As it happened: WA news on Tuesday, July 1

A notorious bank robber and fugitive dubbed the “Postcard Bandit”, who was jailed after escaping from one of the nation’s toughest prisons, is making another bid for freedom.

Brenden James Abbott is seeking to have his incarceration declared unlawful and is also suing the West Australian government for wrongful imprisonment in the state’s Supreme Court.

A photo of Brenden Abbott, the Postcard Bandit, at a Gold Coast hotel swimming pool.Credit: File

The 63-year-old, who escaped from Fremantle Prison in 1989, claims that sentencing laws introduced in November 1996 do not apply to him and that his WA custodial sentence lapsed while he was in custody in Queensland.

He is also seeking to challenge the constitutional validity of the laws, which require an inmate returned to prison after an escape to serve an additional imprisonment equal to one third of the time they were at large, on top of the time they had yet to serve when escaping.

Abbott’s son James says his father has been behind bars for too long.

“If you do the crime, you do the time,” he told AAP outside court on Tuesday.

“But the amount of time that dad has done for what he’s done is more than enough.

“He’s paid his debt to society and he deserves to spend time with his family.”

Abbott is a maximum security inmate at Perth’s Casuarina Prison, where he is serving a 14-year sentence for bank robbery, a prison riot and escaping from Fremantle Prison in 1989.

He was extradited to Perth in May 2016 after serving 18 years in Brisbane prisons, following his recapture in Darwin in May 1998.

He had escaped from Sir David Longland Prison in Brisbane in November 1997, when he was serving a sentence for bank robberies on the Gold Coast.

Abbott had been arrested on the Gold Coast in March 1995, five-and-a-half years after he escaped from Fremantle Prison and embarked on a covert life as a fugitive, suspected of robbing banks in WA, South Australia and Queensland of up to $5 million.

Abbott is technically eligible for parole in WA in October 2026. But as a prisoner who has served more than 25 years, but is not subject to a life sentence, his situation is unique.

There is a genuine prospect Abbott will never be granted parole and won’t be released until his maximum term expires in January 2033, which would be 34 years and eight months after his recapture in Darwin.

In 2017, he was sentenced to a concurrent five-year jail term for the 1989 Fremantle Prison escape.

The hearing continues.

AAP

And with that, we’re bringing our blog to a close for today, thank you for joining us.

Here’s what made headlines:

• WA shadow energy minister Steve Thomas has accused the state government of lacking a viable plan to transition WA’s energy system.

• Perth’s median house price has increased by 0.8 per cent in June to $786,000, as active listings in the city fall below 4000 for the first time in nearly a year.

• Tourism Minister Reece Whitby has revealed how WA’s most hated sesame seed-sized beetle, the Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer made it across Gage Roads to Rottnest Island.

• West Coast premiership hero Dom Sheed has announced the end of his AFL career.

• Premier Roger Cook has been handed the final report into the WA election shamble, but it’s still a mystery as to when West Australians will get their hands on it.

• A notorious bank robber and fugitive dubbed the “Postcard Bandit”, who was jailed after escaping from one of the nation’s toughest prisons, is making another bid for freedom.

• A WA coroner has flagged he may recommend the government close the trouble-plagued Unit 18 youth wing at the adult Casuarina Prison and call for a wider inquiry following an inquest into the death of a teenage inmate who self-harmed at the facility.

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

Warning: This story carries the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person.

A WA coroner has flagged he may recommend the government close the trouble-plagued Unit 18 youth wing at the adult Casuarina Prison and call for a wider inquiry following an inquest into the death of a teenage inmate who self-harmed at the facility.

Philip Urquhart’s inquest into the death of Cleveland Dodd drew to a close with his preliminary findings delivered on Tuesday afternoon, and the coroner foreshadowed possible recommendations addressing how Unit 18 came to be established.

Cleveland Dodd, 16, (inset) died after self-harming in his cell at the youth Unit 18 wing of Perth’s maximum-security Casuarina Prison.

Urquhart also warned he would make adverse findings against the Department of Justice following evidence delivered in the “unique and unprecedented” inquest.

“There can be no doubt evidence has revealed that youth justice was in a crisis at the time of Cleveland’s death and had been for considerable time,” he said.

The coroner heard evidence Unit 18 was like a “warzone” and had been described as “soul destroying” for inmates, with a chronic shortage of staff and lack of support meaning young people were kept in their cells for 24 hours a day.

He also heard the department had failed in its supervision, treatment and care of Cleveland in his last three months of life.

The teen spent more than 22 hours a day in his cell for 74 of the 86 days he spent in Unit 18 before he self-harmed, the inquest heard.

Cleveland was found unresponsive inside his 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 – the first child to die in custody in WA – causing outrage and grief in the community.

His family yesterday rejected an apology from the WA government saying words are cheap.

“Animals get treated more better than my grandson, who asked for a cup of water in a prison that wasn’t even meant to be for a 16-year-old boy,” said Roslyn Sullivan.

Lifeline 13 11 14

A notorious bank robber and fugitive dubbed the “Postcard Bandit”, who was jailed after escaping from one of the nation’s toughest prisons, is making another bid for freedom.

Brenden James Abbott is seeking to have his incarceration declared unlawful and is also suing the West Australian government for wrongful imprisonment in the state’s Supreme Court.

A photo of Brenden Abbott, the Postcard Bandit, at a Gold Coast hotel swimming pool.Credit: File

The 63-year-old, who escaped from Fremantle Prison in 1989, claims that sentencing laws introduced in November 1996 do not apply to him and that his WA custodial sentence lapsed while he was in custody in Queensland.

