As it happened: WA news on Wednesday, December 11

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

In other news today, a Brazilian national who is in Australia on a temporary visa has faced court over the death of a woman at Kings Park on Tuesday.

Lucas Martins Da Silva, a carpenter who lives in Osborne Park, did not apply for bail when he came before a Perth magistrate on Wednesday after being charged with driving dangerously causing death by aggravation.

Read the full report here.

And mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto allowed environments on their Australian mining sites where female staff faced systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination, according to two class actions filed on Wednesday.

Among other accusations, the suits argue that the world’s two largest miners sent female staff to remote sites knowing there was a high risk of personal danger, and then punished them with demotion, dismissal or discrimination when they reported it, the legal firm representing the women, JGA Saddler, said in a statement.

Read the full story here. 

Thank you for tuning in, and we’ll see you again tomorrow for more news you need to know.

Suburbs in Perth’s south have been put under quarantine, with residents urged to strip fruit from trees to combat an invasive pest.

No, it’s not the shot-hole borer, which has wreaked havoc on trees across the Perth metropolitan area.

This airborne intruder is the Queensland fruit fly. And if you live in suburbs from the river down to Spearwood, east to Bull Creek and Leeming, and West to Freo, then you might want to pay attention to any fruit trees in your yard.

The Queensland fruit fly. Credit: WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Queensland fruit flies attack more than 300 species of fruit and vegetables and are a serious threat to WA’s horticulture industries – not to mention backyard fruit trees across the city.

Residents in the “red zone” around where the pest was first discovered must remove all fruit and fruiting vegetables from their gardens – regardless of how mature the produce is.

Homegrown fruit and veggies can be treated by cooking, processing, freezing or solarising. Remaining fruit must be disposed of in a black plastic bag which is then put in the general waste bins.

So far, no trees will need to be removed, a fate which has befallen many much-loved trees due to shot-hole borer infestation.

For more information – and to see if you fall within the quarantine zone – check out the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development alert here.

Not a single landlord has been granted permission to refuse a tenants request to have a pet in their rental property since new laws were introduced four months ago.

Under the changes a landlord would be only able to refuse if written laws, local laws or by-laws prevent them, or if a good reason can be provided to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection.

Pets OK: Renters in WA are able to accommodate their furry friends under new laws.Credit: iStock

The changes allowed tenants to not only keep pets but undertake minor modifications such as hanging pictures or installing new shower heads.

Consumer Protection commissioner Patricia Blake said around two-thirds of the applications have been to refuse a tenants request to keep a pet.

“The most common grounds for refusal are undue hardship and damage that is likely to be more than the bond to repair,” she said.

“To date, no landlord has been able to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate these grounds apply.”

Most applications were for dogs, and almost all were lodged by property managers.

When it came to making small personalised changes to their rental property only 13 per cent of total applications received relate to minor modifications.

“A general trend I have observed is that the landlords are concerned about the rectification of damage at the end of the tenancy, particularly damage to walls after a picture hook, screw or wall anchoring device has been installed,” she said.

An update to our previous post, and the mother of an Indigenous teen who fatally self-harmed in youth detention says her son was locked in an inhumane, filthy concrete box as she calls for those responsible to be held to account.

Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18, a youth wing of the high-security adult facility Casuarina Prison, in the early hours of October 12, 2023.

The 16-year-old was taken to hospital in a critical condition and died a week later, causing outrage and grief in the community.

A long-running inquest in Perth heard from Cleveland’s mother Nadene Dodd on Wednesday.

“I thought my son was safe ... and that he would leave detention, rehabilitated ... better not worse off,” she said in a statement read to the court by a friend.

“My boy never stood a chance of regaining consciousness after he was found ... His mind and his spirit died in that cell, not in the hospital.”

Dodd said images shown to her of Cleveland “surrounded by uneaten plates of food cannot be unseen”.

“The concrete box in which he took his last breaths was barren and filthy,” she said.

