As it happened: WA news on Friday, February 28

Good afternoon readers, and thanks for following along today.

We leave you with two more snippets of news: first, that former cage fighter Edmond “Monty” Margjini has had his criminal charges over a violent home invasion in Rockingham in 2011 discontinued.

Margjini has released a statement outside court, saying:

I am relieved that justice has prevailed with the complete dismissal of the case against me. From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence … this case was built on inconsistent evidence, and I am grateful for the legal process that ultimately exposed these flaws and what is known as ‘indirect DNA transfer.’ The toll it has taken on my life cannot be understated … this situation highlights the importance of ensuring accuracy and fairness in our legal system. No one should have to face such hardship due to such a flawed process.

And sorry to all those hanging out for the outcome of this afternoon’s economics debate at Crown Perth, but it’s come to a rather anticlimactic end, reports Jesinta Burton.

Property Council of WA chief Mike Zorbas declined to pass judgment on the debate between Treasurer Rita Saffioti and shadow treasurer Steve Martin or crown one the winner, stating only that it was an “important, robust and very respectful exchange of ideas”.

And he went as far as to urge the guests not to read anything into the amount of applause for each speaker.

“That was scrupulously fair of you,” Zorbas said, as attendees applauded Saffioti and Martin.

Have a great weekend, and we’ll bring you the next live blog on Monday.

Staying with the debate now, and as one might expect, treasurer Rita Saffioti and shadow treasurer Steve Martin have been grilled about their respective plans to diversify WA’s resources-dependent economy.

Martin acknowledged Labor’s grand ambitions to diversify the economy and bring manufacturing back to WA.

But he said he believed Premier Roger Cook was “missing the forest for the trees” by “picking winners” rather than concentrating on fostering an environment that would drive investment across all industries.

He reiterated the party’s commitment to lifting the ban on uranium mining and providing a reliable energy sector and took a shot at Labor’s federal counterparts over the live sheep export ban.

But Martin’s focus was payroll tax, the 5.5 per cent charge imposed on WA businesses with a wages bill of more than $1 million — which provided a windfall of almost $5.5 billion last financial year.

“The reward for businesses expanding from a small startup to a thriving medium-sized enterprise is a large payroll tax bill,” Martin said.

The WA Liberals have vowed to slash the tax, with businesses with a wage bill of up to $1.5 million per year to receive a full rebate of up to $32,000 in the 2024-25 financial year and companies with a wage bill below $3 million to receive a partial rebate under its policy pledge.

But Saffioti said WA Labor was well on the way to economic diversification, rattling off new figures that show the value of the state’s non-mining sector has grown by $80 billion over the past eight years.

She pointed to the government’s $500 million program to unlock industrial land, its investment in major infrastructure in the state’s north-west and the opportunity the new naval maintenance hub in Henderson presented for WA’s defence industry.

Saffioti also gloated about the Bellevue manufacturing facility WA Labor established to build trains for its $12 billion Metronet rail program, a move she said the WA Liberals criticised at the time.

“I’m very proud we’re building trains here in WA,” she said.

“When we made that announcement, we were told by the Liberal Party that we’re bringing back an industry from the bygone era.”

Returning to the treasurers’ debate now, and Rita Saffioti has come out swinging over the WA Liberals’ claims about the state’s books, accusing the party of misrepresenting WA’s financial position and portraying it as a “modern Armageddon”.

Shadow treasurer Steve Martin delivered a scathing assessment of the state’s finances after WA Labor’s eight years in office, claiming the government’s economic success was enabled by iron ore royalties, a GST deal inked by the former coalition government and excessive taxation.

He took aim at WA Labor for raking in almost $5.9 billion in payroll tax and $3.1 billion in transfer duties during a cost of living crisis while touting the Liberal Party’s tax reform agenda.

