith Hammat announced the pilot training program today, claiming it will ease the burden on GPs, and give people more direct access to primary health care.

“We do know it can be difficult for people to find an appropriate time to visit their GP, and it’s particularly a challenge during winter,” she said.

Applications will be open from today for pharmacists to undertake between six and 12 months training to complete a graduate certificate in Pharmacy Prescribing.

It is an expansion on an existing program which allows pharmacists to treat people for UTIs and renew oral contraceptive pill prescriptions without input from a GP.

More than 14,000 people have accessed UTI treatments directly from their pharmacist since the program began.

Perth dancer Faith Ward has spoken to Today Show hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo this morning, recounting how she found out she had been selected to join the world-famous Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad.

The 22-year-old was one of six rookies selected to join the team of 36 to perform during the upcoming NFL season. She will also become part of the docuseries America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

“I’m over the moon excited for this crazy journey that’s about to happen … 90,000 people are going to be watching us do Thunderstruck and I still can’t wrap my head around it, it’s insane,” she said.

Watch her full interview below:

The Dockers have boosted their finals prospects with a thrilling one-point victory over Collingwood yesterday, but it came at a cost, with Matthew Johnson limping from the ground in the fourth quarter after rolling his ankle awkwardly during a marking contest.

The midfielder arrived back in Perth last night on crutches with a moonboot on his lower left leg.

Fremantle Docker Matthew Johnson at Perth Airport on Sunday night. Credit: 9 News Perth

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said the 22-year-old was sore following the injury.

“He felt a crack so he’s on crutches. [It’s] not a good sign, but we don’t want to go too early with it,” he said.

“A crunching sound can mean a bit, it can mean a break, or it can mean just to give that ankle a real wrench, so it’s not looking great for him.”