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A Western Australian expert says new “post and boast” laws to prevent criminals posting their acts on social media must be beefed up if they are to be effective.
UWA law school associate professor Dr Marilyn Bromberg said the current version of post and boast laws are unlikely to result in fewer posts that brag about crime.
The problem was first highlighted in 2022, when children in the state’s north began posting videos allegedly of themselves stealing cars, taunting police and breaking into homes on TikTok.
NSW, Queensland, the NT and Victorian governments have all criminalised posting about having committed certain criminal offences on social media.
“The law is unlikely to be effective for many reasons, such as it does not address the root cause of offending,” she said.
“There is no evidence that post and boast laws will deter young people from boasting about their crimes on social media.
“These laws will likely result in more young people being incarcerated or being incarcerated for a lengthier period, without a significant decrease in the number of posts promoting crime on social media.”
Police have routinely used TikTok and Instagram videos in the Pilbara and the Kimberley when submitting evidence to the court.
Bromberg said social media platforms should be required to proactively prevent the videos from being posted, and police should be given the power to send notices to remove harmful content.
In one instance in Derby, a video of a man’s car being stolen was online for a whole year after the group responsible were jailed, and the social media platform was allegedly notified of the post.
“Social media must have the responsibility to prevent these posts from appearing and remove them if they do appear,” Bromberg said.
“Police should also be able to demand that social media remove these posts, with appropriate consequences to social media for breach.”
That’s all for today, thanks for joining us.
Here are today’s top headlines.
We’ll see you back here again tomorrow.
A new report has found two towns in WA are among the country’s top retirement destinations.
The report, Australia’s Top 50 Retirement Locations 2025, analysed market data of Australian regional communities with a population of 10,000 or more.
The report looked at about 300 regional communities and determined their livability based on the criteria of housing affordability and availability, access to healthcare, transport infrastructure and lifestyle opportunities to rank the 50 best areas for retirees.
Read who made the list.
A road in Perth’s south remains closed to all but local traffic after an asbestos spill on Tuesday.
The once-ubiquitous building material, which causes serious lung diseases and cancer if inhaled, was being transported when it spilled on Dalison Avenue in Wattleup between Pearse Road and Phillips Road.
Emergency services workers identified the loose asbestos and set about clearing it, but the hazmat warning was reissued on Wednesday, as some of the material remained.
As a result, Dalison Avenue has been closed, with local traffic still allowed through, while firefighters monitor the situation.
Motorists are asked to avoid the area, while people living nearby are asked to remain inside with the doors and windows closed as a precaution.
A union representing Perth paramedics says officers being asked to work triple overtime is a symptom of a greater problem in WA’s health sector.
Ambulance workers were asked to work triple overtime eight times in the last three weeks, due to staffing issues.
United Workers Union public sector coordinator Lisa Judge said the requested overtime was a sign something needed to change.
“Extended shifts are a symptom of the systemic issues that are facing ambulance officers, and are part of the backdrop of why health workers came together on Wednesday to put forward a five-point plan to tackle ramping,” she said.
Four unions representing healthcare workers gathered yesterday to issue a plan to tackle issues in the state’s health sector, calling for better pay and conditions for nurses, doctors, paramedics and other healthcare employees.
“Ambulance officers often feel like they are the canary in the coal mine – you don’t have ambulances ramped for 7000 hours a month without being caused by, and causing, serious system-wide issues,” Judge said.
Ramping reached a new record yesterday, with the total number of hours ramped for September coming in at 7257.
“Both the extended shifts and the ramping are signs of a system placing health workers under huge strain across the health system, and a clear sign of why positive measures proposed in the five-point plan should form part of the planning for winter next year,” Judge said.
“It’s also worth noting the five-point plan looks at the system holistically so that a fix in one area doesn’t have consequences for another area – we want the problem fixed, not moved into another area of the health system.”
Brisbane midfielder Deven Robertson has made his desire to return to his home state of WA official, nominating West Coast as his preferred home, despite strong interest from the Western Bulldogs.
The Northam product played 41 games in his first four seasons after landing at the Lions with pick 22 in the 2019 national draft, but has struggled to cement a regular spot since, managing six appearances in two years.
Brisbane’s Deven Robertson has requested a trade home to WA.Credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos
The Eagles had expressed interest in the 24-year-old at the end of 2023, but Robertson instead opted to sign a two-year contract extension to remain in Queensland.
It’s the second boost in as many days for the embattled club, following Tigers defender Tylar Young’s call to name Lathlain as his preferred destination on Wednesday.
A Western Australian expert says new “post and boast” laws to prevent criminals posting their acts on social media must be beefed up if they are to be effective.
UWA law school associate professor Dr Marilyn Bromberg said the current version of post and boast laws are unlikely to result in fewer posts that brag about crime.
The problem was first highlighted in 2022, when children in the state’s north began posting videos allegedly of themselves stealing cars, taunting police and breaking into homes on TikTok.
NSW, Queensland, the NT and Victorian governments have all criminalised posting about having committed certain criminal offences on social media.
“The law is unlikely to be effective for many reasons, such as it does not address the root cause of offending,” she said.
“There is no evidence that post and boast laws will deter young people from boasting about their crimes on social media.
