As it happened: WA news on Wednesday, July 2

What happened to Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan 26 years ago remains a mystery after a coroner was unable to determine her cause of death.

The 28-year-old vanished in 1999 after she was last seen at a Club Deroes Motorcycle clubhouse with two men on October 8 that year.

Lisa Govan.Credit: www.missingpersons.gov.au

A recent coronial inquest into her disappearance failed to make inroads, with many witnesses invoking a bikie code of silence.

In handing down his findings today, Coroner Michael Jenkin said he believed Govan died on the day she went missing, but was unable to determine what caused her death.

“There have been numerous rumours about what might have happened to Lisa after she was last seen standing out the front of the compound on the morning of 8 October 1999,” he said.

“These rumours include that Lisa may have died accidentally after overdosing on illicit drugs, that she may have been assaulted and died, and/or that she was murdered.

“It seems that the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and subsequent death are destined to remain a mystery.

“This is clearly a frustrating and wholly unsatisfactory state of affairs, and I cannot imagine the additional grief and sadness that Lisa’s family and loved ones have had to endure since her disappearance in the face of this information vacuum.”

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

Here’s a recap of some of today’s headlines:

• A $10,000 cash incentive for homeowners to convert their Airbnb’s into long-term rentals has been extended for a second time.

• The victim of an alleged home invasion in Parmelia overnight has been arrested after police attended the property and claim to have discovered drugs and a weapon.

• A once-iconic, now dilapidated two-storey building on the corner of Barrack and Wellington streets in Perth’s CBD is officially up for sale.

• Three people who forced the evacuation of thousands of employees at Woodside’s Perth headquarters after letting off “stench gas” in protest of the company’s $50 billion Burrup Hub projects have narrowly avoided jail.

• WA Police are investigating after a 30-year-old man died in a collision with a truck and a third vehicle in the state’s Wheatbelt region on Tuesday afternoon.

• What happened to Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan 26 years ago remains a mystery after a coroner was unable to determine her cause of death.

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

The West Australian newspaper has lost some of its most senior reporters in the past week after a fresh round of redundancies in its editorial department.

WAtoday understands the state’s daily newspaper called for voluntary redundancies late last month in its editorial team.

On Tuesday, the paper granted three of those while also tapping three other staff on the shoulder for forced redundancies including the paper’s personal finance editor Neale Prior and chief lifestyle and features writer Simon Collins.

The redundancies come after the resignation of the paper’s senior state political reporter Dylan Caporn who is leaving to take up a media advisor role in Premier Roger Cook’s office.

Anthony Albanese writes and signs a “No change to WA GST” pledge on the arm of West Australian reporter Dylan Caporn in February 2024.Credit: AAP

What happened to Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan 26 years ago remains a mystery after a coroner was unable to determine her cause of death.

The 28-year-old vanished in 1999 after she was last seen at a Club Deroes Motorcycle clubhouse with two men on October 8 that year.

Lisa Govan.Credit: www.missingpersons.gov.au

A recent coronial inquest into her disappearance failed to make inroads, with many witnesses invoking a bikie code of silence.

In handing down his findings today, Coroner Michael Jenkin said he believed Govan died on the day she went missing, but was unable to determine what caused her death.

“There have been numerous rumours about what might have happened to Lisa after she was last seen standing out the front of the compound on the morning of 8 October 1999,” he said.

“These rumours include that Lisa may have died accidentally after overdosing on illicit drugs, that she may have been assaulted and died, and/or that she was murdered.

“It seems that the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and subsequent death are destined to remain a mystery.

“This is clearly a frustrating and wholly unsatisfactory state of affairs, and I cannot imagine the additional grief and sadness that Lisa’s family and loved ones have had to endure since her disappearance in the face of this information vacuum.”

WA Police are investigating after a 30-year-old man died in a collision with a truck and a third vehicle in the state’s Wheatbelt region on Tuesday afternoon.

About 4.25pm, a truck, a white Toyota Hilux utility and a white Isuzu D-Max utility were involved in a collision on Brookton-Corrigin Road in Aldersyde.

The 30-year-old male driver of the Isuzu D-Max died from his injuries at the scene.

The 19-year-old male driver of the Toyota Hilux was flown to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment of critical injuries.

The 37-year-old male truck driver did not require medical treatment.

Major Crash investigators are appealing for anyone with information in relation to this crash to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online.

Dash-cam, mobile phone or CCTV footage relating to this crash can be uploaded directly to investigators via this link.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by a road crash, contact Road Trauma Support WA on 1300 004 814.

We are listening to budget estimates hearings again today and there has been several heated exchanges between Central Wheatbelt Nationals MP Lachlan Hunter and Labor’s Belmont MP Cassie Rowe, with Rowe accusing Hunter of ‘mansplaining’ during this morning’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development hearing.

Hunter was probing the government’s response to the shot-hole borer and whether local governments had been gagged to prevent them speaking about borer infections when Rowe called a point of order around the relevance of his inquiry to the WA budget.

