As it happened: WA news on Thursday, April 24

We’re bringing our live blog to a close for today. Thank you for joining us.

In case you’ve only just tuned in, here’s a recap of the day’s headlines:

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was back in WA this morning, fronting a business breakfast before vowing to commit $2.5 million to help the state government deprivatise the regional freight rail network.
• Premier Roger Cook revealed his surprise at reports the deal for a WA team in the NRL was all but complete, claiming he had not yet had a formal response from the Australian Rugby League Commission on an increased offer from the WA government.
• The Coalition has pledged $6 million to scrap entry fees into the National Anzac Centre in Albany and bring the facility under Commonwealth control.
• Former WA governor Malcolm McCusker, the man spearheading a review into the issues that plagued the recent state election, has revealed Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy is in hospital with pneumonia.
• WA’s peak business lobby has accused the federal government of opening the doors to a “union power-grab” in the country’s economic engine room as officials strong-arm miners into negotiating deals with iron ore workers in the Pilbara.
• A Gingin man will face Perth Magistrates Court in May after allegedly sexually assaulting three women in Broome in the early hours of Sunday.
• The Fremantle Dockers have revealed a new honour to be awarded at the club’s annual Len Hall Tribute Game, which will be held on Anzac Day for the first time in 10 years tomorrow.
• The building housing Pot Black North Perth and Rosemount Bowl has sold for more than $3.7 million.

Thank you again for tuning in today. We’ll see you back here bright and early tomorrow to bring you our special Anzac Day coverage.

And WA’s peak business lobby has accused the federal government of opening the doors to a “union power-grab” in the country’s economic engine room as officials strong-arm miners into negotiating deals with iron ore workers in the Pilbara.

In a statement released on Thursday, Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Cock said there had been an explosion in permit applications to access mine sites across the north-west since the introduction of the federal government’s industrial relations laws.

He went on to warn the union push into the Pilbara threatened productivity and had the potential to undermine investment, placing thousands of well-paid jobs in the state at risk.

“Western Australia’s mining industry delivers safe, well-paid jobs and underpins the economic stability of the entire nation,” he said.

“It has operated for decades without the unions being front and centre in negotiations – something that was supported by workers who have been happily negotiating directly with their employers.

“Unfortunately, new powers given to unions who represent a very small section of the workforce
comes at the expense of the broader workforce.

“Allowing unions to regain a foothold in the Pilbara through a privileged position would see a
return of the actions of the bad old days.”

The chamber has been vocal in its concerns over changes to the collective bargaining laws, which have allowed unions to force miners to negotiate on pay and conditions even with only a small fraction of the workforce’s support.

The comments come after The West Australian reported that officials from the embattled CFMEU were among those running a union recruitment drive in the resources-rich region as miners get hit with negotiation deadlines.

Back to the federal election now, and Anthony Albanese has left the state after his 24-hour visit.

But just because the leaders have left, doesn’t mean the announcements stop.

After weeks of lying low, opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie has burst back onto the campaign trail, this time in Albany, where he and O’Connor MP Rick Wilson have just announced $6 million to scrap entry fees into the National Anzac Centre and bring the facility under Commonwealth control.

The Coalition has pledged to take the operation of the facility back from the City of Albany and into the Commonwealth’s hands, which Hastie said would enable it to turn the facility into something more akin to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

“Many kids from Western Australia don’t have the opportunity to make the trip across to Canberra and learn about our ANZACs at the Australian War Memorial. By transitioning the ANZAC Centre into Commonwealth management, we will bring some of that experience to our kids in Western Australia,” he said.

“Albany is special geography in our ANZAC story. Along with Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux, it is an important place for Australians. It is right and proper that we elevate it under the management of the Commonwealth.

“For Australians planning a trip to Gallipoli and the Western Front, we want to encourage them to begin their journey at Albany, as the ANZACs did in 1914. We are proud of our heritage in Western Australia and want all Australians to share in it with us.”

Back to some news from earlier today, when it was revealed the deal a WA team in the NRL was all but done, with the Bears to return on the west coast from 2027.

Well, not only was it news to rugby league fans across WA, but also to Premier Roger Cook, who told a press conference this morning the Australian Rugby League Commission had not yet reached out to him.

WA premier Roger Cook at a press conference with prime minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Can I just say I know that there are more reports in the east coast media sports pages with regards to the conversations that are taking place between my government and the NRL, we continue to have those negotiations,” he said.

“We haven’t had a formal response from the NRL – I assume they have a range of processes they need to go through to consider anything in relation to these conversations.

“I will say that conversations are positive, and we continue to look forward to those discussions.”

Read the full story here.

A Gingin man will face Perth Magistrates Court in May after allegedly sexually assaulting three women in Broome in the early hours of Sunday.

Police allege the 29-year-old man was socialising with a large group, which included the women, at a bar on the Saturday night before the party continued at a home in Cable Beach.

It is there police allege the man assaulted the women in the early hours of Sunday. He faces seven charges, including two counts of sexual penetration without consent, four counts of unlawful and indecent assault, and one count of aggravated home burglary.

The man will next appear in Perth Magistrates Court on May 29.

The unmissable – some would say iconic – building housing Pot Black North Perth and Rosemount Bowl is set to change hands for a cool $3.7 million.