He told the pre-election debate at Crown Perth:

Despite the extra billions flowing in, Labor has been lazy when it comes to controlling spending and not at all interested in reforming the state’s tax regime to drive future investment and ease the tax burden on households. Budgets are about picking priorities, and we have real solutions to health, to housing, to cost of living, law and order and regional services areas labor have neglected. Western Australians are entitled to ask: where has the money been spent? Are they better off after the biggest boom in this state’s history, and after eight years of Labor, has our health system improved?

But Saffioti pointed to WA’s triple-A credit rating from both Moody’s and S&P Global and the $3.6 billion worth of cost of living initiatives Labor had rolled out since 2020, from family assistance payments to caps on public transport fees and energy rebates.

And she said it was the Liberal Party who were incapable of sound economic management, repeatedly questioning its reluctance to have election commitments costed by treasury and what cuts the party would be making:

The Liberal Party has been trying to downplay Western Australia’s success, trying to dismiss the hard work of industry and trying to make out that Western Australians are living in some sort of modern Armageddon … [Western Australia] has the best economy, we have the best finances, and we have put more people to work than ever before.

We’re here at Crown Perth, where Treasurer Rita Saffioti and Shadow Treasurer Steve Martin are trading barbs at the Property Council’s pre-election economic debate.

Treasurer Rita Saffioti and shadow treasurer Steve Martin at the Property Council’s pre-election economic debate.Credit: Jesinta Burton

Saffioti pointed to the strength of WA’s domestic economy — which has grown by almost 25 per cent in the past five years — as evidence of the party’s credentials

She was also at pains to highlight the unemployment rate of 3.6 per cent during a period of record population growth and the 340,000 jobs that have been created since WA Labor came to office in 2017.

Saffioti also claimed credit for the 23,000 residential homes currently under construction, which she hailed a byproduct of Labor’s overhaul of the planning system and the slashing of red tape.

But that was precisely what the Labor Party drew criticism for when Martin took the microphone.

Martin lambasted the WA Labor government for pumping the economy with pandemic-era stimulus and embarking a record infrastructure program at a time when the labour pool was constrained, supply chains were challenged and materials costs were skyrocketing.

“Our residential construction sector has been forced to compete with the state for labour and materials at a time when they could least afford it,” he said.

He said the WA Liberals were committed to making it easier for the private sector to drag the state out of its “housing crisis”, as well as homeowners via its $100 million regional housing infrastructure program to unlock land and stamp duty cuts.

Saffioti bit back, rattling off what the WA Labor party had done while in power, from its $4.5 billion in housing and homelessness initiatives to free up and encourage more housing supply to its planning reforms.

“I hate to point this out, Steve, but when we announced our infrastructure development fund to support infrastructure and housing, you questioned how throwing money at property developers would help those struggling to find a home,” Saffioti said.

“Now, you’re saying [the need to unlock land] is the first thing someone told you when you became shadow minister for housing.”

Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person, with the family’s consent.

The sight of Indigenous teenager Cassis Turvey being bashed with a pole, bleeding and crying in pain is something a witness has said he lives with every day.

Cassius, a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased, knocked to the ground and “deliberately struck to the head” in Perth’s eastern suburbs on October 13, 2022.

Cassius Turvey died after he was bahed in Middle Swan in October 2022.

Aleesha Louise Gilmore, 23, her boyfriend Jack Steven James Brearley, 23, and his mates Brodie Lee Palmer, 29, and Mitchell Colin Forth, 26, are on trial in the West Australian Supreme Court charged with murdering Cassius.

A young man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the jury on Friday he was among a group of teens who had gathered to watch a fight after school.

The then-13-year-old said a ute pulled up and two white men “jumped out and that’s when all the boys started running ... I just ran ... I was just scared”.

He said he heard a woman “yelling out ‘black cs’ and stuff” and one of the men, who he described as tall and skinny with a mullet, swung a pole at one of his friends.

“I ran to the (nearby) TAFE college ... I went back through the bushes ... to get to the other side,” he told prosecutor Ben Stanwix.

The witness said Cassius was among the teens running from the men and that once he had crossed a creek in the bush before arriving at the TAFE he looked back and spotted his “close mate”.

