As it happened: WA news on Thursday, September 19

We’re closing our blog now. Thank you for joining us today.

As we leave you, another two teenage boys have been charged over a series of homophobic attacks on men lured to meeting points in Perth’s south via a dating app. Rebecca Peppiatt has the latest on this developing story.

In other headlines today, the body of a diver missing off the coast near Carnarvon has been recovered.

It’s been a busy day in politics, from an overhaul of WA’s domestic gas policy to debate over the contentious comments of WA Liberals Albany candidate Thomas Brough.

Thank you again for joining us, and tune in tomorrow as we bring you more news of the day.

Let’s stick with parliament now, where the opposition has requested a suspension of standing orders to attack the Labor Party for failing to provide a quorum seven times this week and five times in a single day, resulting in parliament grinding to a halt.

Under standing orders there must be at least one-third of lower house MPs present in the chamber to constitute a quorum and allow business to proceed.

Opposition Leader Shane Love triggered the suspension, accusing Labor MPs of “treating parliament like a part-time job”.

WA Opposition Leader Shane Love.Credit: Jesinta Burton

“Failing to make quorum seven times in a week – and five times in a single day – shows their contempt not just for the Parliament, but for the people of WA who deserve better representation,” he said.

“Labor MPs are being paid to represent WA families, yet they can’t even be bothered to show up for work.

“They can’t complain about running out of time to pass legislation when they’re the ones wasting Parliament’s time by not turning up.”

The attack was met with a spirited defence by Labor’s leader of the house David Templeman, who recited a previous occasion while he was in opposition where no MPs from the Barnett government were in attendance.

Templeman also recited comments made by Nationals upper house MP Martin Aldridge in March accusing Liberal leader Libby Mettam of prioritising media stunts over parliamentary duties.

He said the opposition had “pulled a stupid stunt.”

Back to the topic of the WA Liberals Albany candidate Dr Thomas Brough, and Housing Minister John Carey has blasted Liberal leader Libby Mettam for failing to act on comments Brough has made about the LGBTIQ+ community.

Carey, who is a gay man, savaged Brough for his previous public comments that the ‘+’ in LGBTQI+ referred to “minor-attracted persons”.

Minister for Housing John Carey in Parliament.

He then accused Mettam of failing to reprimand Brough for those comments.

“One of her candidates is saying the worst of the worst, peddling the worst stereotypes about gay and lesbian people,” he said.

“Gay and lesbian people have a right to be in this society and community without that kind of hate peddling.

“[Mettam] says its bizarre, but there are no consequences.

“The leader of the Liberal Party is failing in her basic moral compass.”

To question time now, where Sport and Recreation Minister David Templeman has criticised the Town of East Fremantle for holding up the East Fremantle Sharks WAFL club from moving back into their facility after a state-supported $32 million redevelopment.

The Sharks have reportedly been unable to strike a lease for the facility with the town over concerns about signage, sponsorships and the football club’s wish to build a fence around the park to improve ticket revenue on game days.

In response to questions over the issue from opposition sport spokesman Peter Rundle, Templeman launched a tirade at the town, blaming them for the hold up.

“The local government hasn’t got its act together,” he said.

“That’s the reality.

“We are extremely disappointed with the Town of East Fremantle with the way this has been handled.”

In August, the town defended its position, saying the sticking point was that its council wanted to the park to be a welcoming destination without fencing.

“This was to encourage families and the local community down to watch the WAFL games and reinvigorate the sense of community and belonging,” it said.

The body of a man who went missing off the coast of WA while on a fishing and diving trip with friends has likely been discovered by police.

Around 11.40am today, water police located a body off the coast of Gnaraloo Road in Macleod, near Carnarvon.

The body is believed to be the male diver – aged in his 30s – however he has not yet been formally identified.

The death is being treated as non-suspicious and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

The man was out diving with friends on Tuesday. When he did not resurface, the group called for help.

Staying with WA politics now, and the Liberal Party has vowed to close the notorious Unit 18 youth wing of Casuarina Prison within their first 12 months in government if elected, but has declined to be drawn on how it intends to do it.

During a press conference on Thursday, Liberal leader Libby Mettam said the party would prioritise the state’s troubled juvenile justice system after years of WA Labor “dragging its feet”.

Casuarina Prison, Western Australia.Credit: 9 News Perth

The comments came just hours after Premier Roger Cook said the state still believed the outpost for Banksia Hill’s most troubled youths to be necessary.

He said the state government had embarked on a major cultural overhaul of the facility, but admitted there was more to be done.

The state government recently confirmed the business case for the new facility to consolidate Banskia Hill was complete, but indicated the budget was not yet known.

The election pledge comes as protesters descend on parliament this afternoon to lobby for the facility to be shut down.

