As it happened: WA news on Monday, April 29

Thank you for joining us for this Monday.

Here’s a look at our main headlines today:

• One of the men accused of the violent home invasion of an elderly Perth couple had been released from immigration detention last year as part of the controversial High Court ruling.
• More concerns for WA’s nickel industry as another mine goes under, with 330 jobs on the chopping block.
• Following this weekend’s Enough is Enough anti-gendered violence rallies in Perth and across Australia, one GP says it’s time for men to get uncomfortable, and stay there even if it’s difficult. Read her opinion piece here.
• A 10-year-old girl was stabbed to death at a house in New South Wales on Monday afternoon, and a 17-year-old girl was arrested at the scene.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to apologise to the Girrawheen couple severely injured in an alleged home burglary on April 16.

This masthead revealed former immigration detainee Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan, who was freed from his detention after a landmark High Court ruling in November last year, is one of the men accused of pretending to be police officers to enter the house of Ninette and Philip Simons before allegely assaulting and robbing the couple.

Ninette Simons is still recovering after the terrifying ordeal on April 17.

The incident has caused a political storm for the Commonwealth which had introduced a flurry of emergency powers after the November decision to track the detainees.

At a press conference Mettam said Albanese owed the family and community an apology.
She also took aim at the WA government for assuring the public that the detainees would be monitored closely.

“The tragedy surrounding the individuals who were violently attacked as a result of this home invasion is hard enough to grapple with but to understand the complete failure of Roger Cook and the Labor Government to keep the community safe, and to take on their own responsibilities in relation to this crime, beggars belief,” she said.

A last-minute hearing has been scheduled for tomorrow in the defamation battle between WA Senator Linda Reynolds and her former staffer Brittany Higgins.

Reynolds is suing Higgins and her fiancé David Sharaz over statements the couple published on their separate social media accounts. The pair is defending their cases, which are being heard together.

Senator Linda Reynolds says she will continue with her defamation lawsuit against Brittany Higgins and her fiance David Sharaz unless they accept findings there was no cover-up.Credit: Trevor Collens

Tuesday’s hearing will be the first in the ongoing Supreme Court legal stoush since Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found Bruce Lehrmann, on the balance of probabilities, raped Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.

Reynolds, the former boss of Lehrmann and Higgins, had faced years of criticism over her handling of Higgins’ rape allegation.

While not central to the case, Lee said Higgins and Sharaz “from the first moment” had pushed a narrative of a political cover-up to journalists in 2021, which he found no evidence for.

“For three years I have endured intense public scrutiny, vilification, vile trolling and have been demonised as the villain in a story of a political cover-up I have always known to be untrue,” Reynolds said shortly after the verdict.

However, she vowed to proceed with her own civil case against Higgins and Sharaz.

The trial is due to begin in July.

WA Police have just confirmed a woman has been found dead inside a Yangebup home this morning.

Emergency services were called to the Sandpiper Loop address around 7.15am where they made the grim discovery.

A 54-year-old man known to the woman is assisting police with inquiries.

“The man and the woman are believed to be known to each other and there is no ongoing threat to the public,” a police spokesman said.

The investigation remains ongoing.

We’ll bring you more on this developing story as it comes to hand.

To Broome now where the man accused of cable-tying three young children he found trespassing in a backyard pool has pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated common assault.

Mat Radelic. Credit: 9NEWS PERTH

Mat Radelic, 45, has just made his appearance in Broome Magistrates Court to enter his pleas.

Radelic allegedly captured and restrained the kids, aged 6, 7, and 8, on March 5, with concerned family members filming as he refused to release them – instead choosing to wait for police to arrive.

The matter will now go to trial on September 12.

A Perth senior psychiatrist has been suspended for 18 months and will have to be mentored on her return to work after striking up an inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable patient.

Dr Anne O’Sullivan, a consultant psychiatrist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and clinical lead for the Emergency Psychiatry department, was hauled before the Medical Board after it came to light she was allowing the patient to stay at her home, met with her socially, assisted her with taking care of her horses, bought her a car and communicated with her via text message and social media.

Dr Anne O’Sullivan.

The patient suffered from various health issues including complex post-traumatic stress disorder, unstable personality disorder, major depressive disorder, anorexia, and self-harm.

Two years ago, the patient presented the respondent with a photo board titled ‘I love you mum’ which comprised photos of the patient with O’Sullivan.

The patient also got a tattoo on her arm dedicated to the doctor.

Last week O’Sullivan was suspended by the Medical Board and was ordered to pay the respondent’s legal costs.

To the mining sector now, and another West Australian mine has fallen victim to the torrent of cheap Indonesian nickel, with First Quantum’s Ravensthorpe mine going into care and maintenance on Wednesday.

The $17 billon Canadian company said about 330 employees would be made redundant, and acknowledged the significant impact on them and their families.

POSCO has paid $US240 million for a 30 per cent stake in the Ravensthorpe nickel operations in WA.Credit:

In a statement, the company said it appreciated recent WA government financial relief to the embattled sector, but that this would not have altered today’s decision.

“Despite [Ravensthorpe nickel operation]’s best efforts to maintain operations by transitioning to a new operating strategy that involved ceasing mining activities, processing stockpiles and altering its approach to production, the site is incurring significant current and projected losses,” it said.

Read the full story here.

If you’ve followed our past coverage on the lack of investment in Como Secondary College you will be pleased to hear the government has today promised to create a project definition plan for its upgrade.

The advanced stage document means an upgrade of the dilapidated school – which has been pushed for by a significant grassroots campaign – may be around the corner.

The funding for the plan is included in $410 million worth of new school infrastructure contained in the upcoming state budget, unveiled by Education Minister Tony Buti.

A large chunk of that funding will go toward building stage two of Piara Waters Senior High School to keep up with the huge number of young families in Perth’s south-east corridor.

Once the upgrades are complete, the school will double its current capacity to 1650 students.

See our list below for a full list of planned projects.

New school infrastructure projects

• $73.2 million for Piara Waters High School stage two
• $2.4 million for project definition plans including Como Secondary College and Esperance Senior High School
• $28.4 million toward two new primary schools in Wellard East and Wungong planned to open in 2026
• $88.4 million for three new primary schools in unknown locations to open 2027
• $26.5 million double-storey block at Caversham Primary School
• $21.8 million to relocate Mount Hawthorn Ed Support Centre to Lake Monger Primary
• $15 million to fast-track new high school in Brabham
• $41.8  for maintenance upgrades at existing public schools
• $79.6 million on new transportable buildings
• $12 million for two-storey modular classroom block for Highgate Primary School

Record-breaking drought conditions, soaring feed costs and plummeting confidence in the livestock export industry could be the “nail in the coffin” for many West Australian farmers.

Large parts of the state’s traditionally fertile South West have recorded their lowest rainfall in more than 50 years over the past eight months, depleting dams and ground feed at a time when grain and fodder supplies were already down.

WA Farmers livestock president Geoff Pearson says the situation is “critical”.

Read the full story here.

Crown Resorts chief executive Ciaran Carruthers has revealed up to 1000 people will be made redundant in a major restructure following a lack of customers in its Melbourne, Sydney and Perth casinos due to stricter regulations and the cost-of living-crisis.

The cuts will largely be split between its corporate and casino divisions, as well as in the remediation team that was bolstered while the business worked to regain its suitability to operate in Melbourne and Sydney.

It’s understood around 50 of the redundancies will be from its Perth operations.

Read the full story here.