As it happened: WA news on Monday, March 31

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

Here are some of the headlines we covered today:

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Perth to promise $200 million towards a major upgrade of St John of God Midland Public Hospital if federal Labor is re-elected.

• A major emergency unfolded on one of Perth’s busiest roads in the heart of the city, with a truck slamming into an apartment building early in the morning.

• Firearm owners have been given an extra three months to hand their weapons in as new laws restricting the right to own a gun in WA come into effect today.

• A truck driver charged over the death of a cyclist on the Eyre Highway last year has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will take the matter to trial.

• Tributes have flooded in for WA football great Andrew Krakouer, who died of a suspected heart attack yesterday, aged 42.

• A failed crypto-trader who murdered his Perth mother and tried to claim her fake life insurance policies did so to appear cashed-up and impress his influencer girlfriend, a court has been told.
• Premier Roger Cook has unveiled an overhaul of the public sector, with the creation of an additional department and two major agencies tasked with delivering transport, health and housing infrastructure.

Thank you again for tuning in today. We’ll see you tomorrow for more news you need to know.

A Safety Bay man will spend at least five years and 11 months behind bars after pleading guilty to possessing child exploitation material.

The 54-year-old appeared in Perth District Court on Friday where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to three charges, including one count of failing to comply with an order after he tried to hide his phone from officers.

The man initially told investigators his phone had fallen in the ocean while fishing.Credit: Istock

Australian Federal Police and WA Police were alerted to the man’s illegal online activity in 2023, and executed a search warrant on his home in November that year.

Investigators demanded the man hand over his phone, but he claimed he dropped it in the ocean when he was fishing the day before.

However, while searching the man’s Safety Bay home, officers found the phone hidden on top of a hot water system. They found three videos on the device depicting young children being sexually abused.

The man was sentenced to a total of nine years and nine months’ jail, with a non-parole period of five years, 11 months.

AFP Inspector Andrea Coleman said the AFP and its state and territory law enforcement partners were committed to protecting children.

“Anyone who uploads or views this abhorrent material is contributing to the exploitation and abuse of children,” Coleman said.

“In this case, the man not only attempted to hide his mobile phone from investigators, he refused to give them access to his device, which he was compelled to do by law.

“The man’s actions failed to stop investigators and our message to offenders has not changed – if you procure, access and transmit child exploitation material, you will be found, arrested and prosecuted.”

Returning to the courts now, and the sentencing of mum-killer Andre Rebelo has been adjourned until tomorrow morning.

Supreme Court of Western Australia Justice Bruno Fiannaca today heard submissions from Rebelo’s lawyer and the prosecution, but will decide how long Rebelo spends in prison on Tuesday.

The court was told Rebelo was not suffering from any psychological conditions in 2020 when he went to his mother’s Bicton home and killed her to cash in on her life insurance policies.

The 28-year-old declined an evaluation from a doctor, which usually offers the sentencing justice some information that reveals what motivated a person to commit such a crime.

Instead, Tooker said it was about “the pressure he felt” to impress his girlfriend.

“He made promises to Ms Piscopo and wanted to fulfil those promises in relation to the money he was expecting,” he said.

Tooker added that Rebelo’s motive was also to get the money to clear debts he and former girlfriend Grace Piscopo had accumulated in living beyond their means with a lavish lifestyle, including an expensive rental property and finance for a costly car.

He also wanted equity to continue crypto-trading, Tooker said.

This afternoon, the court heard Rebelo’s twin sister, Monique, had submitted a victim impact statement to the court, speaking of “the very close bond” she had with her mum and the “great loss” she has suffered since her death.

Read the full story here.

Before his press conference at St John of God public hospital in Midland, WA, Albanese visited the maternity ward, where he met baby Amber, who was just 27 hours old.

He was joined by Premier Roger Cook and Labor MP for Hasluck Tania Lawrence as the group met Amber’s mum, Harsimranjeet Sidhu. She also has an older daughter, who is almost five.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meet with Harsimranjeet Sidhu and baby Amber. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“My first one wanted a sister, she prayed for her,” Sidhu told Albanese.

The prime minister picked up baby Amber and told her mum that “she’s beautiful”.

“So much hair,” he said. “The highlight of my day, for sure.”

The PM and the family posed for a photo together before he wrapped the baby in a swaddle.

Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail in Perth.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Not my first time,” he said, after a nurse and Sidhu commented on how good he was at handling the baby.

The group then met nurses to discuss the $355 million investment to the hospital — of which the federal government is stumping up $200 million.

They were also joined by nurse and midwife Trish Cook, Labor’s candidate for the new seat of Bullwinkel.

Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail in PerthCredit: Alex Ellinghausen

Cook brought along her original nursing badge as Albanese said Labor was hoping to recruit a nurse to parliament.

He then took a selfie with hospital staff, saying he’d been getting plenty of practice at them.

Premier Roger Cook has unveiled an overhaul of the public sector, with the creation of an additional department and two major agencies tasked with delivering transport, health and housing infrastructure.

The premier unveiled a raft of changes to the state government’s structure on Monday, which will see the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation become the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification.

The department will continue to have carriage of state agreements, major resource developments and WA’s investment and trade offices.

Exploration will be rolled into the existing Department of Mines and Petroleum, while responsibilities for defence — including AUKUS — will be consolidated into a new office of defence industries within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

The DPC will house a new office of Early Childhood and take the lead on Aboriginal Affairs, while tourism will become the responsibility of the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport.

