As it happened: WA news on Friday, May 31

Thanks, readers, for staying with us today. We won’t be blogging on Monday for the public holiday, but we will still be bringing you the news!

Have a well-deserved relax this long weekend, and we’ll be back with the blog on Tuesday.

West Coast are just weeks away from getting their forward-line dream team out on the park, and it spells bad news for Jake Waterman’s Coleman Medal prospects.

Jake Waterman.Credit: Getty

Ruckman Matt Flynn’s inclusion for Saturday’s AFL clash with St Kilda at Optus Stadium means Bailey Williams will finally get his wish to spend more time in attack.

Williams, who has been forced to shoulder the role of undersized ruckman across the first 11 rounds, will join Waterman, Ryan Maric and Jack Darling as the big marking targets up forward.

Skipper Oscar Allen, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since round one, is on track to return after the club’s mid-season bye.

Waterman has been a revelation in attack for the Eagles this year, kicking 30.12 across 10 games to shoot into the Coleman Medal race.

But with Williams now free to play in attack and superstar forward Allen just weeks away from joining him there, the in-form Waterman will have to share the spoils.

For coach Adam Simpson, that’s a good situation to be in. He told reporters today:

The objective is to win. We don’t want to just have to kick it to Jake to score. I don’t think we’re out there to win the Coleman for Jakey, I think we want to get a really good forward line that is connected and spreads the load. Trying to get the best out of everyone is our goal, knowing that not everyone can be the guy that kicks four or five.

Flynn, who crossed from GWS at the end of last year, suffered a serious hamstring tear that required surgery just weeks out from the start of the season.

The 26-year-old returned via the WAFL last week, and he faces a huge challenge when he confronts in-form Saints ruckman Rowan Marshall.

Marshall is averaging 20.6 disposals, 26.5 hitouts and 5.9 clearances per game this season.

Given Flynn’s lack of match fitness, Simpson has the option of using Flynn and Williams as a one-two ruck punch against Marshall this week.

But it’s not a long-term tactic Simpson is willing to employ:

I haven’t seen that work a lot to be honest, the two ruck situation. I think our long-term goal was Bailey as a forward that pinch-hits in the ruck, and not a double ruck combo. I don’t know what that looks like tomorrow. It might be a bit of both tomorrow. But I think long term, you need a ruck who is your ruck, and then you need a forward who can pinch-hit.

St Kilda (3-8) have lost six of their past seven games to crash out of finals contention.

West Coast (3-8) have been a force at home, but their road woes were exposed in last week’s 99-point loss to Adelaide.

AAP

Gina Rinehart has given permission for her portrait to be hung in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

No, this is not the much-discussed and disputed painting by Indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira, which currently hangs in the capital’s National Gallery of Australia.

Parties close to Rinehart have called for that image to be removed on the grounds its display is “doing the bidding of the Chinese government” by showing her in what she apparently considers an unflattering manner.

The portrait of Gina Rinehart, posted on the mining billionaire’s official website.Credit: ginarinehart.com.au

Turns out there is an entirely separate painting, and this one the mining magnate thoroughly approves of.

So much so, in fact, that she has gifted it to the National Portrait Gallery, though the institution has yet to hang it.

A senate estimates committee on Friday heard from gallery director Bree Pickering that the portrait had been gifted by the Hancock Prospecting boss, with a very specific set of instructions relating to the manner of its display.

Pickering did not reveal what those specifics were because they are still under negotiation, but she did say that for most people, having a portrait in the institute’s collection was seen as an honour.

The artist behind the “authorised” portrait is Perth-based painter Alix Korte. But she isn’t exactly courting the limelight.

When this masthead called to ask if she had indeed painted a portrait of Rinehart, she replied, “No, I don’t want to discuss this” and hung up the phone.

She also happens to be married to Hancock Prospecting chief executive Garry Korte.

Read more here.

Yesterday we brought you the news that the WA Day Festival was cancelled due to severe weather predicted to hit Perth over the long weekend

The Bureau of Meteorology is now stating up to 100 millimetres of rain could fall in coastal areas on Saturday and Sunday.

Perth should batten down the hatches this weekend, especially on Sunday. Credit: Getty

Meteorologist Jessica Lingard said over the last week, WA had experienced the first significant cold front for the season.

“We do have another significant cold front coming, perhaps even more significant than the one from this week,” she said.

“We’re expecting heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts especially for coastal areas, but we are expecting heavier rainfalls to push further inland as well.”

