As it happened: WA news on Tuesday, February 25

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

Here are some of the headlines we brought you today:

• A high-tech vessel has started a fresh search for MH370, the Malaysian Airlines plane that vanished more than a decade ago off our coast.

• The Fremantle Dockers and Justin Longmuir have agreed that at the completion of his current fixed term contract on October 31, Longmuir will transition to an ongoing employment agreement.

• A Perth man who bludgeoned his secret lover to death because she refused to abort their unborn baby has been sentenced to a minimum of 24 years jail.

• Woodside says its statutory net profit after tax rose 115 per cent in 2024 to $US3.57 billion ($5.62 billion), but it will pay a smaller dividend. (It also hit out at federal permitting delays, warning red tape will drive out future investment in critical energy supplies.)

• Three boys have been charged after a WA Liberal MP had her car stolen while on the campaign trail in Carnarvon on Sunday night.

• Liberal leader Libby Mettam has denied controversy surrounding her candidate in Albany Thomas Brough was the reason she cancelled a planned visit to the Great Southern town this afternoon.

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

Save Perth Hills is claiming a historic victory against one of Australia’s biggest private land developers after being granted permission to call witnesses at the September appeal of one of WA’s most contentious and longest-running planning disputes in the Perth Hills.

The exceptional intervention decision by WA’s State Administrative Tribunal’s deputy
president Judge Henry Jackson means the action group is the first community organisation in WA to be granted Intervention Status under WA’s Planning Development Act of 2005.

Community members at a Save Perth Hills rally.

The SAT appeal hearing will determine the future bushfire safety of Satterley property Group’s plans to develop a townsite in North Stoneville for 2800 people, three schools and a 193-hectare conservation area.

SPH chair Peter Brazier said the site of the development sits in an extreme bushfire zone, a region which lost 57 homes to bushfires in 2014, and almost 100 more homes since 2021.

“North Stoneville has been rejected relentlessly, by our local community for more than three decades, and our intervention approval acknowledges the value, and power, of the community voice in planning,” he said.

“Save Perth Hills pursued intervention, despite the enormous odds against us, because we firmly believed, that because of the potential magnitude of this plan’s impact on our community, our members should have a voice, and a seat, at the decision maker’s table.”

Save Perth Hills will bring community members, and an expert witness, to the appeal hearing, to provide first-hand evidence of the dangers of the proposed housing estate.

“This is a plan that will knowingly place our community, and thousands more people, in bushfire danger, in an era of increasingly frequent and severe bushfire catastrophes,” Brazier said.

“It’s only right that our local community can bring their invaluable lived-experience into the
courtroom.”

WA does not have third-party appeal rights in planning prompting Save Perth Hills to apply for intervention hearing earlier this month.

Satterley objected to the application, while the WAPC did not object.

Judge Jackson also granted the Shire of Mundaring approval to lodge a submission to the appeal hearing, despite Satterley’s objection.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam has denied controversy surrounding her candidate in Albany Thomas Brough was the reason she cancelled a planned visit to the Great Southern town this afternoon.

WAtoday yesterday revealed Brough, an emergency doctor in Albany, was referred to a tribunal by the Medical Board of Australia over a comment he made in February that the ‘+’ in LGBTQI+ included “minor-attracted persons”.

WA Liberals candidate for Albany Tom Brough with party leader Libby Mettam.Credit: Tom Brough/Facebook

Mettam was scheduled to visit Albany this afternoon after a trip to Kalgoorlie but those plans were scrapped at the last minute, prompting an accusation from Premier Roger Cook she was “running scared” from her candidates.

However, a party spokesman said rough weather was the reason for the cancelled flight.

“This morning, the pilot on the Liberal leaders’ charter plane made the decision it was too dangerous to fly into Albany from Kalgoorlie given a weather system over Mt Barker,” the spokesman said.

“The premier is free to provide commentary on aviation safety, but we will always listen to the experts who put safety first.

“Ms Mettam hopes to return to Albany and join Dr Brough on the campaign trail before the election.”

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a zero per cent chance of rain and light northeasterly winds in Mt Barker this afternoon.

It predicted a chance of a thunderstorm over Albany, with a 30 per cent chance of rain.

In business news, oil and gas giant Chevron Australia has announced it will soon have a new boss, with managing director Mark Hatfield retiring after four years in the top job.

Chevron Australia managing director Mark Hatfield.Credit: Trevor Collens

In a leadership overhaul shared with the market overnight, the American multinational energy corporation announced Houston-based Chevron Technical Centre vice president Balaji Krishnamurthy would take the helm on April 1, 2025.

Hatfield’s retirement marks the end of his four-year stint leading the company’s Australasia business unit from Perth and his 43-year career with the company he joined as a production engineer in New Orleans after university.

We wouldn’t blame you for switching off the WA election campaign completely after last night’s debate, but both leaders have bounced back with some fresh announcements this morning.

Premier Roger Cook and Defence Industries Minister Paul Papalia were in Henderson this morning announcing an $11.5 million scheme to train apprentices in anticipation of AUKUS defence work sprouting up in Perth’s southern suburbs.

