As it happened: WA news on Wednesday, July 17

Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue will slash 700 jobs and merge its mining and energy divisions, as the company tempers its ambition to be a major producer of the clean fuel hydrogen.

The $70 billion miner made the announcement that will mainly hit white-collar roles late today shortly after its founder Forrest addressed its almost 16,000 staff.

Since 2020, Forest has toured the world promoting the virtues of green hydrogen as an emissions-free fuel and seeking to partner with governments that have areas suitable for producing the vast amounts of wind, solar or hydropower required.

These efforts appear to have found that producing the huge amount of energy required to separate hydrogen from water at a reasonable cost is extraordinarily costly.

Read more here.

A former police officer has shared his memory of being the first person through the door on the day the Claremont serial killer was raided and arrested in 2016.

Todd Bowler, who was the team leader of the Tactical Response Group, led numerous high-risk operations after joining WA Police between the disappearances of Jane Rimmer (1996) and Ciara Glennon (1997).

“For 23 years, much like everyone else in Perth, I was still wondering how does this guy get away with it? Who is he, where is he?” he told Mix94.5’s Pete & Kymba for Breakfast.

On the day of the raid, Bowler said, police were in the area around 5am. Surveillance teams and snipers watched the house until he emerged.

Then a plainclothes officer knocked on his door and told Edwards he’d seen some kids mucking around with his Telstra car parked in front of his house.

Edwards answered the door and thanked him and went to check the car, then went back inside.

“We knew we were good to go,” Bowler said.

Bowler rammed the door, which splintered after “a couple of rounds” and eventually broke.

Edwards, coming to investigate, had reached the front hall by the time they gained entry.

“In our mind, if it takes more than one hit to open the door, it feels like an eternity. But the reality is it’s about one and a half seconds to get in,” he said.

“He went down quite calmly, went straight down to the ground, face down, tied up, hands behind his back - and he was just looking at the carpet … at one stage, he just stuck his head up, had a look at one of my teammates and said ‘So, what’s this all about then?’ - just so casual.

“If I was to say what relief looked like, it looked like a bit of relief.”

Bowler said Edwards was a “hoarder”, with boxes waist-high through the hallway and rooms full of boxes to the extent that the house was hard to walk through.

Edwards was convicted in 2020 after a lengthy trial.

Sticking with Environment Minister Reece Whitby, he’s also just been asked whether his government should cut ties with the CFMEU’s WA branch after the Federal government announced earlier today it would appoint an independent administrator to take control of the disgraced construction union.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today confirmed his intention to have independent administrators oversee the Victorian, NSW and Queensland branches of the union in response to a special investigation by this masthead and The Australian Financial Review.

Asked if the WA government should cut ties with the WA branch of the union, Whitby said he was not aware of any of the allegations plaguing the Victorian and New South Wales branches occurring here.

“No government in the country has been tougher on bikies than the West Australian government, our Attorney General has led the charge to crack down on outlaw motorcycle gangs,” he said.

“There is no place for outlaw organisations, or place for bikies in any endeavour that wants to take itself seriously, whether it’s the union movement or whether it’s private business.”

Whitby, along with Treasurer Rita Saffioti, have also been asked in recent days whether they will hand back donations the WA Labor party has received from the union. Both referred the matter to the party’s secretary.

“Donations are a matter for the party itself to consider, but I’m unaware of the allegations that the types of things we’re hearing about in the eastern states are an issue here” Whitby said.

Returning to our lead story of the day, and the WA environment minister has labelled the City of Perth’s $1 billion riverfront redevelopment proposal as nothing more than “pretty pictures” and “an uncosted pipe dream”.

Earlier this morning, Perth Lord Mayor and Liberal Member for Churchlands candidate Basil Zempilas revealed the plans to revamp the foreshore along Langley Park with beaches, a sporting precinct and a hospitality precinct.

However, Reece Whitby has questioned Zempilas’ political motives for spruiking the idea.

