As it happened: WA news on Wednesday, February 12

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

Stay tuned to the WAtoday homepage as Rebecca Peppiatt brings you the latest from the courtroom in the Cassius Turvey murder trial.

Meanwhile, here are some of the headlines we covered today:

• There has been a surprise white flag from Daylight Savings Party-turned-independent Wilson Tucker, who entered parliament in 2021 thanks to a preference deal that got him elected with just 98 votes.

• Connolly, Lathlain and North Lake are some of the 20 Perth suburbs tipped to hit $1 million this year under current conditions according to REIWA.

• Bad news for train, bus and ferry commuters – the long-awaited upgrade of Transperth’s outdated Smartrider system will likely not be finished until the end of the year.

• The condition of a schoolgirl rushed to hospital on Monday after a near drowning remains unknown after a horror incident unfolded in front of staff and students at Hillarys Boar Harbour.

• Emergency authorities are warning Pilbara residents to brace for an intense and unpredictable cyclone which is expected to make landfall as a category three system between Thursday and Friday.
• Libby Mettam has been asked to explain her previous commitment to remove the Aboriginal flag from press conferences at Dumas House if elected next month.
• And the size of the average home loan has jumped to an all-time in Western Australia, with the typical mortgage just shy of $600,000 for the first time.

Thank you again for joining us today. Tune in again tomorrow as we bring you all the news you need to know. Until then, have a good evening.

Wandered down St Georges Terrace lately and wondered what was happening at Enex?

Super fund property investor ISPT has given us a sneak peek at what we can expect when the city’s urban-commercial village reopens - which we’re told will be autumn.

A concept design showing the revamped Enex food court.Credit: Woods Bagot.

The new City Canteen will comprise seven food and beverage venues with more than 400 seats, including Hi Thai, Mi Shanghai, Soul Origin, CP Curry House and The Cutting Board.

The complex on St Georges Terrace will also become home to more than 30 retailers over two floors and convenience retail connecting the terrace with the Hay Street Mall.

The revamp, spearheaded by architects at Woods Bagot and built by ADCO Construction, will coincide with an upgrade to the office tower to deliver a mixed-use space.

So, what do you think?

Finishing our politics news today is Liberal leader Libby Mettam slamming Premier Roger Cook’s $100 million aged care loan facility that we covered earlier today.

Labor plans to offer low-interest loans to aged care providers to build hundreds of new aged care spaces into their offering, which they say would reduce pressure on hospitals by giving long-term elderly patients a space to move into when they’re ready to leave the health system.

Mettam, who herself was announcing a $5.5 million expansion of Kalamunda hospital, said Cook was playing catch up with her party which has already announced a $270 million commitment to boost WA’s transitional beds by 500 spaces.

“Make no mistake, this loan scheme is a half-baked sham designed to fool the Western Australian public,” she said.

“The WA Liberals have already outlined our $270 million commitment for the provision of transitional beds, which includes aged care beds.

“It’s not a loan scheme, it’s the provision of 500 beds, which will take the pressure of about 14,000 hospital stays in our hospital system.”

Health has been the key election battleground this week with both parties promising hundreds of millions to improve ED wait times and reducing congestion throughout the state’s struggling health system.

The Kalamunda Hospital upgrade included four dialysis chairs, chemotherapy daybeds and outpatient rooms.

The Liberals have also promised all community pharmacies to dispense specialist medications with a discount which currently can only be discounted in hospital pharmacies.

A bit of left-field state politics news now is the surprise white flag from Daylight Savings party turned independent Wilson Tucker.

Tucker entered parliament in 2021 thanks to a preference deal that got him elected with just 98 votes.

WA politician Wilson Tucker.Credit: Wilson Tucker

Tucker said he had been in talks with the Democrats to join them, but they didn’t get registered in time.

He then started speaking with the Democratic Labour Party but abandoned that avenue when the party changed its name to Stop Paedophiles! Protect Kiddies!

Tucker, who will now officially finish up his term in May, said he would not rule out a return to politics in the future or stop pushing for the return of daylight savings in WA.

The former Seattle computer programmer said he had already returned to his tech roots.

“I’ve spent the majority of the Parliamentary term advocating for the tech and innovation sector in WA and I would like to continue to stay active in this community while exploring private sector opportunities,” he said.

“I’ve since taken roles in the digital asset space and founded a startup business – I’m also open to an opportunity to utilise the relationship and connections I’ve built here and around Australia over the last four years.”

He said being an independent in a Labor dominated parliament was tough.

“The political landscape is against smaller parties and independents, especially in this term of parliament with Labor’s majority – but I’m proud of what I achieved in my time,” he said.

Connolly, Lathlain and North Lake are some of the 20 Perth suburbs tipped to hit $1 million this year under current conditions according to REIWA.

Chief executive Cath Hart said Perth property prices were on track to increase five to 10 per cent this year.

“Our predictions include suburbs north and south of the river and in the hills,” she said.

“The suburbs currently closest to the mark are Connolly ($995,000), Lathlain ($994,500) and North Lake ($990,000) which was just short of joining the list in 2024.”

Hart said price growth was affected by a number of factors including demand to live in a particular area which bumped prices up and when they became unaffordable buyers turned their attention to neighbouring postcodes.

