As it happened: WA news on Monday, September 30

That’s all for today, folks. Thanks for joining us.

It’s been a big day for football fans. Well, West Coast fans at least. What do you think about Andrew McQualter’s appointment to the Eagles’ top job? Let us know in the comments below.

Making news elsewhere was the revelation that the state’s public sector workers are paving the way for nine-day fortnights on the back of a new pay offer which was overwhelmingly voted in favour of by the public sector union.

The pay jump of 12.5 per cent over three years is less than the 12 per cent pay increase the union was seeking over two years and a push for four-day work weeks also failed.

However, under the new agreement workers will be able to work nine-day fortnights, but they will have to work the same number of hours as currently worked in a ten-day fortnight.

Meanwhile, the man who kidnapped Cleo Smith from a remote campsite north of Carnarvon has failed in his bid to have his sentence reduced.

Cleo was missing for 18 days before finally being found by police alone in a room at a property in Carnarvon on November 3.

Her kidnapping by 37-year-old Terence Darrell Kelly sparked one of the biggest police searches in WA history and made headlines worldwide.

And a new ad campaign from the state government aims to raise awareness of coercive control and the early signs of abuse.

Perth domestic violence survivor and advocate Sheree Schonian joined WA Premier Roger Cook and Family and Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Sabine Winton to officially launch the campaign.

Schonian said at 16, she was “swept off her feet” by her former partner but what followed was 16 years of hell that started with coercive control before building up to physical violence, sexual violence and threats to kill.

The mother of two teenagers said a campaign like this would have helped her identify the signs of the insidious practice while they were happening.

Thank you again for joining us, tune in again tomorrow as we bring you all the news you need to know.

West Coast Eagles’ incoming coach Andrew McQualter has given fans their first insight into what the club will look like under his leadership.

The 37-year-old, who played 94 games for St Kilda and Gold Coast before turning his talents to coaching, spent seven years as a development and assistant coach at Richmond during the time the club won three premierships. He also worked as an assistant coach at Melbourne this year.

New West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter during his first press conference with the club. Credit: 9News Perth

“I’m really clear on the way I want the game to look and to play, and it will be different from the way West Coast have played for the last little while,” he said, adding he would look to build a system similar to what Richmond and Melbourne had set up.

“Everybody gets a fresh start … we’ll look to create some believe in this group and see where it takes us.”

Asked about how McQualter reacted to the news of his appointment, said he was excited to take on the challenge.

He also referenced West Coast’s winning record, with the team having appeared in seven grand finals in its 37-year history.

“I found out yesterday morning [that I got the job], it’s been a heavy 24 hours,” he said after arriving in Perth with his family this afternoon.

“I’m just a kid from the country who works hard … I’m a pretty resilient sort of guy.”

McQualter also gave fans some insight into his nickname, ‘Mini’, saying his older brother’s friends gave it to him in school because he was always trying to hang around them and it “just stuck”.

Newly appointed Eagles coach Andrew McQualter is due to hold his first press conference at 3pm.

Watch it live here:

Members of the state’s public sector union have voted overwhelmingly to accept the government’s latest pay offer which will pave the way for nine-day fortnights.

Over the past week, the union representing the state’s 35,000 general public sector workforce had been polling its members on the new offer which included a 12 per cent pay rise over three years as well as the nine-day fortnight offer.

The poll closed at 12pm today and CPSU/CSA Acting Branch Secretary Melanie Bray said 85 per cent of her members endorsed the new agreement which will include wage increases of 5 per cent, 4 per cent and 3.5 per cent over the next three years.

“Today, our members have secured an agreement that begins to undo the damage of years of restrictive wages caps, with pay rises of 12.5 per cent over three years. An agreement that reflects a modern workplace with expanded and more flexible parental leave of up to 27 weeks available across both caregivers, and access to permanency after 12 months of employment,” she said.

The pay jump is less than the 12 per cent pay increase the union was seeking over two years and a push for four-day work weeks also failed.

However, under the new agreement workers will be able to work nine-day fortnights, but they will have to work the same number of hours as currently worked in a ten-day fortnight.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook has leapt to the defence of a veteran Perth TV reporter involved in a tussle with the head of beleaguered Perth building company Nicheliving in the line of duty over the weekend.