Lingard said for the most part, the only places who will get rainfall during Saturday would be in the southwest corner of the state, before showers began overnight in the metropolitan area.

Gale force wind warnings will be in place in coastal areas on Sunday, with swells of up to seven metres predicted.

The storm will likely clear by Monday.

Lingard also said the cancellation of the WA Day event had been a “warranted decision.”

“After such a long warm up hot autumn, it’s great to say that winter is officially here,” she said, warning those travelling for the long weekend to drive to the conditions.

On to some federal politics news, and Labor is at risk of losing office or sliding into minority government if it cannot hold key seats in Western Australia, where it made big gains at the last election.

The government has promised the state at least $5 billion a year in top-up GST payments, infuriating other states, and Albanese is making regular visits to WA to shore up support.

The new analysis shows WA voters have cut their support for Labor from 34 to 32 per cent since the December quarter.

This compares to the Labor primary vote in the state of 37 per cent at the last election.

The Coalition has a primary vote of 35 per cent in WA in the latest Resolve analysis, in line with the result of the last election.

The Resolve quarterly analysis is based on responses from 4614 voters over three surveys from February to April. This enables comparisons with the earlier quarterly periods and the outcome of the last federal election.

The survey groups change each month and reflect the national population, which means the sample sizes are smaller for states such as WA and the margin of error is therefore greater for state-by-state results.

In a double blow for the Labor Party, the Australian Electoral Commission has also proposed a new seat in Western Australia that, on preliminary estimates, would be winnable for the Liberal Party.

Read more here.

Double-murderer Mark Bombara had a 10-centimetre cyst in his brain requiring surgery and may not have been discharged from hospital if doctors had known they were “sending him home to 13 guns”, a health department worker says.

Court and crime reporter Rebecca Peppiatt has exclusively spoken with a health professional, on the condition of anonymity as they are not cleared to speak publicly.

Mark Bombara with his wife.

They said Bombara had been displaying aggressive behaviour towards staff, who had raised concerns about his escalating behaviour.

They believe health systems failed the Bombara family and the women he shot – Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, and her youngest daughter Gretl, 18.

Here is what they had to say:

If that team knew they were sending someone home to 13 guns, with a cyst that large and displaying that behaviour ... there would have been a discussion with police.

He was appearing volatile, which can be an impairment of a brain injury, and he also had a 10-centimetre cyst in his brain that pushes against brain tissue.

That had only been identified in the past couple of months and these sort of things build up over time. He was a very unwell man.

Read the report here.

You may remember that last year, the state’s top award was handed to mining magnate and billionaire Gina Rinehart.

This year, jockey Damien Oliver has received the honour, after being named 2024’s Western Australian of the Year at a gala dinner at Crown Ballroom on Thursday evening.

Twenty-one finalists were selected across seven categories for the awards.

West Australian of the Year Damien Oliver.

Oliver – an Australian horse-racing legend with 129 Group One wins and three Melbourne Cup victories – was also awarded the Sports Award.

Beyond racing, he supports injured jockeys through the Oliver Foundation and contributes to the National Jockeys Trust, while also promoting the sport locally and mentoring aspiring jockeys.

“It’s quite a shock,” he said in his acceptance speech.

“I can say from a lifetime of racing how hard the people in the industry do work and how much they really do love their horses. It’s a passion, it’s a way of life, it’s not that people do it for the money.

“If you find a job you love doing, you’ll never work a day in your life and I feel very fortunate I’ve been able to do that.”

A 1300-strong convoy involving 1500 farmers hit the streets of Perth CBD this morning in road trains, utes and buses to protest the planned end to the live export of sheep.

Those involved have taken to social media to share their thoughts and pictures of the protest under the hashtag #keepthesheep.

Here are some of those photos.

Perth airport will soon be able to welcome millions more passengers annually thanks to a multi-billion-dollar upgrade with a new terminal and runway built by 2031.

The landmark $5 billion agreement between Qantas and Perth Airport is the largest ever private infrastructure development in Perth.

Perth Airport chief-executive Jason Waters.Credit: 9 News Perth

Qantas and Jetstar will relocate all services to a new terminal in the Airport Central precinct that will turn West Australia into a major domestic and international hub for the airlines, and a gateway to the rest of the country.

Qantas and Jetstar plan to add 4.4 million seats to and from Perth annually by the time the new terminal opens.

Qantas chief-executive Vanessa Hudson said it was the largest airport infrastructure deal in our history.

Read more here.