As it happened: WA news on Thursday, April 3

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

Here are some of the headlines we covered today:

• Four Perth teenagers have been charged with reckless driving and had their vehicles impounded after allegedly being caught reaching speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour.
• Opposition leader Peter Dutton has travelled to Perth to announce a $600 million program that would be developed in consultation with miners and farmers to identify roads that require upgrading to improve the transport of food and mining commodities, while Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles visited the Morley Urgent Care Clinic.
• Premier Roger Cook has tempered concerns about the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on the WA economy and its resources sector.
• A 15-year-old boy has been charged after allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old boy at a shopping centre in Ellenbrook on Wednesday afternoon, leaving him hospitalised.
• A scathing report from the WA jails’ watchdog has found inmates at Perth’s men’s remand prison have limited access to fresh air, excessive lockdowns and unhygienic cells infested with pests.
• A 31-year-old man has died at the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison after being found unresponsive in his cell on Wednesday afternoon.
• A former Corruption and Crime Commission worker who managed the agency’s human sources has been charged with corruption over an alleged intimate relationship with a source who was also an inmate at the time.

Thank you for joining us. Be sure to tune in again tomorrow for more news you need to know.

Fremantle’s dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe is likely to be scratched from playing this weekend after suffering soreness in his troublesome knee.

Fyfe, who had arthroscopic surgery on a knee in January, returned to action in state league ranks last weekend.

But Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said the 33-year-old hadn’t fully recovered from that match and was likely to be rested this weekend.

Nat Fyfe is still battling injury.Credit: Getty Images

“He’s close to being AFL ready but unfortunately he’s just pulled up a little bit sore this week in that knee,” Longmuir told reporters on Thursday.

“At this stage I don’t think we will see him at any level (this weekend) ... it’s not significant but he may need a week off.

“We expected this could happen to some degree when we lifted his loads.

“He played his first full game on the weekend and it’s probably the first time he’s really unleashed his strength, run and all those types of things and let himself go and he’s just pulled up a little bit sore.”

Longmuir also ruled out ruckman Sean Darcy from making his AFL return against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.

Darcy, who like Fyfe hasn’t featured at AFL level this season, is recovering from ankle and knee injuries.

“Sean is going to play WAFL,” Longmuir said.

“It’s a vital step for him with his fitness, strength and ruck craft to be able to play at that level first before we put him on the big stage.

“It will be a good stepping stone for him.”

Influential on-baller Hayden Young was in the frame to return from his hamstring injury.

“We will see how he goes through training and we will have a discussion this afternoon,” Longmuir said.

“We’ve got no doubt he could probably play AFL but we need to think a bit longer term with this.”

The Dockers, with one win from three games, host the Bulldogs (two wins, one loss) at Optus Stadium.

AAP

The Department of Justice has confirmed the death of an inmate at the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison.

In a statement, the department said the 31-year-old Aboriginal man was found unresponsive in his cell on Wednesday afternoon.

“Staff provided first aid to the prisoner until paramedics arrived,” the statement read.

“The man was taken by ambulance to Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital, where he was declared deceased.”

There were no suspicious circumstances, the department said, and police would prepare a report for the coroner, as is mandatory for all deaths in custody.

We’re back on the topic of rents, following our story this morning regarding the state of Perth’s rental market.

With an election looming, Anglicare Australia has urged the major parties to prioritise boosting social housing, releasing new heat maps that reveal the scale of the housing crisis, broken down into federal electorates.

The heatmaps are based on data from the charity’s Rental Affordability Snapshot, and according to executive director Kasy Chambers, reveal the nation’s housing crisis “has never been worse”.

“These maps show that rents are shooting up in towns and regions, and that our cities have never been more expensive,” Chambers said.

“Voters are desperate for action. Instead, parties are promising more of the same. At best, there are plans that don’t match the scale of the crisis. At worst, there are schemes that could push prices up.”

Anglicare has called for JobSeeker and other payments to be lifted above the poverty line; for governments to work together to protect people from rent increases they can’t afford; and for a boost to affordable housing.

You can look at your electorate via the Anglicare heatmap below:

And in other news, the state’s road policing commander has lambasted four teenagers charged with reckless driving after allegedly being caught racing each other at speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour.

WA Police claim traffic officers were patrolling South Street in Leeming about 8.10pm on Wednesday when they identified four drivers travelling at 105 km/h above the speed limit.

The vehicles impounded after the group were allegedly caught speeding on Wednesday evening.Credit: WA Police.