Under the scheme, $8.5 million would be spent on $20,000 grants to defence businesses to hire apprentices.

Papalia talked up AUKUS and suggested the trilateral defence deal to build nuclear submarines between the US, UK and Australia would not be impacted under the Trump administration.

“AUKUS is a good deal for Australia, but it’s also a really good deal for America,” he said.

“When you look into these matters, you’ll find that the Americans need to build more submarines than they built during the Cold War, particularly attack submarines ... they don’t have the capacity in their defence sector to boost the numbers of submarine builds that they need.”

Meanwhile, Liberal leader Libby Mettam and opposition police spokesman Peter Collier flew to Kalgoorlie to attack the government on youth crime.

Mettam promised $2 million to plan for on-country juvenile rehab centres in regional WA and reiterated her pledge to increase police FTE numbers by 300 on day one if elected by increasing overtime allowances.

She also announced a $4 million school truancy program and reiterated the Liberals pledge to close the Unit 18 youth justice facility at Casuarina Prison within 100 days of winning government.

“WA Labor has been missing in action when it comes to cracking down on crime across the state,” she said.

Three boys have been charged after a WA Liberal MP had her car stolen while on the campaign trail in Carnarvon on Sunday night.

North West Central MP Merome Beard. Credit: Facebook

North West Central MP Merome Beard said she had parked her car on the outskirts of town to post campaign signs when the group allegedly took off in her Toyota Landcruiser.

The trio, aged 12, 15 and 16, then allegedly used the vehicle to ram raid a bottle shop in the early hours of Monday morning, before dumping the car in bushland.

WA Police have just confirmed the boys have been charged with a string of offences including stealing a motor vehicle, being in possession of stolen property and burglary.

The two teens will appear in Carnarvon Children’s Court today while the younger boy has been bailed to appear at a later date.

To some footy news now, and the Fremantle Dockers and Justin Longmuir have agreed that at the completion of his current fixed term contract on October 31, Longmuir will transition to an ongoing employment agreement.

Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick said the pair had high expectations on what they could achieve over the coming years.

Dockers supporters bloody hope so.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir.Credit: AFL Photos

“Following a number of discussions with Justin, it was clear that those expectations we set ourselves is what drives our ambitions and standards, not the length of a contract,” Garlick said.

“Justin has been building and leading an elite coaching program, and we believe this agreement complements our plans for him to lead us through a period of sustained contention and success.

“The pressure for the Club to perform is always there, and leadership accountability will continue to come from regular performance evaluations and reviews that are central to our success.”

A Perth man who bludgeoned his secret lover to death because she refused to abort their unborn baby has been sentenced to a minimum of 24 years jail.

Married man Hassan Jabbie, 53, murdered Janet Dweh, 36, in October 2021 after she let him into her Dayton home one evening.

Janet Dweh was murdered by Hassan Jabbie inside her Dayton home.

She was eight months pregnant at the time.

A post-mortem report found he struck her around 30 times with a claw hammer before fleeing and trying to cover up his crime.

Jabbie later admitted the horrific crime to an undercover police officer in a prison cell, saying he started to hit Dweh “non-stop” when she refused to talk about aborting the baby.

During his trial, he tried to claim a hitman, or another lover of Dweh’s must have killed her.

Justice Joseph McGrath sentenced him to a minimum of 24 years behind bars, saying that people who are violent towards women must expect severe sentences.

“She was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her,” he said.

Another day, another walk at the crack of dawn for Churchlands candidate Basil Zempilas who has made it his mission to personally replace candidate signs that keep being taken down.

It’s worth his time, as early polling opened yesterday with more than 38,000 Western Australians voting on the first day possible.

Woodside says its statutory net profit after tax rose 115 per cent in 2024 to $US3.57 billion ($5.62 billion), but it will pay a smaller dividend.

Australia’s largest oil and gas producer said its underlying net profit for the 12 months to December 31 was down 13 per cent to $US2.88 billion ($4.5 billion), primarily due to lower oil and gas prices.

The company produced a record 193.9 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2024, underpinned by strong early production at its Sangomar oil field off the coast of Senegal, which $1.5 generated US$950 million in sales revenue since producing its first oil in June.

Scarborough Energy Project.Credit: Woodside

Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said that Woodside was set to become a highly cash-generative business.

Our proven track record of operational excellence, disciplined investment decisions and world-class project execution is delivering near-term rewards for our shareholders while laying the foundations for a new chapter of value creation.

Woodside’s Scarborough project 375km off the Pilbara coast of WA is now 80 per cent complete and on track for its first LNG cargo in 2026, O’Neill said.

Woodside said its operating revenue was down six per cent to $US13.2 billion, as the average realised price it received for oil equivalent dropped seven per cent.

Production costs were down two per cent despite the inflationary environment, Woodside highlighted.

Woodside said that it would pay a 53 US cents per share fully franked final dividend, down from 60 cents per share a year ago.

AAP