WA news LIVE: Friends rally after ‘one of a kind’ mate killed in cattle crash in North West

The RSPCA WA is appealing for a “kind-hearted” Perth tree lopper to help rescue a cat who has been stuck up a tree in Warwick since Friday.

Spokeswoman Louise Rowe told Radio 6PR that firefighters had tried but failed to retrieve the feline, which is perched in a date palm tree in a person’s yard.

She said the tree was on private property, but the owners had given permission to do “whatever it takes” to rescue the cat.

“It’s not their cat, we don’t know whose cat it is, we’ve been unable to determine that, it may even be a stray, we don’t know, but that’s a long time for a cat to be stuck up a tree,” Rowe said.

WA’s Development Assessment Panel has just unanimously voted to approve the development of a community centre at the edge of a site earmarked for one of the city’s biggest urban infill projects.

The 2211sqm Chung Wah community centre will primarily be used for aged care respite, and to facilitate community events.

It will be the first major building to be constructed on the 25 hectare block of land, after the notorious Brownlie Towers were demolished in 2019 to make way for $1 billion, 1500-dwelling precinct, previously known as Bentley 360.

The project has stalled for more than 13 years, with the state government in February, announcing it was back to square one due to a “heated construction market”. In the years prior, it had gifted a slice of the land to the Chung Wah Association.

City of Canning Mayor Patrick Hall said he hoped the development of the community centre would kick-start activation in the area, with the Farmers Markets on Manning also moving into the temporary parklands later this year.

A man who died when his Landcruiser collided with cattle in WA’s north two weeks ago has been remembered as a “one of a kind human being”, as friends rally to support his grieving family.

Freddy James, 34, died when his car and trailer hit cattle just after 6am on July 3 on the Great Northern Highway between Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing.

James was “doing what he loved, touring around Western Australia” when the tragedy occurred, his friends said.

A GoFundMe page has already garnered over $10,000 in donations.

“Freddy James was a remarkable man who’s left an imprint on everyone’s lives,” read a social media post.

“Rest in peace, King.”

WA Police are still investigating the incident and are appealing for any witnesses to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online at
www.crimestopperswa.com.au.

WA acting Premier Rita Saffioti has just held a press conference to mark a major milestone in the construction of the Perth Film Studio in Malaga, due to open in 2026.

During the announcement, she was asked about whether she holds concerns for the conduct of WA’s CFMEU branch, following revelations that underworld figures and bikies had infiltrated its Victorian branch.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has threatened deregistration of the union if it doesn’t clean up its act.

“In relation to what’s been happening in Victoria, our advice and even the Master Builders’ Association on radio said that we are not seeing the type of behaviour that’s been reported in Victoria,” Saffioti said.

Saffioti declined to be directly drawn on whether former Albanian cage fighter-turned-Perth CFMEU official Edmond ‘Monty’ Margjini should be stood down from his role, after state prosecutors alleged he was a bikie “standover figure”.

The allegations relate to home invasion charges from 2011, which Margjini has pleaded not guilty to.

“In relation to this particular individual, that matter is before the courts, but more generally all organisations have a responsibility to make sure bad apples or bad perceptions don’t impact their ability to do their job,” Saffioti said.

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus is calling for the CFMEU to stand down people who are subject to criminal allegations.

A truck driver charged over the death of a cyclist on the Eyre Highway in March has been released from prison on bail.

Anil Sharma was charged with manslaughter and destroying evidence, as well as failing to stop and assist after Chris Barker, 62, died while taking part in an endurance bike event.

Sharma, 36, was allegedly behind the wheel of the truck that hit Barker near Madura in South Australia near the WA border around 5.30am on March 21.

Barker was taking part in the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride, an unofficial event that runs across Australia from Fremantle to Sydney.

He died at the scene.

At the time his son said his father died doing what he loved.

“I’ve never heard dad talk so much about this one event in my life, today my family lost a great person. My heart is broken,” he said.

Sharma, who is from India, used an interpreter to understand the conditions of his bail application heard this morning in the Stirling Gardens Magistrate Court, which include a $50,000 surety, home detention, surrender of his driver’s licence and a requirement to wear an ankle monitor.

He will be back before the court in October.

The sister of the teenager killed in a horror crash in North Lake on Saturday night has tearfully paid tribute to her brother.

Talented young sportsman Nick Campo, 18, died after the ute he and four other friends were travelling in rolled on Farrington Road and collided with another car.

The group had been celebrating Campo’s 18th birthday, and were on their way to go clubbing for the first time.

His sister, Eva Campo, visited the scene of the crash yesterday.

“Thank you to everyone that’s reached out, we’ve probably got thousands of messages, it’s all still pretty surreal,” she told 9 News Perth.

“A lot of people loved him. I know his memory will live on through everyone.”

Campo’s 18-year-old South Fremantle Football Club teammate remains in hospital fighting for his life.

The three other male teens in the car remain in a stable condition, with the driver, 17, since charged with several dangerous driving offences.

To overnight news now and a crew member has been airlifted to Broome Hospital after being bitten by a sea snake off the northern coast of Australia.

The man was on a fishing vessel in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, near the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, when he was bitten yesterday morning.

He was winched to safety by the Australia Maritime Safety Authority and transported to hospital by a Royal Flying Doctor Service helicopter for emergency treatment.

He was in a stable condition this morning.

Here’s what’s making news this morning.

• Former US president Donald Trump announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate, as he was officially named the Republican candidate at the four-day Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan were separately sent detailed evidence in 2022 that CFMEU officials were threatening extreme violence.
• Exclusive polling shows voters have lifted the Coalition to another high in core support after months of steady gains for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
• Developers of giant batteries designed to smooth Australia’s shift from coal to cleaner power are attracting unprecedented global financing deals to start installing even bigger systems across the country.
• Spanish rescue teams in Tenerife have found human remains in the area where British teenager Jay Slater went missing nearly a month ago, local police said on Monday, adding that evidence strongly suggested the remains were those of the teenager.
• In other Trump news, the former president will no longer face trial for mishandling classified documents after a federal judge he appointed threw out the case.