Two 17-year-old boys travelling in a black Mercedes-Benz CLA coupe and a black Audi S5 coupe and an 18-year-old man driving a grey Audi hatchback have since been charged with reckless driving.

A fourth male, 18, has been charged with reckless driving and driving without a licence after allegedly being caught behind the wheel of a black BMW 3 Series sedan with a suspended learner’s permit.

WA Road Policing commander Mike Bell lashed the group during a press conference this afternoon, saying the incident — captured on dashcam — “defied belief”.

He also revealed a passenger in one of the vehicles had identified themselves as a friend of Nick Campo, the 18-year-old footballer killed in a high-speed crash in 2024.

“These idiots saw fit to travel at 175 kilometres per hour in a 70km/h zone,” Bell said.

“The consequences of a crash at that speed would be absolutely catastrophic to the drivers, but also anyone nearby and pedestrians.

“With the road toll reaching 50, I am just lost for words. We have grave concerns.

“What is really disappointing is that when officers were trying to educate these drivers and referenced the fatal crash involving Nick Campo last year, one of the people involved identified themselves as a friend of his.”

Bell said the intervention by his officers had prevented four more families from enduring the same heartache.

The teenagers have also had their vehicles impounded.

With Dutton in Perth, Labor has brought in the next best thing after the prime minister, with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles visiting the Morley Urgent Care Clinic.

Marles’ visit coincides with the Chinese research vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao’s navigation into Australia’s exclusive economic zone off the South West coast.

The Chinese research vessel, Tan Suo Yi Hao.

Tan Suo Yi Hao has the ability to drop submersible craft to the ocean floor to conduct surveys and shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie questioned whether it was mapping Australian undersea cables.

Earlier this week Anthony Albanese said he would “prefer” it not be there while the government is monitoring the vessel from the air.

Marles told press the vessel was being closely monitored but accused the opposition of trying to amp up the issue during the campaign.

“The Chinese research vessel was doing research with New Zealand. We have a very close relationship with New Zealand, so we’re very aware of what the Chinese research vessel has been doing and what it is capable of, and we have been monitoring it,” he said.

“That effort has been led by Australia Border Force. That’s appropriate.”

Marles was joined by Perth MP Patrick Gorman, who fired a shot at Dutton for not visiting Collie during this visit to press his nuclear power plan, or meeting with newly minted state opposition leader Basil Zempilas.

“Mr Dutton is the Collie coward. He is the Cowardly Lion. He has no courage to go and visit Collie on this visit,” Gorman said.

Dutton held two pressers in Perth this morning, the second of which was held at drilling company Wallis Drilling in Midvale where he announced the return of the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive.

Peter Dutton visits Wallis Drilling in Midvale in the seat of Hasluck.Credit: James Brickwood

The incentive is $100 million over four years to encourage junior minerals exploration companies to ramp up their work.

Dutton then accused the Albanese government of being anti-WA.

“[The government] see mining as an impediment to their success in their fight with the Greens in Sydney and Melbourne and when you’ve got a Prime Minister who is focused on what a Labor-Greens government would look like after the election, I can promise you WA is not at the top of that list,” he said.

Inmates at Perth’s men’s remand prison have limited access to fresh air, excessive lockdowns and unhygienic cells infested with pests, a scathing report from the WA jails’ watchdog says.

People held at Hakea Prison were being treated in a cruel and inhumane manner, Custodial Services Inspector Eamon Ryan has found.

He said inmates regularly received less than two hours out-of-cell time in a 24-hour period and sometimes no time outside at all.

Hakea Prison has been subject to a scathing assessment by the jails’ watchdog.

“Daily staffing shortages continue to have a significant impact on the prison’s regime,” he said on Thursday after the May 2024 inspection report was tabled in state parliament.

Ryan found prisoners were struggling to maintain contact with families through telephone calls or arranged social visits because of increased lockdowns and staffing shortages.

Hakea, a maximum-security facility, also had an insufficient supply of clean clothing and bedding, Ryan observed.

He found inmates were required to eat meals in their cells during lockdowns, leading to pest infestations and unhygienic living conditions.

Access to meaningful activity such as employment, education, programs and recreation was extremely rare and employment was generally limited to essential services such as the kitchen and laundry.

The inspector found the conditions were contributing to an increased level of prisoner anger and frustration, leading to challenging or dangerous behaviours, such as suicides, suicide attempts, serious self-harm and assaults.

Ryan said Hakea regularly exceeded its operational capacity in the past 12 months.

Cells originally designed for one person were regularly occupied by three inmates, with one person sleeping on a mattress on the floor close to the toilet.

