As it happened: WA news on Friday, April 4

We’re just popping back in with one more political tidbit: that newly minted WA Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas says there was “nothing sinister” in his federal counterpart giving him a wide berth during his flying visit to WA this week.

Peter Dutton visited the electorates of Pearce, Hasluck, Bullwinkel and Forrest this week in a 24-hour visit but did not meet with Zempilas who became state opposition leader late last month.

Zempilas said they were both too busy.

“Well, I was working on three new jobs. I’m a new MP. I’m the new leader of the Liberal Party. I’m also the new leader of the opposition. I’ve had onboarding to do, and I’ve had this announcement to prepare for, and Peter Dutton has his own campaigning to do,” Zempilas said.

“There’s nothing sinister in it. We will meet during the campaign but he respects that I’m brand new in this job and have a lot of things to get on with and I also respect that a federal campaign runs its own race at the appropriate times.

“We’ll come together, but the appropriate time for me was not yesterday.”

Zempilas said he and Dutton had exchanged messages.

Right, now we’re really closing the blog. Have a great weekend, WA.

Good afternoon readers, and thanks for following along this week. What are you up to this weekend? There’s certainly no shortage of events. Here are some to inspire you as we sign off – the live blog will be back on Monday.

Sport

The Town of East Fremantle is welcoming the first home games for season 2025 at the East Fremantle Community Park. Following a multi-year absence for the East Fremantle FC while the oval was redeveloped and multi-use facility completed, three games will be played tomorrow: Rogers Cup playing Peel Thunder at 10.05am; WAFLW playing Peel Thunder at 12pm and WAFL playing West Coast Eagles at 2.30pm. Entry is free, with a full day of family-friendly activations planned, including food trucks, bouncy castles, Rick the Rock, handball activities and more.

Neta Knapp is among the artists exhibiting in Hamilton Hill this weekend. Credit: Nic Duncan

Arts

Sculpture at Bathers returns for its sixth event at the Bathers Beach Art Precinct from today until April 21.

The City of Cockburn’s 20th Show Off Art exhibition is beginning at Memorial Hall in Hamilton Hill. It will be open daily from 10am to 3pm from tomorrow until April 13. A true celebration of art in the community, it is open to all artists in the area, from novice to emerging to highly experienced. Standout exhibitors include Trevor Vickers and Neta Knapp.

The Art Gallery of WA has just opened a new exhibition that explores the evolution of Modernist bronze sculpture, tracing its journey from the mid-to-late nineteenth century to the mid-to-late twentieth century. Featuring iconic works from renowned artists like Auguste Rodin, Marino Marini and their contemporaries. Cast in bronze runs until September 28. The gallery has also just opened Revivification, an immersive exhibition combining sound and cutting-edge biological innovation to bring to life the musical genius of a deceased composer. Four years in the making, Revivification delivers a historic first: the in-vitro (external) ‘brain’ of the late composer Alvin Lucier, creating a new work in real time, as a live performance over the duration of the exhibition.

And for the northerners, critically acclaimed exhibition The Antipodean Manifesto has arrived in Wanneroo, presenting a visionary dialogue of art, identity and culture in 1950s Australia, featuring a selection of representational paintings, prints and ceramics by the seven artists who formed the Antipodean group. It’ll be on show at the Wanneroo Regional Gallery is free and open to the public May 3.

Cast in Bronze is open now at AGWA, as is groundbreaking biotechnology exhibition Revivification.Credit: AGWA

History and heritage

It’s the first weekend of the Lotterywest Boorloo Heritage Festival. Here are just some events that are on offer tomorrow: Perth Italian Festival at Langley Park; Perth Indonesian Festival at Forrest Place; Celebrating the Country Women’s Association at 1176 Hay Street; Two Centuries of Chinese Heritage in WA at 45 Francis Street and The Human Library Book Cafe at the City of Perth Library. On Sunday, there’s Music in the Rotunda with the City of Perth Band at Queens Gardens.

Finally, the State Library of Western Australia has just launched Hello, this is Sam Lovell, an exhibition almost seven years in the making, celebrating the exceptional life journey and significant contributions of Sam Lovell OAM, a trailblazer in Indigenous tourism and a respected Kimberley icon. One of only two Aboriginal people known to have a box brownie camera in WA in the 1950s onwards, he was able to document his life from a young age and provide a unique lens and perspective on life in the North West. The exhibition runs until July 31. Admission is free.

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says under-fire skipper Oscar Allen has nothing to feel ashamed about as calls emerge for the AFL to adopt an NRL-type model for player movement.

Eagles coach Andrew McQualter at the match against the Suns.Credit: Getty Images

Restricted free agent Allen has come under heavy fire this week after it was revealed he had met with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell.

Allen is being heavily chased by Hawthorn and Brisbane, with Collingwood and Essendon also in the hunt.

It’s believed West Coast’s offer isn’t close to matching the length and value of those of the chasing teams.

Allen has been backed by West Coast’s hierarchy and the player group to continue as Eagles captain.

But the 26-year-old said he felt embarrassed and ashamed.

First-year coach McQualter threw his support behind Allen when addressing the media on Friday morning.

“I do just want to say, without speaking for Oscar, I don’t think he should feel ashamed of what’s happened,” McQualter said.

“I just want to support him in that space. It’s the landscape of the industry.”

The NRL model allows players to negotiate a deal with a rival club within a year of their current contract expiring.

That situation means it is now commonplace for a player to announce their deal with a rival club while still playing out the season with their current club.

GWS coach Adam Kingsley wouldn’t mind seeing an NRL-type model adopted by the AFL.