On Saturday morning Geof Parry and a 7 News cameraman approached Nicheliving managing director Ronnie Michel-Elhaj outside his wife Natalie’s under-construction luxury Applecross property after spotting him speaking to tradesmen on the balcony.

7News Perth reporter Geof Parry and Nicheliving managing director Ronnie Michel-Elhaj.Credit: 7News Perth

Parry attempted to ask Michel-Elhaj questions about why construction continued on his wife’s property while more than 200 Nicheliving customers were still waiting for their properties to be completed up to four years after signing contracts.

Read more.

West Coast’s new senior coach has touched down in Perth. He’ll be holding a press conference at 3pm, which we will bring to you live.

Andrew McQualter touches down in Perth.Credit: West Coast Eagles

Andrew McQualter touches down in Perth.Credit: West Coast Eagles

Andrew McQualter touches down in Perth.Credit: West Coast Eagles

Andrew McQualter touches down in Perth.Credit: West Coast Eagles

Back to the biggest news in the west today, with new West Coast senior coach Andrew McQualter saying he is thrilled to receive the opportunity to helm the club.

“I have been working towards this moment for the last 10 years and I’m thrilled to be appointed as coach of the West Coast Eagles,” McQualter said.

“I am aware that there is much work to do and I am definitely up for that.

“There is some exciting young talent at the club with a mix of outstanding players and I couldn’t be more excited to get over there and get to work with them.”

He will become just the seventh AFL senior coach in the 38-year history of the club.

A man who kidnapped four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family’s tent at a remote West Australian campsite has failed to have his sentence reduced.

Terence Darrell Kelly attempted to appeal against his 13-and-a-half years’ jail term for snatching the girl at the Blowholes campsite, about 70km north of Carnarvon in the early hours of October 16, 2021, as her parents slept.

Four-year-old Cleo Smith in hospital after her rescue in Carnarvon.Credit: WA Police

Cleo was missing for 18 days before finally being found by police alone in a room at a property in Carnarvon on November 3.

Her kidnapping by the 37-year-old sparked one of the biggest police searches in WA history and made headlines worldwide.

Sentencing Kelly in the District Court in April 2023, Chief Judge Julie Wager described the fear, distress and trauma caused to Cleo and her parents as “immeasurable”.

AAP

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A high-profile Perth domestic violence survivor and advocate has thrown her support behind the WA government’s new coercive control awareness campaign announced today.

Sheree Schonian joined WA Premier Roger Cook and Family and Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Sabine Winton in Perth this morning to officially launch the campaign.

Sheree Schonian joined WA Premier Roger Cook and Family and Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Sabine Winton in Perth this morning to officially launch the coercive control campaign.Credit: Hamish Hastie

At 16, she said she was “swept off her feet” by her former partner but what followed was 16 years of hell that started with coercive control before building up to physical violence, sexual violence and threats to kill.

“When I was a 16-year-old girl, I was told what to wear if my skirt was too short, or if my skirt wasn’t short enough, I would have to change which friends I could have, what nights I could go out, what I could eat and what I could drink,” she said.

“As I got older, and I started working he then took control of my finances.

“If I was 5 or 10 minutes late [from work] because of traffic, I had to explain why I was late and show my bus or train ticket as proof that I got on the bus or train at that particular time.”

Schonian said she tried to leave her partner three times and when she eventually did leave, she was forced to go to an ATM to withdraw $10,000 to pay for her freedom.

The mother of two teenagers said a campaign like this would have helped her identify the signs of the insidious practice while they were happening.

“As I got older, I think I would have, watching the ads, processed it and been like, ‘hang on, this is happening to me, maybe there’s something wrong in my relationship’.”

Coercive control is a form of abuse where perpetrators display a pattern of manipulative behaviour designed to intimidate and isolate the victim.

The new campaign is aimed at raising awareness of the issue.

Both Queensland and New South Wales have laws in place criminalising coercive control and WA plans to follow suit, but Winton would not put a timeframe on when the laws would be presented to parliament.