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As it happened: WA news on Thursday, June 6

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Good night and thank you for joining us today

Traffic is terrible in the Perth CBD as a front brings rain and strong winds to the city.

We leave you with news from WA Police that a 20-year-old man has allegedly been caught speeding at 127km/h over the speed limit on Reid Highway, where the speed limit is 90km/h.

WA Police have charged him and a 23-year-old man allegedly captured on camera at 69km/h over the speed limit.

Road Policing Commander Mike Bell said motorcycle riders were particularly vulnerable on our roads.

“Choices, like significantly exceeding the speed limit, increases the risk to their safety and safety of others,” he said.

“Speeding is one of the most common factors associated with fatal and serious crashes. It’s astounding that people are willing to take these risks”.

Read more here

Severe thunderstorm heading for Rockingham

The Bureau of Meteorology warns that a severe thunderstorm likely to produce damaging, locally destructive winds and heavy, locally intense rainfall that may lead to dangerous flash flooding has been detected west of Coogee and west of Secret Harbour.

This thunderstorm is moving towards the southeast and is forecast to affect Mandurah, Henderson, Rockingham, Secret Harbour, Anketell and Pinjarra by 4:20 pm and Dwellingup, Jarrahdale, North Dandalup and Serpentine by 5:05 pm.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should:

  • If outside find safe shelter away from trees, power lines, storm water drains and streams.
  • Close your curtains and blinds, and stay inside away from windows.
  • Unplug electrical appliances and do not use land line telephones if there is lightning.
  • If there is flooding, create your own sandbags by using pillow cases filled with sand and place them around doorways to protect your home.
  • If boating, swimming or surfing leave the water.
  • Do not drive into water of unknown depth and current.
  • Slow down and turn your headlights on.
  • Be alert and watch for hazards on the road such as fallen power lines and loose debris.
  • If it is raining heavily and you cannot see, pull over and park with your hazard lights on until the rain clears.

A more general severe thunderstorm warning is also current for parts of the Greater Perth district.

Rain’s a-comin’

By Emma Young

Rain in Perth will never not be exciting.

The radar at 2.45pm.

The radar at 2.45pm.Credit: Bureau of Meteorology

Even as a “rain bomb” wreaks havoc in NSW and is heading for Sydney, the Bureau of Meteorology has declared Perth’s in for a drenching, with a high chance of heavy falls (15-35 millimetres) and possibly severe thunderstorms this afternoon and tonight.

There’s also a gale warning for the Leeuwin Coast and a strong wind warning for Perth local waters and the coasts of Geraldton, Lancelin, Bunbury Geographe and Albany.

Remember your coat and umbrella when you leave the office …

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Green group lashes WA Liberals over pledge to slash green tape

By Jesinta Burton

The Conservation Council of WA has come out swinging at the Liberal Party over its vow to overhaul the project approvals process, claiming the state’s environmental laws were under threat from politicians beholden to the demands of industry.

On Thursday, Liberal leader Libby Mettam vowed to embark on a major overhaul, including tightening the appeals process and defunding the Environmental Defenders Office, if the party won office in 2025.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam.Credit: Trevor Collens

Mettam told a Business News breakfast the policy had been developed following the WA Chamber of Commerce claiming $318 billion worth of projects were tied up in approvals.

But CCWA executive director Jess Beckerling said neither had provided any evidence of the pipeline of delayed projects and claimed delays were the product of proponents handing over insufficient information.

Beckerling said the move was “deeply out of step” with the community’s desire to protect the environment and that WA’s natural assets should not pay for the price for industry’s lack of compliance.

“WA has just experienced its hottest and driest summer on record, causing forest collapse across the south of our state and mass deaths of turtles and penguins in Perth,” she said.

“The WA Liberals have signalled a plan to further reduce environmental protections to fast-track industrial approvals.

“Our existing laws are under threat from captive politicians caving in to industry pressure.

“The Environmental Protection Agency is the thin green line defending WA’s nature from rampant fossil fuel expansion, and it needs to be strengthened.”

Beautiful Lightscape back in Perth

By Charlotte Vinson

After attracting more than 180,000 visitors to Kings Park last year, the City of Perth has brought back the immersive Lightscape experience.

The internationally renowned festival combines art, light and sound within the park, celebrating WA’s local flora in a seven-week spectacle opening tomorrow night.

Lightscape is in town again.

Lightscape is in town again.Credit: Lightscape Perth

This year’s theme is the mysteries of roots, or “the secrets beneath the surface”.

The success of the festival goes towards funding the development of the botanic garden and conservation of WA’s rare and threatened flora.

WA Botanic Garden director Sue McDougall said proceeds from Lightscape would enable the organisation to conserve more iconic species for future generations.

Some highlights:

Waterfall drops from a height of 10 metres from the top of the Lotterywest
Federation Walkway and spans 50 metres across. The installation is made from lights
programmed to resemble tumbling water and is accompanied by a haunting
soundscape.

Uprooted by artists Maro Avrabou and Dimitri Xenaki is an installation of 15 oversized
flowers still in their pots with fibre-optic roots exposed above the ground. The flowers are
made from recycled plastic shopping bags, and catch the wind.

Tickets available via Ticketek.

FOGO is a go south of Perth

By Emma Young

Ever wondered where the contents of your FOGO bin go?

Well, Perth’s still working it out, but the good news is we are apparently getting better at it.

A state planning panel this morning unanimously approved an existing, “unsophisticated” open-air composting facility in Nambeelup (inland of Mandurah) to move to a significantly expanded and higher-tech facility in Keralup (inland of Singleton).

