WA news LIVE: WA kindy could be full-time and free under new plan; Historic Fremantle building gutted by fire

And in other news, Resolute Mining chief Terry Holohan has stepped down just two months after he spent a fortnight being held by Mali’s military junta, forcing the company to hand over $247 million.

In a statement to the ASX on Monday, the gold miner confirmed it was negotiating a proposed settlement with Holohan to enable him to vacate the role immediately.

Resolute Mining chief executive Terry Holohan.Credit: Resolute Mining

The move comes six weeks after the Australian-headquartered company confirmed Holohan would take a period of leave over the month of January.

Holohan was one of three employees who were detained in Bamako in mid-November after a meeting with mining and tax authorities regarding claims made against the company.

The detention followed the introduction of a new mining code by the military-led government to increase local ownership in an industry dominated by foreign companies and increase royalty revenue.

As the miner’s stock plunged, the company executed a deal to ensure the trio’s release, handing over more than $247 million and vowing to shift the company’s assets in the African country to the new code and settle all outstanding claims — including tax and custom levies.

Resolute holds an 80 per cent stake in the large-scale underground gold mine it operates in the country’s south-west, with the remaining 20 per cent held by the Mali government.

Acting chief executive Chris Eger will assume the role of chief executive.

A proposal to extend the life of Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s ‘Super Pit’ has been recommended for approval by the Environmental Protection Authority, subject to conditions, after a detailed assessment.

The Super Pit gold  mine at Kalgoorlie.

The proposal to mine a cutback of the existing Fimiston Open Pit has been the subject of a two-year environmental impact assessment and four-week public consultation.

Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines wants to expand mine tailings, waste capacity and infrastructure, as well as relocate and modify the existing noise bund.

EPA Chair Darren Walsh said recommended conditions addressed impacts to noise from blasting, and air quality from dust.

“The EPA has recommended that explosives should continue to only be detonated between the hours of 7am and 6pm and that mining operations are not undertaken within 400 metres of a property without consent,” Walsh said.

“The proponent would also be required to ensure blasting only occurred at surface level when wind direction favoured the carriage of dust away from residential areas.”

Walsh said the proposal was located within a brownfields site where existing mining and ore processing operations had been operating near urban areas for more than a century.

This might be an election-heavy blog today folks.

The Labor government has promised $8 million for upgrades at non-government remote schools across the Kimberley if re-elected.

WA Education Minister Tony Buti.Credit: Trevor Collens

The remote schools educate children in locations where there is no state school and cater to almost 700 students.

The funding will be needs-based, addressing the most critical projects first.

In addition, the government has promised to also provide an $89 million commitment for another round of the WA Student Assistance Payment.

Every parent with school-aged students in the state would be eligible for the payment, which provides $250 for secondary school students and $150 for those in primary school and kindergarten.

Education Minister Tony Buti said the commitment would provide students in remote communities with enhanced facilities and better learning outcomes.

Tame Impala have made their mark early to take home Australia’s first Grammy for the night.

The Perth band’s collaboration with French dance act Justice’s Neverender has won best dance/electronic recording. It’s the first-ever Grammy win for Kevin Parker’s band after previously being nominated four times.

Tame Impala have taken home their first every Grammy.Credit: Neil Krug

In addition to Tame Impala’s win, Australian production duo FNZ won the best remixed recording Grammy for their collaboration with Mark Ronson on Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso. The win marks FNZ’s first trophy at the Grammy’s after five nominations.

Unfortunately, there was no luck for our very own Troye Sivan. Got Me Started, was up for best dance pop recording, but Charli XCX won that category with Von Dutch. No shame in losing to the world’s favourite Brat.

A historic Fremantle building has been gutted by fire, with fears what remains of the structure could collapse just four days after the property was sold to a new buyer.

Albert Hall in Fremantle. Credit: Domain

Named after Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, Albert Hall Studio along Pearse Street has been used as an events space in the area since 1899.

Now, only the exterior walls remain after the roof collapsed in and the entire inside structure was wiped out by the fire.

The blaze started around 6pm on Sunday evening with the flames spreading to a neighbouring property. Firefighters extinguished the fire about an hour later.

Police have said they are not treating the fire as suspicious, but are still investigating the cause. The estimated cost of damages is $2 million.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

For those of you keeping up with the state election campaigns ahead of the March polls, both Labor and Liberals were out in force over the weekend.

On the cards was cost of living relief and healthcare with both parties taking a swing at each other. You can catch up on what happened below.

And Labor is targeting working parents in its latest pitch this morning, announcing $33.8 million for free, full-time Kindergarten if they are re-elected.

It would mean children would go from attending Kindergarten five days per fortnight to five days per week.

The program, to be announced later today, would be rolled out across 10 schools in both regional and metropolitan areas in 2027.

Here’s what’s making headlines today:

• From excitement to bewilderment and finally heart-wrenching tragedy, the families of young women killed in a Laos methanol poisoning incident have told their story.

Bianca Jones (left) and Holly Morton-Bowles died after being poisoned in Laos.Credit: 60 Minutes

• A white supremacist online network will be slapped with unprecedented counter-terrorism sanctions by the federal government, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces a parliamentary grilling from the opposition over whether he was kept in the dark about an apparent major antisemitic plot.
• Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has claimed his nuclear energy policy would cut power bills by 44 per cent, but analysis by the renewables sector warns it could actually drive up electricity costs by more than $1000 a year for millions of Australians with rooftop solar panels.
• The federal police’s top drug cop has warned the world’s most fearsome drug cartels are increasingly exploiting Australia’s vulnerable marine borders and that semi-submersibles are the new frontier for law enforcement in the battle against the importation of illicit drugs.
• President Donald Trump has conceded consumers may suffer “pain” from his sweeping tariffs on goods from the US’s three biggest trading partners but insists it will be worth it, while hitting back at criticism from economists and orthodox Republicans.
• Radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands says he will undergo urgent brain surgery after revealing on air that he is suffering from a brain aneurysm.

Well, it’s hot again! A little cooler today with a maximum of 32 before heating up throughout the week. Don’t worry though, the weekend will bring some relief for those fed up with those extra-warm days.

Good morning and welcome to the start of a new working week and Monday’s live blog!

This morning, business reporter Jesinta Burton brings you the latest in a seven-year stoush between the descendants of WA’s pioneering iron ore family.

The reclusive billionaires behind the Wright Prospecting have sought a court order for the documents of estranged family member Julian Wright, amid revelations his legal battle for a slice of their fortune was bankrolled by a mystery backer.

You can read more here. 

And, in a different kind of stoush, hundreds of families on the waitlist for a kindergarten in one of Perth’s fastest-growing areas have been left devastated with its owners abandoning the venture, after the local council refused to budge on a requirement to build a slip lane on the road in front of the business.

Erin Erceg’s Little Grots kindy was going to mesh learning with the onsite farm.Credit: Ross Swanborough

In education news, the social divide between cohorts at public and private schools in WA has been laid bare in a new analysis showing more than 80 per cent of the state’s least-advantaged students are enrolled in a public school.

Stick with us and we’ll bring you more news throughout the day.