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That’s all folks, thanks for joining us today.
A wrap of today’s headlines:
See you back here tomorrow!
It was a dull question time today folks, apart from Education Minister Sabine Winton revealing more than 400 schools had reported they had coloured sand — though it may not be the coloured sand recalled for containing asbestos.
But it all kicked off after its conclusion.
As this reporter turned to leave the chamber, Treasurer Rita Saffioti began audibly berating Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas for not asking a question about the EPA’s decision to not assess the Burswood Racetrack.
“You’re too scared,” WAtoday heard her saying toward Zempilas as she was leaving the chamber.
“A whole question time. Too gutless, a whole question time.”
It is unclear what prompted Saffioti’s attack.
Zempilas addressed the issue with this masthead below, but appears to have not raised the issue in question time.
WA Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas has weighed in on the Environmental Protection Authority’s decision to not assess the Cook government’s $217 million Burswood racetrack and sporting precinct plans.
Opposition leader Basil Zempilas says the government needs to come clean on the Burswood racetrack.Credit: Hamish Hastie
EPA chair Darren Walsh said in his decision that the likely environmental impacts of the proposal were not so significant as to warrant formal assessment, and the precinct was next to existing entertainment venues.
However, Zempilas said the decision was disappointing and believed the WA public had little confidence in the state government to manage the centre and any environmental issues that arise.
“I note also that in the comments made by the EPA, they feel that other regulatory bodies, other government agencies, will be able to take care of any concerns,” he said.
“Well that, frankly, then puts it back on the government to manage this centre and any of the environmental issues themselves.
“I’m not sure that the people of Western Australia necessarily have full confidence that that will be done in the way that it is intended to manage these sorts of things.”
Zempilas also called on the state government to release the business case for the planned centre.
“I’m not in control of what the EPA do, but I am in control of calling on the state government who have told us they have the completed business case,” he said.
“I am in control of calling on them to release the business case, or at least to release that summary which they say they have and that they’re going to release.
“They’ve given us no timeline as to when they’re going to release it, and I don’t know what they’re waiting for.
“They say the business case is complete. Though they can’t tell us if the final total is $217.5 million because the final planning for the track is still being undertaken. How can that be?”
A Mexican woman has been sentenced to 20 years jail over her role in the murder of two Perth brothers who were on a surfing trip.
Jake and Callum Robinson were camping with their American friend Carter Rhoad in Baja California in April 2024 when they were allegedly targeted by thieves, who attempted to steal the wheels off their car.
Callum and Jake Robinson were killed while on a surf trip to the Baja California peninsula last year.
Police say all three were shot dead.
Ari Gisell has been sentenced to two decades behind bars after prosecutors alleged she was the instigator of the attack, according to 9 News. She was not charged with the murder.
Prosecutors said Gisell told her boyfriend at the time, Jesus Gerardo, she was interested in the car’s tyres when the group crossed paths with the brothers and their friend at a beach near Ensenada.
Gerardo and two other men have been accused of later carrying out the robbery and murdering the men.
A fourth man is also believed to have been involved but has not been identified.
Gisell was later found to have been found in possession of Rhoad’s phone, leading to her boyfriend’s arrest.
The group of men is due to go to trial early next year.
Following on from news earlier this morning, Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti isn’t concerned about the Australian Federal Police’s interest in the Bullsbrook quarantine facility and whether that could impact the state’s ability to use it for emergency accommodation.
The facility was built for COVID quarantine purposes, but has only been used to temporarily house people escaping the Wanneroo bushfire in 2023.
Federal police are exploring plans to transform the long-idle WA COVID quarantine village into a major training compound.
Saffioti said she didn’t like the facility sitting idle and was keen to see a government agency make use of it.
“I don’t like the fact that it’s sitting there not being used so if we can use it for government public purposes we’re very keen to see that happen,” she said.
“We’re happy to engage and be part of those discussions.
“It’s a big facility, a lot of capacity, and even when we used it as a result of the Wanneroo fires as an evacuation point, we only really used a small percentage of what is a very, very big facility.”
Perth commuters will finally be able to use phones and credit and debit cards on SmartRider machines on December 8.
The $68 million upgrade of the SmartRider system is more than a year overdue and blew out by $10 million.
Transport Minister RIta Saffioti says passengers will be able to use smartphones, watches, and debit and credit card on SmartRider machines in December.Credit: Hamish Hastie
It will allow people to use credit and debit cards, as well as phones and smartwatches on the green SmartRider machines to pay for their ride.
Credit card fees will be absorbed by the government, but using a SmartRider is still the only way to get a 20 per cent discount on ticket prices.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said it will be a new way to travel and will take some getting used to.
“This is something I think the public are very keen on,” she said.
The announcement comes at the end of a trial of 150 registered users where final issues were ironed out.
Regional public transport users will get access to the new system by the end of the year.
The economies of the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia are leading the nation while New South Wales is the country’s laggard.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning showed the ACT economy grew by 3.5 per cent through the 2024-25 financial year. Unsurprisingly, it was driven by the territory’s public service.