According to Ray White Commercial WA, the new owner is an investor who wants to secure the long-term presence of the building’s three tenants.

The building housing Pot Black North Perth is set to change hands for $3.7 million.Credit: Ray White Commercial

The building, adorned in the striking black-and-red pool hall branding, is instantly recognisable to anyone who has driven along Fitzgerald Street, and sits across from another North Perth icon, the Rosemount Hotel.

RWC’s Stephen Harrison, who negotiated the sale alongside Brett Wilkins, said the building was more than just bricks and mortar: “It’s a North Perth institution.”

“The property’s quirky and nostalgic nature, anchored by entertainment venues like Rosemount Bowl and Pot Black, makes it truly unique,” Wilkins said.

RWC reported the sale reflected a 6.7 per cent yield, with long-term leases and further options in place.

Malcolm McCusker, the former WA governor tasked with getting to the bottom of the issues that plagued the recent state election, has revealed Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy is in hospital with pneumonia.

McCusker spoke with Radio 6PR’s Simon Beaumont this morning to discuss the inquiry into the election, where voters complained of large queues and booths running out of ballot papers.

The WA Electoral Commission’s $86 million contract with recruiter PersolKelly was also in the spotlights following claims of poor staff training.

McCusker said the inquiry wanted to get to the bottom of the problems raised following the election, and ensure they could be rectified.

“I must say, look, Western Australia’s got a very democratic system, which is the enemy of other nations, I think in most cases, but we’re not perfect,” he said.

“Processes have to be improved from time to time, and so we’re hoping to do that.”

Pressed on whether Kennedy’s role was in question – with Beaumont noting it had been hard to get the commissioner on the line – McCusker said Kennedy had recently spoken to him from hospital, where he was being treated for pneumonia.

“He’s expressed full cooperation with us, and he will give us, I think, an insight among other things to the reason for the PersolKelly contract of outsourcing,” McCusker said.

McCusker also used his time on air to urge voters to make submissions to the inquiry detailing their experience on election day.

Listen to the full interview below:

The Fremantle Dockers have revealed a new honour to be awarded at the club’s annual Len Hall Tribute Game, which will be held on Anzac Day for the first time in 10 years tomorrow.

The club’s new Arthur Leggett Medal will pay tribute to the life and service of WA’s last surviving WWII prisoner of war, who died earlier this month aged 106.

Leggett – who will be honoured at a state funeral on Saturday, May 10 – played a significant role in Fremantle’s past Len Hall Tribute Games.

WWII veteran Arthur Leggett at a previous Len Hall Tribute Game.Credit: Fremantle Football Club

The Arthur Leggett Medal will be awarded to the best-on-ground player from the match, selected by a panel of media representatives.

Fremantle Dockers chief executive Simon Garlick said the medal was a fitting way to acknowledge Leggett’s connection to the club.

“Arthur Leggett holds a special place in the heart of the club, and we’re incredibly proud to introduce this medal in his honour,” Garlick said.

“It was important to the club that this recognition be shaped with the guidance and support of the Leggett and Hall families and the wider veteran community.

“We are grateful for their trust and collaboration in bringing this tribute to life.”

Leggett’s daughter, Sue Meagher, spoke to Radio 6PR’s Simon Beaumont on Wednesday, and said her father maintained his passion for football up to his death at 106.

“He was quite passionate about his Fremantle Dockers seeing they sort of adopted him over the last few years,” she said.

“I honestly believe that going to the game every year is what kept him going.”

Dockers fans are encouraged to remain in their seats at three-quarter time during the match against the Adelaide Crows tomorrow, when the club will pay special tribute to Leggett’s service and contribution to the WA community.

The annual Len Hall Tribute Game – now in its 28th year – is named in recognition of WA’s last surviving WWI Gallipoli veteran, who died in 1999.

It is held every year on Anzac Day, or the weekend of the coinciding round. The last time the fixture aligned with Anzac Day was in 2015, when Fremantle played against the Sydney Swans.

To police news now, and a 30-year-old man from the Geraldton suburb of Rangeway will face court today, accused of breaking into a home in the early hours of Wednesday and raping the woman living there while armed with a knife.

The man faces 10 charges, including aggravated sexual penetration without consent; impeding another person’s normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to neck; and aggravated home burglary.

Sex crime division Detective Superintendent Hamish McKenzie said such incidents would not be tolerated.

“Members of the community have the right to feel safe and secure in their own homes, and these types of incidents are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he said.

“The WA Police Force committed a significant number of resources to this investigation, deploying specialist investigators from Perth, assisting local police to identify, locate and apprehend the alleged offender and put him before the courts.

“The investigative team were able to make the arrest within 24 hours of this dreadful crime.”

Sticking with the business breakfast, where Albanese has been asked to provide rapid-fire answers to questions prompted by photos.

One image in particular – of newly minted WA Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas – elicited the biggest laughs in the room.

Albanese said now that the former Channel Seven and radio broadcaster was in politics, he would no longer be sticking a “microphone under my noggin” at the next Telethon.

MC Ben Harvey said Zempilas would be handing himself a cheque when he becomes premier, to which Albanese replied: “That’s unlikely, he struggled to get his seat”, referring to Zempilas’ tight margin he won his seat of Churchlands by at the March 8 election.

Albanese then looked at WA Premier Roger Cook and said: “That was for you, Rog.”