He issued the WA Justice Department with a Show Cause Notice after the visit.

“Our ongoing monitoring at Hakea suggests that, with a few exceptions, conditions have not improved significantly since our inspection in May 2024,” the inspector said.

“To date, the pace of improvement at Hakea has been too slow and the conditions for the men held there remain unsatisfactory.”

About 80 per cent of the men at Hakea are unsentenced and have not been convicted of the offences for which they are being held.

The WA Justice Department said it had established a task force to improve conditions following the inspector’s visit.

“We are committed to addressing (the inspector’s) concerns and taking action to enhance the safety and welfare of Hakea prisoners and staff,” department director general Kylie Maj said in a statement.

The department said it continued to recruit to bolster staff levels.

WA Premier Roger Cook said the state needed more prisons to accommodate the growing inmate population.

“The Department of Corrections is working tirelessly to deal with the difficult issues we confront in our prison estate,” he told reporters at a press conference.

“Population growth in our prison population continues impact on the department.”

Lifeline 13 11 14

AAP

A former Corruption and Crime Commission worker who managed the agency’s human sources has been charged with corruption over an alleged intimate relationship with a source who was also an inmate at the time.

The 42-year-old woman worked for the CCC from 2005 to 2023, when she was sacked following the revelation of the alleged relationship, which spanned three years from 2020.

A CCC report tabled in parliament in March last year laid bare the woman’s alleged actions, which were described as “extremely serious” and “potentially dangerous”.

The charge relates to the woman’s time as a human source co-ordinator for the anti-corruption body, during which time she also adopted the role of human source handler, bringing her into contact with the inmate.

Police on Thursday alleged the woman engaged in “deceitful conduct” to conceal the inappropriate relationship from the CCC, including creating a pseudonym and using the powers available to her in her role to have the pseudonym registered with the prison as a legal contact for the inmate.

“This allegedly enabled the woman to maintain the clandestine aspect of the relationship and secure extended unmonitored and unrecorded contact with the [registered human source],” a WA Police spokeswoman said.

The woman will face Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, April 11.

Heading to Forrestfield now, where Premier Roger Cook has just given a press conference alongside Rio Tinto iron ore boss Simon Trott and Gemco Rail managing director Dean Draper to reveal the state’s first locally assembled iron ore rail car.

The press conference quickly moved to Trump’s tariffs, with Cook tempering concerns about their impacts on the WA economy and its important iron ore sector.

Gemco Rail managing director Dean Draper, Pilbara MP Kevin Michel, Premier Roger Cook and Rio Tinto iron ore boss Simon Trott in front of the new rail car.Credit: Hamish Hastie

“I want to reassure people that 90 per cent of iron ore or China’s steel production is actually consumed by their domestic economy,” he said.

“A small proportion of that steel that they produce is exported to the US.

“Now, ultimately, they produce goods which are exported to the US, and so we need to actually see what the long-term indications or impact of these changes are, we won’t see changes overnight.”

Trott said his company remained committed to the Pilbara.

“We’ve got a lot to do in the next few years, we need around about a mine a year as we come to the end of some of our mining operations, and those projects continue as planned,” he said.

There was an awkward exchange between Trott and veteran Seven journalist Geof Parry, who grilled the Rio Tinto executive on why he was the only one out of nearly 100 people gathered at the press conference to not be wearing a high-vis vest.

“I assume that Rio Tinto has a big commitment to worksite safety. I just observed that you appear to be the only one here who’s not in high vis,” Parry asked.

“I clarified before standing up that it was okay to stand here without high vis on,” Trott replied.

When asked whether he would not wear high vis on a Rio Tinto site, Trott said he would take guidance from local management.

Trott ended up putting on a high vis vest for photos in front of the new railcar.

To some police news now, and a 14-year-old boy has been taken to hospital while a 15-year-old boy will face court after a bashing at a shopping centre in Ellenbrook on Wednesday afternoon.

Police were called to Ellenbrook Central Shopping Centre about 4.20pm on Wednesday after the boy was approached by a group of juveniles known to him and allegedly assaulted.

The assault was so severe it left the boy with “serious facial injuries”, according to a WA Police spokeswoman, and he was taken by St John Ambulance to Perth Children’s Hospital for treatment.

The 15-year-old boy was arrested and has been charged with one count of acts intended to cause hard or endanger the life, health or safety of any person.

He was granted bail and is set to appear in Midland Children’s Court at a later date.

Police are still investigating the incident and have called on anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or make a report online.