“I saw him get hit,” he said.

Asked who did it, the teen said: “The fella with the mullet”.

Read the full story here.

AAP

If you haven’t had a chance to watch our new political panel show, Running Mates, your lunch break today is the perfect time to check it out.

Find all episodes here. 

The “Dad from Kwinana” – otherwise known as our Premier Roger Cook – has announced a re-elected Labor government would build a new licensing centre in the Armadale area to bring down wait times for driving licence tests.

“I remember only too well the stress that you go through when you’re a young person, when your young kid is going through for their driver’s licence,” he said.

Getting your Ps is tough enough without a long wait at a licensing centre.

“So we want to do everything we can to make that little bit easier for parents.”

Young people and their parents have long complained it is way too hard to get a booking for a driving test.

James Gilbert from the McGovern Foundation, which provides a targeted driver mentor program, said demand in the area had increased dramatically and the ability to get a licence made a big difference to families.

“A lot of families that live down here might not have a licence in the home, so if we can help that family get one licence, it means kids can get to school, someone can get to work, and yeah, the social impact is just massive,” he said.

There has been a surge in scams focused on auto dealerships in the past year, with customers sending thousands of dollars in payments to fraudsters masquerading as legitimate Perth businesses.

The fake account posing as Maddington Auto Wreckers.Credit: 9 News Perth

9 News Perth revealed customers were increasingly placing orders through fake accounts using the names of legitimate businesses for car parts that they never received.

Aleisha Belton, one of the victims, described how the scammers’ online presence appeared professional, masquerading as Maddington Auto Wreckers through a fake Facebook page.

She was lured into making a $350 payment before their demeanour shifted and they became dismissive, claiming they had not received the money.

This year, West Australians have already lost over $6000 to car part scams compared to $15,000 lost last year.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Trish Blake said people were now used to shopping and paying online and were relying on trust.

“Scammers know that,” she said.

To protect themselves, consumers are advised to exercise caution when shopping on Facebook Marketplace, scrutinising the age of the seller’s page, directly contacting businesses using their official contact information, inspecting purchases in person, and utilising secure payment methods like credit cards or PayPal.

And in other news, a Mosman Park man is due to front court this morning after federal police allegedly found child abuse material on devices seized during a raid of his home.

The state’s Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team executed a search warrant on the 52-year-old’s home earlier this month after the AFP received information as part of a probe into those allegedly using a dark web child exploitation website.

During the raid, investigators seized a laptop and hard drive which allegedly contained images and videos of child abuse material.

The man was later arrested and charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material and using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.

The 52-year-old has been remanded in custody and is due to front Perth Magistrates Court this morning.

AFP detective inspector Andrea Coleman said procuring, accessing or transmitting child abuse material was an abhorrent crime and that children should not be used as commodities.

“The AFP, together with our state and territory law enforcement partners, remains committed to protecting children,” Coleman said.

“We cannot send a clearer message to offenders – if you engage in these horrific activities, you will be found and prosecuted.”

If you know a child is at risk, call police on 000.

Lightscape will be back for its third year in Perth, with more than 20 light displays planned to transform Kings Park across the winter months.

This year, event goers will see the botanic garden through a bug’s eye, with towering flowers, paths of petals and giant blossoms across a two-kilometre trail.

Plus there will be mulled wine and toasted marshmallows.

A glimpse of what’s to come.Credit: Geraint Lewis

WA Botanic Garden Director Sue McDougall said more than 300,000 visitors had been enchanted by Lightscape’s winter wonderland over the last two years it’s run in Perth.

“Take away more than just the magic – this year Lightscape will take you on a journey with the biodiverse creatures of the botanic garden,” she said.

“We’re excited to shine a light on our pollinators and celebrate the special relationship between plants, animals and insects that are so vital to our ecosystem.”

Lightscape has also put a call-out for Perth artists to bring to light crafty flora and fauna creations to be part of the exhibition.