The Keralup site. Development WA, the owner, has been working over the past several years to attract tenants.

The Keralup site. Development WA, the owner, has been working over the past several years to attract tenants. Credit: JDAP

Residents, though the nearest is 2.5 kilometres away, voiced strident opposition in the form of 83 submissions to the proposal overwhelmingly concerning odour worries, as they are already battling odour issues from a piggery and a mushroom farm.

But Altus Planning, on behalf of the recycling company C-Wise, told the assessment panel the planners had “vigorously investigated” the issue and any odours would be acceptable and rigorously managed.

They brought in Environmental & Air Quality Consulting director John Hurley, who said the old facility had no real odour control, but the new one would fully encapsulate the waste and control odours with “biofiltration”.

There would be no byproducts or leachates apart from clean stormwater and filtered particles from the biofilter.

“This is an important part of our sustainable future,” the proponent said.

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Premier accuses Liberal party of copying Labor’s policy

Premier Roger Cook, who is in Geraldton announcing an expansion to the Geraldton Health Campus, has just responded to the Liberal party’s policy announcement this morning to slash green tape in WA’s mining industry.

WA Premier Roger Cook

WA Premier Roger CookCredit: Ross Swanborough

He’s claimed the policy is an imitation of his government’s $36 million commitment to streamline approvals through reforms.

“This is an imitation of what we’re already doing and quite frankly, they’re a bit late to the party,” he said.

“From what I can see, the Liberal party proposal would be a lawyers’ picnic and that is the exact opposite of what we need in Western Australia.”

Scroll down our blog to read more on the Liberal party’s announcement this morning.

Health staff can’t be expected to report aggressive patients to police: AMA on Floreat shooter

Australian Medical Association WA president Michael Page has just spoken on Radio 6PR regarding the Floreat double-murder suicide tragedy two weeks ago.

WAtoday had last week revealed shooter Mark Bombara had a 10-centimetre cyst on his brain and was displaying aggressive behaviour to medical staff in the weeks before he used two of his 13 guns to kill Jennifer and Gretl Petelczyc.

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One health professional, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told WAtoday there should be a system in place for medical staff to be alerted if a patient acting in a dangerous manner had guns, or for them to alert police.

Michael Page said it was not reasonable for health professionals to alert police to patients acting aggressively.

“Erratic behaviour, emotional responses to what are often very traumatic experiences for patients in hospital are very, very common,” he said.

“Delirium can present with a range of features including agitation and even aggression ... the health workers and hospital staff know how to deal with these problems.

“If we as health professionals reported every patient who showed any sign of aggression whilst in hospital unwell, the police wouldn’t be able to do anything else other than follow up these mostly spurious leads.”

Page said medical professionals do, however, report it when a patient makes a direct or specific threat.

His comments come after Premier Roger Cook on Tuesday said: “If a health professional believes that a patient in front of them is either a danger to themselves, or a danger to someone else, that they must inform the police, and that’s always been the case.”

New trial for woman accused of poisoning husband’s drinks; Alkimos woman admits murdering partner

To courts now, and the Perth woman accused of trying to murder her husband by secretly poisoning his drinks has just appeared in the Supreme Court.

Bozena Knapinski, 63, had her attempted murder trial abandoned last month after prosecutors realised the solution with which she was allegedly spiking her husband Robert’s water was not capable of killing someone.

Bozena Knapinski.

Bozena Knapinski.Credit: Heather McNeill

This morning, prosecutors discontinued the attempted murder charge and replaced it with five counts of with intent to harm, did an act which endangered someone’s health, safety or life.

Knapinski has pleaded not guilty, with the trial scheduled for February 2025.

Meanwhile, Brittany McCulloch, 30, who previously denied murdering her partner Jordan Caine, has changed her plea, confessing to the crime.

The 34-year-old’s body was found inside the garage of an Alkimos home in July 2022.

McCulloch’s trial dates have been vacated.

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Mettam vows to overhaul environmental approvals process, brushes off Zempilas ‘threat’

By Jesinta Burton

Turning to politics now, and WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam has told a packed Business News breakfast she would embark on a major overhaul of the environmental approvals process if elected, including tightening the appeals process and defunding the Environmental Defenders Office.

Mettam told 9 News Perth news director Gareth Parker the commitment was distinctly different from that of her state and federal Labor counterparts, insisting the approvals process time would drastically reduce under a government she led.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam at this morning’s Business News breakfast.

Liberal leader Libby Mettam at this morning’s Business News breakfast.Credit: Jesinta Burton

And she dismissed concerns that Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s rejection of production tax credits for critical minerals processing could harm her prospects in 2025, arguing the biggest threat to the resources industry in Western Australia remained the Albanese government’s Nature Positive laws and delays to approvals.

While she did not commit to a date, Mettam insinuated WA’s coal-fired power stations would need to remain operational beyond 2030 — the date by which the WA Labor government has vowed to close them.

“We have committed to developing a gas generator facility, beginning in 2027… we would anticipate that it would potentially be up and running by 2030, but we’re not going to commit to arbitrary timeframes,” she said.

“Our commitment around energy is ensuring reliability, affordability, and moving towards our emissions target by 2050.”

Mettam also affirmed she was not ideologically opposed to nuclear power, but that she believed a focus on gas as a baseload power was more appropriate in WA.

She played down talk that Seven West Media personality and Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas could be angling for the top job, telling the audience the pair had a strong working relationship and that those most threatened by him were senior members of the WA Labor Party.

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Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/wa-news-live-police-hunt-after-mount-lawley-driver-abandons-crash-joondalup-vape-store-robbed-20240605-p5jjj6.html