“My son didn’t deserve to be treated the way that he was treated. My son didn’t deserve to die.

“Institutional abuse of children is unacceptable.”

Cleveland Dodd’s mother, Nadene, with the last piece of artwork he produced in Unit 18.Credit: Jesinta Burton

Dodd said governments must be held to a higher not a lower standard.

“It breaks my heart to know that from the moment he was transferred to Unit 18, Cleveland never got the chance to go outside, to feel the sun on his skin, to breathe in fresh air, to look at the sky,” she said.

“Instead, he spent his time locked down for almost 24 hours a day, day in and day out, for weeks on end.”

Dodd said Cleveland and many other young Aboriginal men had been locked in inhumane conditions and “lost the will to live”.

“On his final night in Unit 18, my son’s pleas for help and a cup of water, the most basic of needs, went unanswered,” she said.

“It fills me with sadness knowing that in his darkest hours, he was alone.

“No loving words, no nurture, no one to sit with, to offer him comfort, to reassure him that he was loved and that his life was worth living.”

Dodd said the West Australian government “sent my boy to Unit 18 and kept him there long after they knew that the conditions were unlivable, inhumane, disgusting”.

“I have heard people in charge giving evidence that lies were told and that they did not do what they were required to do,” she said.

Dodd said witnesses had been excused from giving evidence but she could never escape Cleveland’s death.

“The loss of my son will be with me wherever I go, for as long as I live,” she said.

Ms Dodd said she would not let Cleveland’s short life be meaningless.

“I hope that this process, which is unimaginably difficult for me and my family, and indeed all those who loved Cleveland, will be the catalyst for real and lasting change,” she said.

A photo of Cleveland was displayed in court while the statement was being read.

13YARN 13 92 76, Lifeline 13 11 14

AAP

Just the news you want to read on a day when the mercury is nudging 40 degrees.

A shark (bottom right) is spotted close to swimmers Brighton Beach on Wednesday.Credit: Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter

Swimmers at Brighton Beach in Scarborough were told to get out the water this morning as a three-metre tiger shark cruised past.

Surf Life Saving WA’s Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter spotted the shark about 20 metres from the shore, with footage from the chopper showing the toothy visitor close to swimmers.

The latest update reported the shark was tracking south, so perhaps something to consider if you were considering going to the beach for a cool-down dip this afternoon.

The mother of an Indigenous teenager who fatally self-harmed in youth detention is expected to address an inquest into his death ahead of the coroner releasing his provisional recommendations.

Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18, a youth wing of the high-security adult facility Casuarina Prison, in the early hours of October 12, 2023.

Cleveland Dodd’s mother Nadene Dodd and father Wayne Gentle.Credit: Aaron Bunch/AAP

The 16-year-old was taken to hospital in a critical condition and died a week later, causing outrage and grief in the community.

A long-running inquest in Perth plans to hear from Cleveland’s mother Nadene Dodd on Wednesday.

A photo of Cleveland will be displayed in court and her statement will be read by a friend before Coroner Philip Urquhart releases his provisional recommendations for the matter.

On Tuesday, WA Deputy Corrections Commissioner Christine Ginbey’s lawyer, Grant Donaldson SC, renewed his allegations of bias against the court.

It followed evidence from the Department of Justice’s communications director Sue Short, who spent about an hour in the witness box mostly answering questions about a Unit 18 promotional video she had worked on with Ginbey.

In October, Ginbey attempted and failed to have Urquhart disqualify himself from the case based on apprehended bias.

Donaldson at the time told the court Ginbey, who was deputy commissioner for women and young people when Cleveland died, was the subject of undue focus and had been bullied while giving evidence.

Ginbey hired Donaldson in July.

The decision followed Urquhart ordering her to appear in court within hours to give evidence after a slew of late documents linked to her were provided by Department of Justice lawyers to counsel assisting Anthony Crocker.