“Many of the suburbs on track to join the million dollar club in 2025 are located next to existing members of the club,” she said.

“For example, Iluka joined the million dollar club in 2023, and neighbouring Connolly is one of the suburbs on track to see its median house sale price reach the $1 million threshold this year.

“South of the river, Winthrop and Murdoch are fairly new entrants to the million dollar club, and nearby North Lake and Kardinya are now approaching the million-dollar mark.”

Bad news for train, bus and ferry commuters – the long-awaited upgrade of Transperth’s outdated Smartrider system will likely not be finished until the end of the year.

That marks an 18-month delay of the $57.8 million project.

Bad news for train, bus and ferry commuters – the long-awaited upgrade of Transperth’s outdated Smartrider system will likely not be finished until the end of the year.Credit: Erin Jonasson

Premier Roger Cook revealed the new timeframe four weeks after Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said they were still aiming to have the system up and running by the middle of the year.

“The technology will be in place by the end of this year, we already have a cohort of passengers that are trialling it at the moment,” Cook said at his press conference this morning.

The upgrade of thousands of Smartrider readers to allow for credit card and mobile phone payments was announced in September 2023 and was due to be completed by June 2024.

In September last year Rita Saffioti revealed there had been technical issues with the rollout, namely around meshing the old system with the new system.

According to the Transperth website all train platform Smartrider tag-on readers have been replaced as have most train station gate terminals, all ferry terminals have been replaced and the bus rollout was ongoing.

A Public Transport Authority spokeswoman said the project had experienced “technical and resource challenges”

“There’s been good progress on testing already completed and around 70 per cent of train validators have been installed, with work underway on bus validators,” she said.

“The PTA is targeting to have the majority of new validators installed and pilot testing underway in the first half of this year.”

The condition of a schoolgirl rushed to hospital on Monday after a near drowning remains unknown.

The teenager was participating in a school swimming activity at Hillarys Boat Harbour around 10.30am when she got into trouble and had to be resuscitated in front of shocked staff and students.

Hillarys Boat Harbour.Credit: David Allan-Petale

She was rushed to Joondalup Hospital in a life-threatening condition before being transferred to Perth Children’s Hospital, where she remains.

The Department of Education deputy director general, Steve Watson, said the department was aware of the incident.

“I commend the school staff who were directly observing the student for acting immediately to provide assistance,” he said.

“Ongoing support has been made available to the student, all other students at the school impacted, and for the staff involved.”

Health remains a hot election topic this week with Labor announcing $140 million to boost the number of aged care beds in the state and sticking the boot into their federal colleagues along the way.

Premier Roger Cook and Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson were at Brightwater Kingsley this morning promising a $100 million loan facility for aged care providers to reopen or build new aged care beds.

The loans could create up to 500 additional beds. Credit: iStock

They said the loans could create up to 500 new beds in the state and alleviate bed blocks caused by elderly people in hospitals unable to be discharged because of a lack of aged care beds.

Aged care funding is a Commonwealth responsibility and when asked whether this commitment was stepping on their toes Sanderson said it wasnt but conceded she had been knocking on their door for more funding.

“I have flown to Canberra, I have taken senior members of the aged care sector with me, met with the ministers…and been very clear, Western Australia is not getting enough access to aged care facilities and aged care home care packages, and we need to see more,” she said.

Sanderson said WA was a tougher market to build aged care beds in and Commonwealth funding needed to reflect that.

“Construction costs are higher, labour is higher. It’s 30 to 50 per cent more expensive in Western Australia to build than it is on the East Coast and so Western Australia needs a bespoke approach.”

Emergency authorities are warning Pilbara residents to brace for an intense and unpredictable cyclone which is expected to make landfall as a category three system between Thursday and Friday.

Listen to the press conference with the Department of Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm and Bureau of Meteorology spokesman James Ashley below:

Read more here.

Back to the election summit where Liberal leader Libby Mettam has been asked to explain her previous commitment to remove the Aboriginal flag from press conferences at Dumas House if elected next month.

The question has come from audience member Claire, an Indigenous student from Presbyterian Ladies College.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam at the election summit. Credit: Hamish Hastie

Mettam said that controversy emerged after she was asked about her position following federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s decision to dump the Aboriginal flag.

“I recognise that as Western Australians, there are two flags that bind us all,” she said.

“That is no disrespect to the Aboriginal flag, but we are all Western Australians and Australians, and it is simply about [not being] divided by race – there is no disrespect for our oldest continuing, culture.

“My policies…will all be pointing to lifting people up.”

That question did not wash with Claire who said standing in front of the flag was a show of respect for the long history of Aboriginal people in Australia.

“While we understand, yes, we are all Western Australians, regardless of where we come from, who we are I think it’s a show of respect that this was indigenous land, that it still is indigenous land, and that Australia does have a black history,” she said.

Mettam also used her time on stage to hit back at Premier Roger Cook’s comment that a vote for the Liberals would put the state “economy back on its arse.”

“What a garbage comment from a premier who is just trying to distract and deflect away from his own record,” she said.

“Let’s not forget the Labor government…promising to pay down debt like a mortgage and during that period of time, we’ve seen record royalties to the state.

“I will not be lectured by Roger Cook about mismanagement when he has completely mismanaged his government services, essential services and has not even been able to deliver on what he has promised.”