This is the exchange:

Hunter: “There’s no point of order. This is opposition time member, seriously.”

Committee chair Magenta Marshall: “Points of order are meant to be heard in silence.”

Rowe: “Again, just case in point, the member is so arrogant that he will not even listen to members. Points of order are meant to be heard in silence.”

Marshall: “What’s the point of order member?”

Rowe: “There is no line item again, and thank you for the arrogance over there, member, you are unbelievable...so arrogant.”

Later on the topic of livestock tracking Hunter and Rowe clashed again.

Hunter questioned Hannah Beazley, who was representing Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis, over the government’s electronic tracing system and what the impact the removal of live sheep export would have on the program.

Here is the exchange:

Hunter: “If there are less and less sheep numbers in our state because of your government, essentiallys [sic], decision to end the live sheep trade that would actually affect the program.”

Rowe then called another point of order.

Rowe: “This is just a soliloquy from the member ... you’re just mansplaining to us and there is no relevance to this, and there’s no line item that the member is referring to.”

Three people who forced the evacuation of thousands of employees at Woodside’s Perth headquarters after letting off “stench gas” in protest of the company’s $50 billion Burrup Hub projects have narrowly avoided jail.

Emil Davey, Kristen Morrissey and Joana Partyka pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the incident, where a dozen firefighters swarmed the building to investigate the smell just after 10am on June 1, 2023.

Disrupt Burrup Hub protester Kristen Morrissey outside Woodside’s headquarters in June 2023.Credit: Jesinta Burton

Morrissey had let off canisters of the gas in the company’s Mount Street building with the support of Partyka, while Davey stood outside capturing the evacuation on camera.

The substance, typically used by mining companies for an emergency, forced Woodside’s workers to flee across a nearby pedestrian bridge and to an adjacent park.

Read the full story here.

A once-iconic, now dilapidated two-storey building on the corner of Barrack and Wellington streets in Perth’s CBD is officially up for sale.

Regulars in the city would be well aware of the Trouchettes Building at 145 Barrack Street – named after Alexander Trouchet, who operated a chemist there between 1915 and 1949 – under its contemporary name, the Stockdale Building, which is drawn from its most recent tenant.

The two-storey Stockdale Building in Perth’s CBD is up for sale.Credit: Knight Frank

It has been a part of Barrack Street’s landscape since the 1890s, but as of late has sat vacant and, frankly, grim. But you can’t say this isn’t prime real estate.

The building is right across the road from the Perth Train Station; a hop, skip and jump from Forrest Place; and just down the street from the city’s major shopping malls in Murray and Hay streets.

As Knight Frank real estate agent Zach Schreier put it: “It’s positioned on one of the CBD’s most prominent intersections.”

“This is a landmark site that’s long overdue for a new chapter,” Schreier said.

Schreier’s colleague Tony Delich said the agents predicted strong interest from developers looking to capitalise on increased activity in the CBD, driven by ECU’s relocation down the road next to Yagan Square.

Delich said the site had a “history of approvals” including for hotel and commercial schemes up to 10 storeys.

It’s being sold via an offers to purchase campaign, which closes on Tuesday, August 12.

The victim of an alleged home invasion in Parmelia overnight has been arrested after police attended the property and claim to have discovered drugs and a weapon.

Rockingham detectives were called to The Ramble address around 10.30pm following reports of two unknown people entering the address and threatening the occupants with an edged weapon, before fleeing.

Upon attendance, police allege they found cash, drugs and a gel blaster at the house.

A 26-year-old male occupant has been charged with two counts of possessing prohibited drugs with intent to sell or supply, and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon.

He is due in court later this month.

A $10,000 cash incentive for homeowners to convert their Airbnb’s into long-term rentals has been extended for a second time.

It’s estimated there are around 13,000 Airbnb properties currently operating in WA, however, just 457 have taken up the offer from the state government, first pitched nearly two years ago.

A complimentary scheme which offers up to $5000 for homeowners to convert their vacant property into a rental has also led to 249 properties being converted to try and address Perth’s rental shortage.

Owners can charge up to $850 a week rent in Perth.

This morning, the state government announced both schemes, which were due to end on Monday, would be extended until the end of the year, or until the funds allocated were exhausted.

Treasurer Rita Saffioti said the incentives had delivered a big boost to WA’s rental stock.

“Adding more than 700 homes is a fantastic outcome and extending the schemes will provide more opportunity for people to access the incentives and get their homes back onto the long-term rental market,” she said.

“Ensuring all Western Australians can access a secure housing is a priority for our government and these initiatives will provide even more housing opportunities for people to find a home.”

Here’s what’s making news across the country and around the world:

• Lawyers for social media platform X have declared a judgment that found in X’s favour against the eSafety Commissioner “a win for free speech in Australia”.
• In the US, the Senate passed Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage after a turbulent all-night session.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump in happier times.Credit: AP

• The jury at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial has reached a verdict on four of the five counts the music mogul faces, the judge overseeing the case said, without revealing the outcome.