3 months ago
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Good morning readers, and welcome to our live blog for Friday, December 5 – and the last WA live news blog for the year.
While we’ve still got a busy day of news ahead today, as the year winds down and the silly season ramps up, we’re giving the live news blog a well-earned break until the new year.
You can continue read the latest news from across Perth and around WA on the WAtoday homepage, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
Be sure to check in over the Christmas and New Year break as we keep you updated on the news you need to know.
But onto today’s headlines, with revelations a letter sent to commercial anglers whose businesses will be hit by a major fishing ban encouraged them to contact a seafood industry-specific mental health organisation that shut down in Western Australia months ago.
The letter, from the Fisheries and Aquaculture executive director Nathan Harrison to licence holders, communicated Wednesday’s total commercial fishing ban of demersal fish species along 900 kilometres of coastline from Kalbarri to Augusta known as the West Coast Zone.
Commercial demersal fishing has been banned in the West Coast Zone. Credit: Moment RF
In the correspondence, Harrison said the department recognised “these arrangements may place significant pressure on the operations and livelihoods of fishers, and we acknowledge the uncertainty and stress this can cause.”
Harrison’s message was followed by the number for Lifeline, Beyond Blue and a series of numbers for Stay Afloat – a Commonwealth-funded mental health organisation specifically for people in the seafood industry.
Stay Afloat shut up shop in WA during September after its Commonwealth funding ended that month.
You can read the full story here.
Meanwhile, as the 16 Days in WA campaign continues, 9News Perth journalist Holly Edwards-Smith asks what it will take to change the story on domestic violence.
Edwards-Smith writes:
...it doesn’t matter that “it’s not all men”. It’s enough men.
Enough to stop women doing things they love. Enough to change how women act and where they go.
But now enough is well and truly enough.
The prolonged treatment of women and ongoing attitudes many groups of men have is just one reason the beast still thrives.
As Roger Cook said this week: “Disrespect doesn’t always lead to violence, but we know that violence always starts with disrespect.”
You can read her full opinion piece here.
And finally, WA’s first major inquiry into the rules governing devices like e-scooters has urged a complete overhaul of the state’s regulatory framework to make the increasingly popular vehicles safer on the state’s roads and paths.
The report, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, found injuries involving e-rideables were now a daily occurrence, with Royal Perth Hospital’s trauma unit admitting at least one seriously injured rider every day.
Read Carla Hildebrandt’s report here.
Thank you again for joining us this morning. Stay tuned as we bring you all the news you need to know.