The department’s former director-general Adam Tomison also repeatedly linked Ginbey to Unit 18, including a ministerial document he agreed contained “grievous” and “blatant” lies, while he was giving evidence in July.

The inquest has previously heard Unit 18 was established with little planning in July 2022, as Corrective Services struggled to cope with a small, disruptive cohort of young detainees at WA’s main youth detention centre, Banksia Hill.

Former acting commissioner of corrective services Gary Budge told the court on Tuesday that he and Ginbey had been reviewing alternative sites to Unit 18 in June, and that he thought a women’s prison would have been better for children and youths than a men’s prison.

But Tomison “had been strong in his decision” when he told him Unit 18 was the chosen site on July 1.

13YARN 13 92 76, Lifeline 13 11 14

AAP

Premier Roger Cook is keeping a close eye on the outcome of a speed limit trial in the state’s South West, as WA reels from another grim weekend where seven people died in road accidents.

Speaking at a press conference this morning where he announced a cash splash for Albany’s motorsport park and surf lifesaving club, Cook said the state government was “very interested” in the outcome of the trial spanning the City of Busselton and Shire of Augusta Margaret River.

The Safer Speeds Trial will begin in early 2025 and run for three years, and will reduce the speed limit on local government-managed roads in some cases by up to 50km/h.

Major roads through built-up areas where speed limits are 60-70km/h will be lowered to 50-60km/h, while “peri-urban places” that don’t meet the definiton of “built-up areas” will have their speed limits lowered from 70km/h, or 110km/h in some places, to 60km/h.

Residential streets will have their speed limits reduced to 40km/h.

Cook said the trial would provide important data and evidence to guide new road safety measures.

And in breaking news, construction giant BGC has confirmed the sale of its cementitious division to Cement Australia in a deal tipped to be worth hundreds of millions.

BGC chief executive Daniel Cooper said the sale was a positive move for the division’s employees, customers and other direct stakeholders, with the new owner natural compatible fit for its existing operation.

“Joining BGC Cementitious with Cement Australia will strengthen the combined business to service the growing demand from Western Australia’s construction and resources industries,” he said.

While the company declined to divulge the value of the sale, previous reports had speculated it could sell for up to $800 million.

The sale process is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, with its assets and personnel to be transferred to Cement Australia after the transaction.

The deal is a critical part of the divestment plan of late construction tycoon Len Buckeridge’s Buckeridge Group of Companies, foreshadowed back in 2018.

BGC retains a significant business of about 1000 employees across its residential construction and building products division, but lost its title as the state’s biggest builder in 2023 after putting the brakes on new home builds to address a backlog of pandemic-era projects.

Some sad news now and the body of a man who was reported missing in the state’s Goldfields-Esperance region nearly four months ago has been found, WA Police say.

Officers first raised concerns for 76-year-old William Wadsworth on August 25, who had last been seen in the Norseman area, around two hours south of Kalgoorlie, some 10 days earlier.

His vehicle was later found bogged on the edge of a salt lake in a remote location around 55 kilometres north-east of the town.

Today, police have said while formal identification of the body has yet to be completed, they believe it to be Wadsworth.

His death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

To the courts now and two men charged with insider trading at Beacon Minerals – after allegedly encouraging associates to buy shares just before a massive increase in the company’s value – have just pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court of WA.

Darryl Mapleson, who provided geological services, and former colleague, project manager Alexander McCulloch, allegedly encouraged them to purchase over 12.7 million Beacon Minerals shares between January 19 and 25, 2017, while allegedly in possession of inside information.

The inside information allegedly related to results from the stage one drilling program at Beacon Minerals’ Jaurdi Gold Project, which had not yet been announced via the ASX.

When an announcement was made by the company on January 31, 2017, the company’s share price increased by 33 per cent.

If convicted the pair face a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment or a fine of $810,000, or both, for each charge.

The pair will be back in the Supreme Court in February.