“The game’s got to be a little bit more professional in terms of free agency, player movement,” Kingsley said.

AAP

Three people have been charged over an aggravated burglary at an address in Perth’s northern suburbs, and one has been charged with firing a gun at police during their arrest.

It will be alleged a 39-year-old man and a 43-year-old man allegedly forced entry into a home in Landsdale in March and stole multiple high-value items before leaving undetected.

Yesterday, Joondalup Detectives and the Tactical Response Group executed a search warrant at a residence in Landsdale.

As they entered through the front door a firearm was discharged through a nearby window, narrowly missing one of the officers.

The 39-year-old man was taken into custody and three firearms were also seized.

About 12.05am on Friday morning, the 43-year-old man was arrested at a residence in Balcatta.

Both have been charged with a string of offences including stealing, aggravated burglary, demanding property by oral threat, and conspiring to commit an indictable offence.

The pair will appear in court today.

A 47-year-old woman has also been charged after she was allegedly found in possession of some of the stolen items and will appear before the courts later in the month.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.

WA’s new Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas has unveiled his shadow cabinet – one he says represents a “breadth of real-world experience”.

Zempilas’ Liberals will work as an alliance with the WA Nationals and their leader Shane Love.

“The make-up of the shadow cabinet demonstrates a breadth of real-world experience in many areas, including health, small business, primary industry, mining, law, advocacy and local government,” Zempilas said.

“From the city to the regions, Western Australians deserve a strong opposition that is disciplined and rigorous and will demand integrity and transparency from the government.”

Love said they would bring a united team to the first day of parliament.

“As a team, the Liberals and Nationals stand ready to protect the best interests of our great state,” he said.

Bringing you back to a post from 11.12am, and we have footage of the first protester who snuck in to a press conference in Perth with Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Friday morning.

You can watch what happened below.

A weather warning has been issued for Perth residents, with damaging winds predicted in the city’s southern and eastern suburbs.

A ridge building in the Bight is expected to combine with a deepening trough off the west coast to produce a vigorous easterly airstream over parts of southwestern Western Australia tonight.Credit: Bureau of Meteorology

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an alert for suburbs including Armadale, Ellenbrook, Gingin, Harvey, Kalamunda, Midland, Mundaring and Pinjarra.

Damaging winds averaging 60 to 70 kilometres per hour, with peak gusts of around 100 kilometres per hour, are likely to develop over the warning area from late Friday afternoon, easing during Saturday morning.

Conditions may result in damage to property and make road conditions hazardous.

It is recommended residents pack away or secure outdoor furniture, prepare an emergency kit with a radio that runs off batteries, a torch, spare batteries and a first aid kit and charge devices such as mobile phones in case of power outages.

Campers should find shelter away from trees and powerlines.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher’s press conference in Perth has been disrupted by two separate protesters who managed to sneak into the event masquerading as journalists in high vis vests.

Chalmers was speaking about critical minerals at an Australian Vanadium facility north of Perth when a woman started yelling at Chalmers about the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“This government collects more from the HECS student debt than the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax. Why is your government supporting Woodside and Burrup project while gas companies are ripping us off.”

Security then pushed her out of the press conference.

When asked later about whether he was concerned at the security breach Chalmers said he was “completely untroubled by it”.

“You would prefer that press conferences weren’t interrupted, but you also want to live in a country where people have got a view and they can express a view,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody felt unsafe. I don’t speak for everyone, but I’m pretty relaxed about it.”

Later in the press conference Chalmers invited the second protester to ask a question.

The woman asked the following: “Considering the US tariffs and that over the last, I think 16 months, we’ve increased our exports and investments into Israel. I’m just wondering if the current political climate might see us divesting from genocide and apartheid in the foreseeable future, especially considering we are heading towards escalated, global conflict.”

“I think we’ve commented at some length about the conflict in Gaza. We’ve made it clear that we want ceasefire there,” Chalmers responded.

“We want humanitarian access, and we’ve made our position very clear on that.”

The protester then started yelling at Chalmers about ethnic cleansing before also being removed by security.

Pharmacists are urging West Australians, particularly those in more vulnerable groups, to get their flu vaccinations, with Australia recording the worst year to date for confirmed cases.

Over 50,000 flu cases have been recorded nationally to date.Credit: Monique Westermann

Nationally, confirmed flu cases exceed the number of cases recorded at the same time last year by 60 per cent, and WA has faced 4454 confirmed cases to date.

TerryWhite Chemmart Chief Pharmacist Brenton Hart said the flu could be severe, even deadly, especially for those most at risk.

“A simple flu shot is one of the best ways to protect yourself and those around you,” he said.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, pregnant women, those with other health complications and those over 65 are at higher risk.

Due to their developing immune systems, infants and children up to the age of five also have an increased risk of complications.

In 2024, only 32 per cent of Australians were vaccinated against influenza as recorded by the Department of Health and Aged Care, which was 500,000 less than in 2023, and 2.3 million less than in 2022.

Sticking with crime news and a 33-year-old man from Balga has been charged with attempting to kill a 49-year-old man, who was found on Thursday morning lying in a carpark with life-threatening injuries.

About 6.20am, police found the victim in the carpark of a community centre near Armadale with extensive head and upper body injuries.

He was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment.

The 33-year-old man will appear in the Armadale Magistrates Court today.

An investigation is underway and anyone with any information relating to this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to make a report online.

Police are also appealing for CCTV footage or dashcam recordings from anyone who was driving in the area between 11pm on April 1 and 7am on April 2.