“These laws will likely result in more young people being incarcerated or being incarcerated for a lengthier period, without a significant decrease in the number of posts promoting crime on social media.”
Police have routinely used TikTok and Instagram videos in the Pilbara and the Kimberley when submitting evidence to the court.
Bromberg said social media platforms should be required to proactively prevent the videos from being posted, and police should be given the power to send notices to remove harmful content.
In one instance in Derby, a video of a man’s car being stolen was online for a whole year after the group responsible were jailed, and the social media platform was allegedly notified of the post.
“Social media must have the responsibility to prevent these posts from appearing and remove them if they do appear,” Bromberg said.
“Police should also be able to demand that social media remove these posts, with appropriate consequences to social media for breach.”
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn says anyone disturbing wild numbat burrows to get photos of the animal for social media clout should “grow up”.
The issue has been a persistent problem, with some visitors to the endangered marsupial’s habitat waiting outside their burrows to get a shot of one.
Industry groups are warning against weakening environment protections for wildlife. Endangered numbats are under threat from feral animals and habitat loss. Credit: WA Forest Alliance.
The Numbat Taskforce took to social media on Thursday to decry the practice.
“Some of the behaviours being witnessed by many around Numbat burrows at present are just unacceptable,” it said.
“As wildlife enthusiasts need to do the right thing.
“We should all observe some basic rules to ensure our activities do not have a negative impact on the animals we love.”
Swinbourn took his criticism further during a press conference on Thursday morning.
“If they’re in a position where they are causing harm to those animals, and they’re just doing it for likes, grow up, right? Be better. Don’t do that,” he said.
“If you want to see a numbat, don’t be a numbskull.”
Coincidentally, Swinbourn got the opportunity to feed Perth Zoo’s male numbat Mack as part of the announcement of another successful breeding season at the Perth zoo.
Seven numbat joeys were born this year and will be released into the wild.
Thirty-nine western swamp tortoises, 94 hairy marron and 70 white bellied frogs were also born this season.
A group of concerned residents have gathered to again raise their concerns over Woodside’s proposal for 50 oil and gas wells in the Browse Basin near Scott Reef.
The group gathered outside Kimberley MP Divina D’Anna’s office in Broome and requested she relay the community’s concerns to WA Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn and Premier Roger Cook.
Protesters gather outside Kimberley MP Divina D’Anna’s office on Thursday.Credit: Environs Kimberley
Environs Kimberley executive director Martin Pritchard said there was “only a downside” to the plans.
“The community clearly doesn’t want Woodside’s damaging, risky, polluting project that would send most of the gas overseas,” he said.
“Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast is a marine biodiversity jewel of the Indian Ocean and is one of Australia’s most important offshore oceanic reefs.”
He said the reef was a haven for 900 species of fish, 300 coral species, 1500 species of invertebrates and 29 species of marine mammals including the endangered pygmy blue whale.
“A major oil spill would be catastrophic for marine life at Scott Reef, and we have a nearby example of the Montara oil disaster from 2009 which devastated the West Timor economy and seaweed farmers’ livelihoods,” Pritchard said.
“An oil spill of this magnitude is too much of a risk for Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast.”
A hack of the Legal Practice Board of WA by a global ransomware group in May is broader than first reported with the board now notifying individual lawyers whose data may have been stolen.
The board issued a statement late on Wednesday saying there was more data stolen than was initially disclosed on the dark web by the group known as Dire Wolf.
Some of this data included health, identity and financial information, the board confirmed.
“The board is now notifying individuals, including some legal practitioners, in relation to health, identity and financial information to provide guidance on steps they may want to take to protect their information, on a precautionary basis,” it said in a statement.
The Legal Practice Board was one of Dire Wolf’s first targets when it emerged in May.
According to cyber news website CyberDaily, the May 21 hack resulted in about 300 gigabytes of information being stolen.
Dire Wolf published some of that data on the dark web on May 27 and threatened to publish more on June 15.
That date passed and executive director Libby Fulham said it has not detected any other disclosure of the stolen data.
The board got an injunction preventing the publishing of any data that was published on the dark web.
“From our investigation, we believe the risk of any disclosure or misuse of data to be low. We have also secured an injunction to prevent any access, dissemination or sharing of any data involved in this incident,” Fulham said.
“I understand that these notifications may cause concern and on behalf of the Board, I apologise for any distress or inconvenience caused.
“We are committed to doing all we can to support those individuals involved and have implemented a number of services to ensure timely advice and support is available, tailored to individual needs.”
Have you watched the cost of your coffee creep up in recent years?
You’re not alone. Australians are forking out more than $1 on average for their favourite caffeinated beverage than six years ago.
The price of coffee, tea and cocoa grew at the fastest rate since the 1990s.Credit: iStock
And in some capital cities, coffee lovers are now paying close to $7 for some varieties of the popular brew – and some pay about $2 more for each cup than they did six years ago – according to exclusive data from Square.
While there was a similarity in prices – and trajectories – of different brews across Australia, in Perth one style of coffee was significantly higher than the rest of the nation.
It turns out we love a macchiato – and are willing to pay a full $1 more than most other cities in Australia for our favourite brew.
However, could this price difference be related to Perth’s famous coffee order: the long mac topped up?
Read the full story – and check out the interactive tools to see how the price of your coffee order has gone up.
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