ABS figures show iron ore production in WA was flat as the impacts of both cyclones and maintenance work were offset by new capacity and improved efficiency. Credit: Ryan Stuart
The WA economy grew by 1.3 per cent, due largely to healthcare. Construction was the largest contributor to growth due to increased residential construction driven by strong demand for housing in line with strong population growth. Agriculture, forestry and fishing also made a major contribution from bumper grain harvests.
According to the latest figures, mining actually detracted from growth due to weather disruptions and maintenance activities, especially in oil and gas production. Iron ore production was flat as the impacts of both cyclones and maintenance work were offset by new capacity and improved efficiency.
Queensland was the fastest growing state, expanding by 2.2 per cent through the year. Agriculture, health care and professional services were key factors in its growth, while Victoria’s economy grew by 1.1 per cent.
NSW was the slowest economy with growth of 0.9 per cent, just behind the Northern Territory, Tasmania and South Australia which all grew by one per cent.
In per capita terms, WA went backwards by 1.1 per cent per person, while Victoria (minus 0.8 per cent), NSW (minus 0.3 per cent), the NT (minus 0.2 per cent) and South Australia (minus 0.1 per cent) also contracted.
Still a “competitive beast”, Steve Smith’s captaincy is far more relaxed these days, according to long-time Australia teammate Mitchell Starc.
Smith will lead Australia for the third time this year when the Ashes gets under way in Perth on Friday, due to Pat Cummins still recovering from a back injury.
The 36-year-old also filled in as skipper the last time England toured Australia in 2021-22, after Cummins was forced to isolate for the Adelaide Test during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steve Smith bats during a nets session at Optus Stadium on Wednesday.Credit: Robbie Stephenson/PA Images via Getty Images
It will be the seventh time Smith has captained Australia in Tests since his full-time reign came to an end because of Sandpapergate in 2018.
Smith led Australia to a 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka earlier this year after Cummins missed the tour due to the birth of his second child.
Having recaptured some of his batting greatness during the past 12 months, Smith’s change in demeanour hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I’m not going to pretend to know what his approach about batting is,” Starc said.
“He’s a lot more relaxed as a person all round.
“Even the times that he’s captained since, when he’s had to fill in for Pat, it’s a different approach.”
Twelve of Smith’s 36 Test centuries have come against England, but he was below his best during the last home Ashes four years ago.
Almost written off this time 12 months ago, Smith reemerged as a force when he smashed four tons in five Tests either side of the New Year.
AAP
Two men are set to face court in Midland today after allegedly leading police on a wild chase through Perth’s north-eastern suburbs on Wednesday.
Police had spotted a black Holden Colorado which they identified as having been involved in an earlier incident in Middle Swan, and attempted to pull it over about 9.20am, but it allegedly sped away.
A police chase in Perth’s east came to an end when a car had its tyres destroyed by police spikes.Credit: 9News Perth
“It will be further alleged, the Colorado continued to be driven in an erratic and reckless manner, through areas including Ellenbrook, Henley Brook and Brabham, during which the Colorado reversed heavily into a police vehicle,” a WA Police spokesperson said.
The Holden was then abandoned on Partridge Street in Brabham before the driver fled and jumped in an allegedly stolen Toyota Hilux, which then led police on another chase through Brabham, Midvale and High Wycombe.
Police Air Wing tracked the Hilux as it sped through the city’s north-east before officers finally brought it to a stop on Roe Highway in Maida Vale and arrested the men inside.
A 32-year-old Swan View man has been charged with a combined 21 offences, including no authority to drive; reckless driving to escape pursuit by police; endangering the life, health or safety of a person; possessing stolen property; and possessing or acquiring ammunition while not being authorised by a licence or permit.
Meanwhile, a 31-year-old Swan View man was charged with stealing and attempting to steal a motor vehicle, and no authority to drive (never held), among other charges.
Both men will appear before Midland Magistrates Court today.
Here’s what is making headlines elsewhere today:
House and unit prices in every Australian capital city are on track to hit fresh highs by the end of 2026, new forecasts reveal. The cost to buy the typical house across the country’s combined capitals is forecast to rise by 6 per cent next year, hitting a record price of $1,339,267, according to Domain’s Forecast Report 2026 released on Thursday. Unit prices are also tipped to rise, jumping 5 per cent to a new median of $759,112.
The Coalition is exploring how it could toughen screening to make sure new migrants agree with Australian values, as Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s frontbench works on an immigration policy that will unite fractured MPs while taking the fight to Labor. Enhancing the Australian values statement that prospective migrants must sign when they apply for certain visas is one option available to Ley’s home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam and immigration spokesman Paul Scarr, who have been asked to design a policy in the next few weeks.
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has been called to testify before the US Congress over Australia’s Online Safety Act, with a Republican lawmaker labelling her a “noted zealot for global take-downs” and an enemy of American free speech. Inman Grant has been given less than two weeks’ notice to testify before the committee over accusations that the commissioner had “colluded with pro-censorship entities” while developing the under-16s social media ban set to come into effect on December 1.
Some of Australia’s biggest superannuation funds have been accused of profiting from shipments of Russian oil passing through South-East Asia, raising fears that Australians’ retirement savings are helping fund Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. An estimated 1 million tonnes of Russian oil have been offloaded over the past two years at a shipping terminal in Malaysia co-owned by a company in the portfolio of an investment vehicle controlled by a consortium of Australian industry super funds.
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