“The state government is investing heavily in Perth in terms of improving its amenity, we’ve got the new university campus, we’ve got the new primary school for the inner city, we’ve got the swimming pool, we’ve got the convention centre upgrade - so these are tangible things that have been costed and funded and many of them are progressing now.

I think the important thing to ask the Lord Mayor is what has he been doing in the last four years to improve the amenity of Perth? In many cases he’s been opposing and standing in the way of some of the things that the state has been trying to achieve for Perth.

So it’s a bit late in the day to be flying a kite like this at the 11th hour to put out some pretty pictures and a billion dollar pipe dream.

What we need to know is, is this a Liberal party policy? Does [Liberal leader] Libby Mettam support it?”

Read more here. 

Authorities are establishing a cane toad death corridor on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in an attempt to stop the toxic pest marching into the Pilbara and wreaking havoc on the environment.

Access to all 150 man-made water points within a ‘toad-break area’ between the Kimberley and Pilbara will be shut off in an effort to prevent the cane toad from migrating south.

Curtin University science professor Ben Phillips said the hope is the project – run by traditional owners, rangers, pastoralists and scientists – will protect 27 million hectares of sensitive habitat, significant Aboriginal cultural heritage and native wildlife.

“Toads invade by steadily moving across the landscape in the wet season, but they need water points to survive the long, hot dry season. Without access to water, toads in the containment zone will perish, effectively stopping their advance,” he said.

“With cane toads currently less than 150 kilometres from Broome and projected to reach the containment zone by the 2027/28 wet season, the urgency to implement the plan is critical.”

Cane toads were first introduced in Australia in the 1930s.

Invasive Species Council biosecurity analyst Lyall Grieve said so far, efforts to contain cane toads had failed.

“These toxic pests have already spread west throughout the Kimberley and are knocking on the door of the Pilbara,” he said.

“The looming threat of cane toads pushing 20 to 24 more native animals to the brink of extinction if they make their way west of Broome, is a crisis we cannot afford to ignore.”

A Warnbro man has been arrested after a WA Police helicopter was struck by a laser light in the early hours of this morning.

The helicopter crew allegedly tracked the light to the rear year of a residence on Silvertop Circle in the southern suburb, and shortly afterwards, arrested a 44-year-old man without incident.

The man will be charged with causing fear or alarm with a laser or light and will face court at a later date.

A WA Police Force spokesman said pointing laser lights at aircraft is a serious offence.

“Pointing a laser light at any aircraft is a highly dangerous act and requires the pilot of the aircraft to take evasive action to keep them and their crew safe,” he said.

“Laser lights not only light up the cabin of a plane or helicopter, but can temporarily blind the pilot which puts everyone onboard in real danger.

“There are serious penalties for this offence, with several people previously found guilty in court of such offences being fined $10,000.”

Two men have been injured after a whale struck their boat off Kalbarri last night.

Emergency authorities were called to the scene around 7pm after receiving a report that a boat had been hit by a whale around 15 to 18 kilometres off the coast.

Water Police and Marine Rescue rushed to the area and escorted the vessel back to shore.

The two men, aged 39 and 69, were treated at by St John paramedics and taken to Kalbarri Hospital.

The older man is believed to have suffered serious injuries and could be flown to Perth today for further treatment.

City of Perth councillors have unveiled a bold plan to redevelop the CBD’s riverfront to feature a lagoon, beaches, ferry stop and the greening of Langley Park.

Councillors voted in favour of the $1 billion riverfront masterplan last night.

It would see the one-kilometre stretch of land from Langley Park to Terrace Road revamped, with 3000 trees to be planted at Langley Park as part of a greening project which would also see the development of sports facilities, walking trails, two hotels and a food and drinks precinct.

City of Perth Lord Mayor told Radio 6PR this morning that the development would be like Brisbane’s South Bank.

“I think the broader community view is that we can do better with that space,” he said.

“It would provide all of the attractions that people want to be able to come down to the river and have a day out.”

Zempilas said the proposal would require state and federal funding to get over the line, but that if supported, could be built in a decade.

Read more here.