Oversight of local government, commerce, industry regulation and safety will fall to one agency.
But the most significant of the changes is to facilitate the government’s mega infrastructure pipeline — with building capacity from across government being consolidated into the newly-formed Office of Major Infrastructure Delivery.

Under the plan, the new office will oversee the delivery of major transport, health and port infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Department of Housing and Works will govern the delivery of construction, management and maintenance of the state’s social housing, police stations and schools - stripping the Department of Finance of that role.

Cook rejected assertions the move - which is expected to impact almost one-third of the government’s 25 departments - constituted a winding back of his predecessor Mark McGowan’s machinery of government changes, which saw the number of departments shrink from 41 to 25.

He told the press pack the overhaul and creation of an additional office was appropriate in a post-COVID world and at a time of geopolitical instability, and rising construction costs.

“We need all levels of government pulling in the same direction... if we are to face the challenges ahead of us and seize the opportunities,” Cook said.

The premier maintained the move would not have an impact on the budget.

The transition is expected to begin on July 1, 2025 and be finalised by the year’s end.

Tributes have begun to flood in for WA football great Andrew Krakouer, who died of a suspected heart attack yesterday, aged 42.

A failed crypto-trader who murdered his Perth mother and tried to claim her fake life insurance policies did so to appear cashed-up and impress his influencer girlfriend, a court has been told.

Andre Rebelo killed his mother, Colleen, 58, inside her Bicton home in 2020, and then placed her body in her shower to make it look like a natural death.

The Rebelo family (from left): Monique, Andre with then-girlfriend Gracie Piscopo, Fabian and Colleen Rebelo.

It wasn’t until he relentlessly began pursuing multiple life insurance policies that he had recently set up in her name that police became suspicious.

During his sentencing hearing in the Supreme Court of Western Australia today, prosecutors described the murder as a great betrayal of a woman who had done so much for her son.

“In lots of examples of murder the court deals with, often murder is committed for passion or jealousy, it’s less common for a person to kill for financial reasons,” prosecutor Brett Tooker said.

Tooker said Rebelo had shown no remorse, and continued to deny he killed his mother.

The state says he should receive a life sentence, with the Justice to determine how long his non-parole period will be.

The court is expected to hear victim impact statements from Colleen’s daughter and sister.

Our court reporter Rebecca Peppiatt is in the courtroom to bring you the latest as it happens.

A truck driver charged over the death of a cyclist on the Eyre Highway last year has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will take the matter to trial.

Anil Sharma was charged with manslaughter and destroying evidence, as well as failing to stop and assist after Chris Barker, 62, was fatally struck by a truck while taking part in an endurance bike event.

Chris Barker was taking part in the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride when he died after being struck by a vehicle.

Sharma, 36, was allegedly behind the wheel of the truck when the incident occurred near Madura in South Australia near the WA border around 5.30am on March 21, 2024.

Barker was taking part in the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride, an unofficial event that runs across Australia from Fremantle to Sydney.

He died at the scene.

This morning, Justice Bruno Fiannaca set down Sharma’s matter for a 10-day trial in February 2026.

Sharma, who is from India, used an interpreter to understand the details of the hearing.

At the time of his death, Barker’s son said his father died doing what he loved.

“I’ve never heard dad talk so much about this one event in my life ... my family lost a great person. My heart is broken,” he said.

The election circus has rolled into town with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visiting Midland Hospital with Premier Roger Cook to announce the $355 million upgrade.

Albanese was also pressed on the biggest political hot potato this past week – the delay to the assessment of Woodside’s North West Shelf 50-year extension proposal.

WA Premier Roger Cook and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meet with Harsimranjeet Sidhu and baby Amber during a visit to St John of God Midland Public Hospital, in Midland, WA.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to make a decision on the proposal within 30 days if he wins the election and stated there was no reason as to why approval couldn’t be given.

Albanese lashed that pledge in Midland this morning, warning it would open up the project to legal challenges.

“If you go out there, and you preempt the law, which says that consideration must be given objectively by the minister, then you, by definition, put yourself in a position of legal challenge,” he said.

“Frankly, you could get any lawyer at random, pick them out, and they could be in that case because it is a shut case.”

Cook was also asked by the travelling Canberra press pack about his efforts to establish the Western Bears NRL team in WA.

Cook revealed the state was in discussions again after his government put tools down over the state election period.

“As I’ve said on many occasions, only WA can put the ‘N’ in NRL and we’d obviously welcome the opportunity to be able to have a team here, but where it has to be on the basis of value for money,” he said.

Albanese was speaking in the seat of Hasluck which used to be held by the Liberals with a 5.9 per cent margin however in the 2022 Tania Lawrence sensationally overthrew senior Coalition minister Ken Wyatt who held the seat since 2010.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Perth this morning. Watch his press conference live below:

The trip west is his 30th since his election. That is 30 eight-hour round-trips from Sydney or Canberra. A total of 240 travel hours, or 10 whole days spent in the skies across the nullarbor.

Why the effort? Albanese secured government with a tiny majority in 2022. And he unexpectedly won four Perth seats off the Liberal Party, which was unpopular in the state after then-prime minister Scott Morrison feuded with ascendant Labor premier Mark McGowan during the pandemic.

Retaining those seats - Tangney, Pearce, Swan and Hasluck - is critical for Labor as it fights to maintain its majority in the face of a national swing against the government.