As it happened: WA news on Friday, November 8

Good afternoon readers, and thanks for reading our live blog this week.

Looking for something to do this weekend?

Renowned for their extravagant, androgynous and unapologetically queer aesthetic, The Huxleys’ work is a visual feast of sparkle, absurdity and liberation.

Three-time ARIA winner Vince Jones of the double platinum Come In Spinner soundtrack is playing Kalamunda Arts Centre tonight.

He’s also playing The Ellington Jazz Club Saturday, but we hear that’s sold out. If you’re down south, you could try the Perth Jazz Festival at Aravina Estate in Busselton where he is playing on Sunday.

If mellow grooves are not your thing, there’s a System of a Down tribute act playing at Amplifier Bar on Saturday.

The Czech and Slovak Film Festival is also returning to Perth with screenings all weekend at Luna Leederville, and on Saturday opens a massive retrospective exhibition from colourful performance-art duo The Huxleys at Fremantle Arts Centre, showcasing 10 years of collaborative projects between the pair. More info here.

Whatever you decide to do this weekend, have fun and stay safe, and the live blog will be back on Monday.

The state government has approved a long-awaited planning scheme for Mandogalup, ending a five-year process and a long-running debate over the buffer between residential development and Kwinana’s industrial precinct.

On Friday, Planning Minister John Carey said the scheme sought to bring landowners surety and lay the groundwork for future development in the area south-west of Perth, while facilitating an appropriate transition between industrial land and more sensitive land uses.

The extent of the Kwinana air quality buffer zone and the potential impacts of dust were key considerations for the government in devising the plan, which will supersede the previous planning policy over the area.

The encroachment of residential development on the industrial precinct and the preservation of a buffer zone has long been a source of fierce debate, with property doyen Nigel Satterley having lobbied to develop land in the area.

The scheme is the product of more than five years’ consultation with residents, the City of Kwinana and major stakeholders, including the Kwinana Industries Council and Alcoa.

Kwinana Industries Council has previously voiced its concerns about the need to retain an appropriate buffer zone, claiming the uncertainty would discourage investment and that it was not the right place for residential development.

A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to a nine-month community-based order and ordered to pay costs after failing to care for his two dogs – one of which was very skinny, the other with a severely matted coat.

One dog’s fur was matted and teeth hadn’t been looked after.Credit: RSPCA WA

Joondalup Magistrates Court on Wednesday heard an RSPCA inspector attended the man’s Carramar home in September 2022 and saw a Staffordshire terrier with a protruding spine and ribs, as well as sunken muscle on her face and legs, and multiple lumps on her body.

The other dog’s coat was so matted it was tight against his skin and he was clearly in pain.

The inspector seized Bailey and Gizmo.

RSPCA WA Inspector Manager Kylie Green said the offender acted cruelly.

“We know the cost-of-living crisis is hitting people hard and the cost of pet food and vet care has risen; however, it is never OK to let your pet suffer in these ways,” she said.

The 14-year-old dog was in terrible condition. Credit: RSPCA WA

“Bailey and Gizmo’s suffering could have been alleviated if the offender reached out to friends, family or an organisation like the RSPCA for help.”

The man was banned from having any animals for two years.

The state government has offered WA nurses a 12.25 per cent pay rise over the next three years.

The offer includes a 5 per cent bump this year followed by a 4 per cent jump in 2025 and 3.25 per cent the year after.

The figure is 7.75 per cent less than the 20 per cent rise over three years that former ANF secretary Mark Olsen demanded in September.

State secretary Romina Raschilla said the union would hold meetings with members at hospitals across the state and over Zoom to discuss the offer.

Here’s what she had to say:

The purpose of these meetings is direct face-to face consultation with members to ensure as many members as possible get their say.

The ANF will also be doing the numbers to see how this offer will see WA nurses and midwives benefit in comparison to other states.

I look forward to continued good faith bargaining with the state government as we seek member feedback.

In addition to the pay increase the state’s pay offer included moving registered nurses who had worked 5 years as an enrolled nurse would be automatically upgraded to a level 1.3 registered nurse.

Employees will also be able to cash out up to two weeks leave per financial year (up from one week).

The union’s previous requests of free parking or public transport and $10,000 payment towards HECS debts (or $20,000 regionally) are not included in the offer.

The abandoned 2020 campaign still burns deep for some of Fremantle’s most experienced players, but they’ll be putting that past heartbreak aside when they face Essendon in the AFLW elimination final at Fremantle Oval.

The Dockers were 6-0 and favourites to win the flag in 2020 when the season had to be called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One win to celebrate: Emma O’Driscoll of the Dockers.Credit: Getty Images

The 2020 campaign proved to be the peak point of Fremantle’s premiership window at the time, with the Dockers losing in week one of the finals in 2021 and falling to Adelaide by 14 points in a preliminary final in 2022, before missing the finals altogether the past two seasons.

Winning the flag from fifth spot this year will be a tricky task for the Dockers.

“We’re excited to be back there again under a completely new team,” Fremantle veteran Philipa Seth said. She will hit her 50-game milestone on Saturday.

“I’m pretty sure half the team haven’t experienced finals before, so it’s really exciting for them.”

Essendon’s hopes of busting the finals hoodoo suffered a huge blow when star forward Bonnie Toogood was ruled out of the AFLW finals series due to an ankle injury.