He is also seeking to challenge the constitutional validity of the laws, which require an inmate returned to prison after an escape to serve an additional imprisonment equal to one third of the time they were at large, on top of the time they had yet to serve when escaping.

Abbott’s son James says his father has been behind bars for too long.

“If you do the crime, you do the time,” he told AAP outside court on Tuesday.

“But the amount of time that dad has done for what he’s done is more than enough.

“He’s paid his debt to society and he deserves to spend time with his family.”

Abbott is a maximum security inmate at Perth’s Casuarina Prison, where he is serving a 14-year sentence for bank robbery, a prison riot and escaping from Fremantle Prison in 1989.

He was extradited to Perth in May 2016 after serving 18 years in Brisbane prisons, following his recapture in Darwin in May 1998.

He had escaped from Sir David Longland Prison in Brisbane in November 1997, when he was serving a sentence for bank robberies on the Gold Coast.

Abbott had been arrested on the Gold Coast in March 1995, five-and-a-half years after he escaped from Fremantle Prison and embarked on a covert life as a fugitive, suspected of robbing banks in WA, South Australia and Queensland of up to $5 million.

Abbott is technically eligible for parole in WA in October 2026. But as a prisoner who has served more than 25 years, but is not subject to a life sentence, his situation is unique.

There is a genuine prospect Abbott will never be granted parole and won’t be released until his maximum term expires in January 2033, which would be 34 years and eight months after his recapture in Darwin.

In 2017, he was sentenced to a concurrent five-year jail term for the 1989 Fremantle Prison escape.

The hearing continues.

AAP

We’re still listening to budget estimates and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti has just revealed she has directed the Department of Transport to conduct a compliance blitz to weed out taxi drivers doing the wrong thing around meters.

Transport minister Rita Saffioti.Credit: Hamish Hastie

Saffioti said her office had received complaints about taxis not turning on their meters, which is against strict regulations that govern the industry.

“I’ve instructed my agency to undertake a compliance blitz to make sure we can have those regulations operating as intended,” she said.

Saffioti said the blitz would include the use of ‘secret shopper’ style passengers who would report back to the Department if they caught a cab and the driver didn’t use the meter correctly.

Watch West Coast Eagles player Dom Sheed’s retirement announcement live here from 12.45pm.

Premier Roger Cook has been handed the final report into the WA election shamble, but it’s still a mystery as to when West Australians will get their hands on it.

Cook’s office confirmed he had received the report from former WA governor Malcolm McCusker but it needed to be considered by Cabinet.

“It will be tabled in Parliament following its consideration by Cabinet, as is the customary practice,” a spokesman said.

“Both the Opposition and public will be able to access the report at this time.”

McCusker was tasked with probing what went wrong at the state election after serious issues were reported with the training of staff, levels of resourcing, management of voting booths and outsourcing of aspects of the election.

With parliament about to take its winter break, the public may be waiting months to read the findings of the report.

West Coast legend Dom Sheed is set to announce his retirement in the next hour.

The 30-year-old will join Jeremy McGovern as another early delisting, bowing out mid-season due to an ACL injury he suffered during a February training session.

Dom Sheed kicks the winning goal against Collingwood in the 2018 grand final.Credit: Eddie Jim

The 165-gamer’s terrible run of injuries has seen him play just 24 games in the past four seasons.

More to come.

Sticking with the estimates hearings, Tourism Minister Reece Whitby has just revealed how WA’s most hated sesame seed-sized beetle, the Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer made it across Gage Roads to Rottnest Island.

“We looked at how it might have arrived on the island, and suspect it came via some mulch from the mainland that was used over there,” he said.

“So obviously, we are now treating any vegetation that comes onto the island, and mulch ... we believe we’re on top of that now keeping a very close eye on it.”

The borer, which is now with us for good after the Commonwealth decided to opt for a management approach rather than eradication, has forced the removal of 10 trees on Rottnest (and more than 1400 statewide).

Whitby said special attention had been paid to the Moreton Bay figs on the island, which are more susceptible to the beetle.

WAtoday is listening in to the budget estimates hearings currently ongoing at Parliament House and just 20 minutes in frustration is already boiling over on from the opposition.

Budget estimates offer the chance for MPs to scrutinise the WA budget line by line with relevant ministers accompanied by advisers from their corresponding government departments.

First up is Tourism Minister Reece Whitby who is being grilled on his portfolio by Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas.

Whitby has stonewalled attempts by Zempilas to probe what cost benefit analysis was conducted on the tourism benefits derived from establishing the Perth Bears NRL team in WA.

Whitby said the question was one for Sports Minister Rita Saffioti and came under her purview.

A frustrated Zempilas questioned why his queries about the tourism aspect of the Bears could not be answered by the “army of tourism advisers” behind him.

Perth’s median house price has increased by 0.8 per cent in June to $786,000, as active listings in the city fall below 4000 for the first time in nearly a year.

According to REIWA, the price is 16.4 per cent higher than this time last year, with the market still experiencing strong demand.

The median unit price increased by 0.9 per cent in June to $540,000, marking a huge 20 per cent jump year-on-year.

The suburbs that saw the most price growth in June were Mount Lawley (up 2.6 per cent to $1,580,000), Coodanup (up 2.6 per cent to $600,000), Ocean Reef (up 1.6 per cent to $1,300,000), Kewdale (up 1.5 per cent to $758,500) and Melville (up 1.5 per cent to $1,382,500).

Houses in Perth sold in a median of 13 days in June while the median rent price increased 0.7 per cent to $680 per week.