Scrutiny of the state’s youth detention system intensified in October after 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd took his own life in Unit 18, becoming the first juvenile to die in custody in WA.

The death followed years of criticism over staffing issues and the use of solitary confinement over a therapeutic and non-punitive operating philosophy.

Both the Supreme and Children’s courts have found Corrective Services had acted unlawfully in managing children in detention.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam has struggled to fend off questions over a political candidate labelled a “dickhead” by outgoing Labor Party stalwart David Templeman, for anti-LGBTQIA+ remarks and attempts to restrict access to sexual education.

On Thursday morning, Templeman called on Mettam to take Albany candidate Thomas Brough to task on divisive comments during a speech about the harassment of public library staff.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam.Credit: Hamish Hastie

“Stop it’s ridiculous, it’s appalling, and it’s wrong, stop hurting people and abusing people like you’re doing,” he said.

“I tell you what I’d be getting onto the phone [to Brough] if I were [Mettam], what a dickhead.”

The Minister for Culture and Arts later withdrew the remark, conceding it was unparliamentary.

Brough made headlines earlier this year after falsely declaring paedophiles had infiltrated the LGBTQIA+ community and protested against inclusivity training over the remarks after several complaints.

But despite claiming the commentary did not align with the values of the Liberal Party, its state council still deemed the Albany doctor the best candidate for preselection.

Brough was a key supporter of a movement in the town to restrict access to two books in Albany’s public library a group of residents claimed were “sexualising children”.

During a press conference, Mettam repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether she had spoken to Brough about his views or whether she believed they may deter voters.

Instead, she responded by reiterating the views were not representative of those held by the party.

On almost a dozen occasions, Mettam answered the barrage of questions by stating the party’s focus was on cost of living, fixing the health care system and law and order.

The comments come just hours after two teenagers were charged over a series of homophobic attacks on Wednesday in Perth’s south.

Brough declined to comment.

To some more crime news now and a 34-year-old man has had his charges upgraded to murder after he allegedly attacked a 57-year-old in Perth’s northern suburbs in August.

Around 5.15pm on August 16 police were called to an address on Whitfield Drive in Two Rocks where they found the 57-year-old man laying in the driveway with a serious head injury.

He was taken to Royal Perth Hospital via St John Ambulance, where he died four days later.

The then-33-year-old man allegedly fled the area in a grey Mazda hatchback but was later located and arrested by police in Greenwood.

He was charged with Grievous Bodily Harm and appeared before the Perth Magistrates Court on August 17 where he was remanded in custody until October 28.

On Thursday police announced his charge had been upgraded to murder. The man will now appear in Joondalup Magistrates Court.

A Catholic school north of Perth will close its doors for at least two years, admitting plummeting enrolment figures and evolving educational needs of students were partly to blame.

Edmund Rice College in Bindoon announced they will apply to the minister for education to pause operations and registration from 2025 on Thursday morning.

The school will work with all impacted students and families to ensure they are provided with the choice of an alternate enrolment at another WA Catholic school.

Edmund Rice College in Bindoon.Credit: Facebook

All staff will be supported either with an offer of redeployment, re-employment assistance or other support appropriate to their needs.

College chairwoman Pauline Gately said the decision had not been taken lightly.

“It follows a significant period of reflection where we determined, with the support and agreement of our partners Catholic Education WA, that the school is not able to continue operating in its current format,” she said.

“This is about reimagining a model of educational service delivery that best meets the needs of young people in a sustainable and student focused manner well into the future.

“We want to take time to get this right.”

College chief-executive Chris Woolley said a recent decline in enrolment, the evolving educational and social needs of students and the complex heritage site have put pressure on the model currently in place.

“The review will ensure that we are best able to continue to appropriately meet the educational, social and emotional needs of all students, and this must be paramount,” he said.

“It will also allow us time to consider the critical infrastructure requirements of this complex heritage site in consultation with local authorities.”

To some crime news now and two teenagers have been charged with a string of offences, after they were arrested over a series of homophobic attacks on Wednesday.

The boys, aged 15 and 16 from Hilton and South Lakes, allegedly lured men in their 30s to a meeting point via a dating app.

Police said the men were subjected to homophobic slurs during the assaults, which were sometimes filmed and posted to social media, and had their property stolen or damaged.

They have now been charged by police with offending including aggravated armed robbery, criminal damage and destruction of property and stealing a motor vehicle.

You can read more about their alleged offending in the story linked to the right.

WA Premier Roger Cook conveyed his disgust at the acts during a press conference on Thursday morning.

What an insidious crime, what a horrible way for someone to perpetrate a crime in Western Australia, violent crime, not only to undertake that activity, but to conspire to undertake that activity.

I hope the book is thrown at those people. These are sickening acts. We want Western Australia to be a peaceful inclusive and safe place for everyone to live and there is no room for that sort of activity.