And with ruck Steph Wales rupturing her ACL a fortnight ago, Essendon are without two of their most important players.

Fremantle ruck Mim Strom is almost certain to win an All-Australian berth this season, and she is being tipped to dominate against fringe Essendon ruck Matilda Dyke.

The Dockers have also been boosted by the return of star defender Ash Brazill from an ankle injury.

AAP

Sticking with 6PR’s Mornings program, and Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas has just joined the program for his weekly segment, spruiking a recent trip to Japan – and defending its cost to ratepayers.

The City of Perth is the sister city to Kagoshima, and four delegates including Zempilas headed over to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of their partnership.

Kagoshima’s volcano Sakurajima.

When questioned about the trip by program host Gary Adshead, and the fact it cost $45,000, Zempilas said they had taken the opportunity to have “a series of very significant business meetings” in Tokyo.

He said the meetings were mostly with oil and gas industry bigwigs from companies including Inpex, which operates an office on St George’s Terrace, and LNG.

Zempilas said most of the oil and gas from the north-west shelf in WA headed to the LNG receiving terminal in Japan, and that the country was the state’s second-biggest trading partner.

“I would not have gone on a trip like this in this environment if it was in any way, shape or form, not a very important thing to do,” he said.

“I might point this out – I don’t think the state government have bent backwards in coming forward, in giving me a clip if they wanted to.

“You haven’t heard boo about this visit this week because they understand. We are on the same page here. The relationship between Perth WA and Japan needs to be honoured and respected.”

Bringing you back to a story we ran this morning with comments from the state’s Education Minister Tony Buti, discussing some of the reasons students might be put off taking on more challenging courses.

Education Minister Tony Buti.Credit: Holly Thompson

You can read more about those reasons here.

The minister has just joined 6PR’s Mornings program, and said he wanted students to be encouraged to try harder subjects, and test their potential.

“I’d much prefer a student do all the assessments, try their hardest, get a D in the harder subject, then do a much easier subject and get a B,” he said.

“Life is not easy, necessarily, and sometimes you’ve got to fail and sometimes you’ve got to struggle.

“We need to set up a system that does encourage people to test themselves to reach their full potential.”

He said the need for three-hour exams in ATAR courses should also be looked at.

Buti then discussed the fact WA was one of the two jurisdictions in the country to not allow some VET courses to count towards achieving an ATAR.

“I don’t actually necessarily think it’s good that we have these different pathways – we have an ATAR pathway, we have a general pathway, have a VET pathway – I like the idea that we just have one system,” he said.

The father accused of neglecting his daughter by refusing to get her medical help when her weight was just 28 kilograms at 16 years old, has denied he was trying to keep the child ‘his little girl forever’.

The 47-year-old is currently being cross-examined by state prosecutor Jehna Winter over the allegations, as well as his admission that he forged the girl’s birth certificate making her two years younger than she was.

The girl was diagnosed with grade 4 malnutrition after Department of Communities intervention in 2021, leading to the arrest of both her parents.

On Friday, it was put to the man they were “deliberately trying to keep her young” in the way she was dressed and treated, which he denied.

He has also claimed a signature on a dance school consent form was not his and suggested it had been forged by the dance school’s director.

The man said he believed the woman had called the Department of Communities to raise concerns about the girl’s weight “out of spite”, claiming she was angry the parents had taken the girl for dance classes at another studio.

The trial continues.

The state’s court security and custodial officers will walk off the job today, calling for better pay and conditions.

Staff rallied out the front of the Supreme Court.Credit: 6PR

The workers are asking for a 24 per cent pay rise which they say would bring them in line with others in the state taking on similar jobs.

Transport Workers Union WA branch secretary Tim Dawson said the industry was losing experienced workers to these alternative jobs, putting prisoners at risk of escaping and the community at risk.

He also said there was also a shortage of workers willing to get started in the industry due to the wage rates.

“Attracting people is difficult, especially in the current climate. The mines, even in the prisons, they get paid more,” he said.

Workers told 9 News Perth this action was a last resort, and they wouldn’t give up the fight or stop calling on the state government to act.

Superannuation giant HESTA has placed Mineral Resources on its watchlist amid concerns over the miner’s response to the tax scandal involving boss Chris Ellison and the pace of the embattled founder’s exit.

On Friday, the $88 billion industry super fund announced it had been engaging with Mineral Resources over its recent governance failures, which have been the subject of a two-year external review.

Chris Ellison was the founder and managing director of Mineral Resources.Credit: Michaela Pollock

HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey said she had been “disappointed” by the company’s response and the pace of a succession plan that will see Ellison retain his role as managing director for up to 18 months.

“Our concerns include that the managing director’s succession timeframe does not reflect the seriousness of the issues and that the issues identified indicate a systemic failure of governance at the senior management and Board level,” she said.

“As a result, HESTA has placed MinRes on our watchlist, and subject to our engagement escalation framework.

“We believe the MinRes Board has a critical opportunity ahead of the company’s upcoming Annual General Meeting to provide investors with confidence they are taking appropriate action to address these governance failures.”

Mineral Resources joins energy majors Woodside and Santos on the watchlist, where companies subject to closer engagement and monitoring.

Read more here.