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Giddy up: Zempilas undeterred by One Nation polling
By Hamish Hastie
State parliament is back and there’s a flurry of activity with firefighters announcing an escalation in their pay fight with the state government, Woodside protesters and later today a rally against bauxite miner Alcoa will be held on the front steps.
For the MPs who work inside the building however some of their attention would be directed toward new Demos AU polling published in The West Australian this morning which suggests One Nation’s vote in the state is following national trends and surging.
The poll found One Nation’s primary vote has trebled to 17 per cent, while the Liberals has dropped nine points to 21 per cent and Labor’s fell five to 36 per cent.
When it came to preferred premier 43 per cent said Premier Roger Cook while 30 per cent said Basil Zempilas and 27 per cent said they didn’t know.
Outside parliament this morning Zempilas talked down the poll results and said his party was focused on holding Labor to account but when asked about the preferred premier results he was more energetic before falling back on message.
“He’d [Cook] be worried about that. Not even 12 months in the job. Only 13 points behind. Woohoo. Giddy up,” he said.
“Those things are not the focus. They are absolutely not the focus going in here, working together as a team, working hard. That’s what this is all about,” he said.
“Genuinely, genuinely, I don’t think this polling that is being discussed really has any impact on us. I think it is really a matter for the government. WA labor is our focus. That’s who we’re concerned about.”
One Nation leader Rod Caddies said he was ahppy to see the poll but conceded WA was in a different position to the rest of the nation where its mining and agricultural sectors were doing well.
“The governments here have had I guess the advantage of having a state that provides so much money to them, so they probably don’t look as bad as the other states,” he said.
“So we’re fighting a different sort of battle here, but I think the percentage we’ve got is a pretty decent one, considering that.”
Court played Bellinge’s angry car rant moments before fatal Dalkeith crash
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The Perth obstetrician who killed a young woman while driving drunk and dangerously will learn his fate today, with his sentencing hearing underway in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
Rhys Bellinge, 46, has pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing Elizabeth Pearce, 24, who was a passenger in an Uber ride when the vehicle was struck by Bellinge, who was travelling in his Jaguar at 130km/h on a suburban Dalkeith road on February 15 last year.
He admitted the crash occurred after he had driven to his family home, where he was no longer living due to a recent separation from his wife.
His car dashcam captured what he was saying while parked outside the house.
“F--k you, f--k you, you piece of s--t, that is my house, it is my house,” he ranted angrily in footage played to the court this morning.
“My house, it’s my house you b--ch. You’re robbing me, f--k you, f--k you ... You take from me, and you don’t give ... You’re nothing to me. You mean nothing to me.”
Bellinge then speeds away and is heard on the dashcam screaming “Yeah, how about you f–king hurry up then c--tface ... move over you f–khead. Yeh, then what?, you pu–y d-ck, f–k you, f--k that b–ch” before the vehicle crashes.
Bellinge is crying in the dock as the footage is played.
Our court reporter, Rebecca Peppiatt is in court for the sentencing hearing and will bring you the latest once Bellinge’s sentence is handed down.
3000 people illegally holding firearms in WA after transitional period expires
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Thousands of people are being urged to hand their firearms into WA Police immediately after their gun licences expired.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said there were still 3000 licence holders who had not commenced transitioning their firearms licence under the state’s new tougher gun laws, which include closer scrutiny over who can own a gun, and how many guns a person can keep.
Blanch said those who were yet to begin the transition had had 12 months to do so, with the transitional period now expiring.
“Don’t wait for the police to come down your driveway... we want them to reach out and contact us,” he said.
As of December, there were 77,781 individual licensed firearms owners in WA, 11,200 fewer than when the state’s gun laws overhaul began.
Sam Kerr touches down in Perth ahead of Asian Cup opener
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Matildas captain Sam Kerr says she’s excited to be back playing in front of a home crowd as she touched down in Perth overnight ahead of the Asian Cup opener on Sunday.
The match could be the first time her son, Jagger, watches her play for Australia – that’s if he can stay awake.
“He’s a good boy, I don’t even know if he’ll make it to be honest, they’re pretty late games, ... but it will be exciting for him to be at the first Matildas game,” she told 9 News Perth.
The Matildas will play the Philippines in the opening game of the Cup at Perth Stadium on March 1.
The final of the tournament will be held on March 21 in Sydney.
Opposition calls for tougher tobacco laws to ‘dismantle illicit trade’
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The opposition will fight for WA’s looming illicit tobacco laws to be tougher, arguing those found illegally selling cigarettes should face long-term closures and termination of their leases.
The proposed amendments to the Tobacco Products Control Act will also strengthen penalties for those caught selling tobacco and vapes to minors.
Shadow police minister Adam Hort said the changes were needed to dismantle WA’s growing illicit tobacco trade, which has been linked to more than a dozen arson attacks in the past 18 months.
“The firebombings of shops, threats to innocent business owners and drive-by shootings must stop, and these amendments will give authorities the tools to shut this trade down,” he said.
A key amendment will be to give the Department of Health the ability to shut down stores without the minister’s tick of approval.
Health Minister Meredith Hammat said she would work with the opposition, but she wanted to get the laws passes as quickly as possible.
“We know that our compliance team need these additional powers. We want to take strong action to crack down on the illicit tobacco trade, and that’s our focus,” she said.
New research conducted by the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer showed 70 per cent of West Australians supported immediate shop closure powers and stronger enforcement to crack down on illegal tobacco and vapes.
The new laws will be debated in parliament this week.
Across the nation and around the world
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Here’s what’s making headlines across the nation and around the world:
- Australia will deepen its defence ties with Britain by spending $310 million on a new stage of the AUKUS submarine project as well as launching joint work on radar systems, drones and missile tests that could help Ukraine.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia would strip the former prince Andrew’s right to succeed to the throne due to the grave allegations against the disgraced royal.
- The Tesla Model Y has been crowned the 21st winner of the Drive Car of the Year award, with judges praising its practical packaging, exceptional value and game-changing technology.
Welcome to today’s live news blog
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Good morning and welcome to our live and local news blog for Tuesday, February 24.
Making headlines today, with negotiations at an impasse, the firefighters’ union will take the extraordinary step of calling on the WA Industrial Relations Commission to draw up an entirely new pay deal.
The lengthy pay and conditions fight started in March last year, but 22 meetings and several rejected offers and counteroffers later, the government and the United Firefighters Union of WA are no closer to striking a deal.
Meanwhile, five West Australian private schools are spending more on capital works than thousands of public schools nationally, a new report has revealed, with one high-fee school topping the list.
The latest figures were revealed in a new report from the Australian Education Union – The Building Divide in Australian Schools: How capital funding fuels educational inequity.
Stay with us as we bring you the news of the day, as it happens.
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