Latest WA state news
Broome family go viral in heart-warming Air New Zealand Christmas ad
Ray Sparvell 6:58 PM A WA family has played a small, but vital, role in a new heart-warming Christmas advert from Air New Zealand which has gone viral on social media.
Motorcylist killed at Paraburdoo
![Police are investigating a motorcycle fatality at Paraburdoo.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/s/g/5/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gls15p.png/1450597330315.jpg)
Ray Sparvell 6:42 PM A motorcyclist has died after his bike ran off the road at Paraburdoo on late Sunday morning.
'Supersized' Applecross McDonalds approved in lop-sided legal fight
![Applecross residents have vowed to continue the fight against a new McDonald's.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/5/d/2/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrw98.png/1450593634202.jpg)
Ray Sparvell 5:40 PM Applecross residents are vowing to continue the fight against a new McDonald's outlet in their suburb after the State Administrative Tribunal overturned a government ban on the controversial $4.6 million development on Friday.
Floreat, City Beach reopened after shark sightings
![A tiger shark sighting has closed beaches at Floreat and City Beach.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/7/4/g/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gls07n.png/1450593612186.jpg)
Ray Sparvell 5:40 PM Floreat and City Beaches have been closed after shark sightings on Sunday afternoon.
Hugh Jackman's snaps a selfie with a Rottnest Island quokka
![Hugh Jackman snapped a selfie with a quokka while on Rottnest Island.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/s/0/f/0/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrzez.png/1450590531017.gif)
Ray Sparvell 4:48 PM It was potentially the biggest match-up since the last X-Men movie: Wolverine versus the cuddliest opponent of all, a Rottnest Island quokka.
Christmas treats for Perth prisoners irks guards fighting for pay rise
![Prisoners at Wandoo Reintegration Facility in Perth are being treated to sirloin steaks, a waterslide and high tea for Christmas.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/1/a/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrzlu.png/1450590294488.jpg)
4:30 PM Prisoners at Wandoo Reintegration Facility in Perth are being treated to sirloin steaks and high teas for Christmas, angering staff who are still fighting for a pay rise.
Pedestrian fatality on road bridge at Willare, south of Derby
![Police in NSW have arrested a man wanted over separate shootings in Melbourne's east.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/n/o/s/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrt39.png/1450593406864.jpg)
Ray Sparvell 1:59 PM A pedestrian was killed on a bridge on the Great Eastern Highway at Willare in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Beckenham units targeted in suspected petrol bomb attack
![Police are investigating whether fire bombs might have been the cause of two small fires in a Beckenham unit complex.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/f/9/1/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrsdf.png/1450574435555.jpg)
Ray Sparvell 12:20 PM Police are investigating two suspicious fires where a person threw items, suspected to be petrol bombs, at a unit complex in Beckenham on Saturday night.
Suspicious fire in Bunbury - police want to talk to man seen nearby
![Police want to speak to this man about the Bunbury fire.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/r/m/g/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrmay.png/1450509854760.jpg)
Adrian Beattie Detectives investigating a suspicious fire in Bunbury have released security video of a man they want to talk to.
Firefighters battle out of control bushfire in Bullsbrook
![Firefighting vehicles at the Bullsbrook bushfire.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/r/i/m/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glri9h.png/1450497202356.jpg)
Adrian Beattie Around 70 firefighters are battling an out of control bush-fire in Bullsbrook.
Mullaloo Beach closed after shark sighting
![A tiger shark sighting has closed Mullaloo Beach.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/7/4/g/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrj36.png/1450590722361.jpg)
Adrian Beattie Mullaloo Beach has been closed after a tagged tiger shark set off a series of warnings on Saturday morning.
Federal government back-flip on expensive drug treatment for Perth Mum
![May Ali and daughters Anya, 11, and Nadine, 14.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/r/a/7/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrhnx.png/1450423151472.jpg)
Adrian Beattie A Perth mother has been thrown a lifeline by the federal government which has done a back-flip and decided it will pay the half a million dollars a year she needs for medical treatment.
Police investigate sex attack on 60-year-old woman in West Leederville
![The victim was walking on a path near West Leederville Railway Station when she was attacked.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/r/h/e/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrgx3.png/1450486421708.jpg)
Adrian Beattie A 60-year-old woman was sexually assaulted as she walked through West Leederville on Friday night.
'Local' WA wines owned by Woolworths, Coles
![Winestein](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/5/j/u/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllhjo.png/1450600224144.jpg)
David Prestipino There was shocked surprise all round when an $11 wine won best shiraz at the Margaret River Wine Show in 2013.
Press Council adjudication
![Australian Press Council](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/c/b/5/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqxzb.png/1445209614845.jpg)
The Press Council has upheld a complaint by a school teacher about publication of rumours concerning her resignation.
Clotheslined Perth motorcyclist refuses to condem his attackers
![The injuries sustained by the victim from the incident.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/r/4/d/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqp6b.png/1450432472656.jpg)
Heather McNeill A Guildford motorcyclist, who was struck in the throat by a piece of rope tied across the road and then glassed by a gang of juveniles, has refused to outright condemn the perpetrators of the act.
WA man Malcolm Taylor murdered over $10,000 bounty: court
![generic thumbnail, court, justice, law, judge](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/v/l/k/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glrd3c.png/1450430545615.jpg)
A drug user who murdered a man he was trying to subdue in exchange for a $10,000 bounty, then dumped the body and fled Western Australia will spend at least 19 years behind bars.
WA man 'wrongly named and shamed' in paedophile ring: lawyer
![</p>](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/2/j/1/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqxtx.png/1450410599424.jpg)
A West Australian man facing sentencing for child sex offence charges laid as part of an investigation into the abuse of a 13-year-old girl was not part of a paedophile ring, his lawyer insists.
Perth mum granted lifesaving treatment after schoolgirl's PM plea
![Left: Perth woman mother-of-two May Ali, her husband Dr John Bussell, and daughters Nadine, 14, and Anya, 11. Right: Lucy Strapp, hands a letter to the PM Malcolm Turnbull asking him to help save May's life.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/k/s/o/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glr7lq.png/1450423151164.jpg)
Heather McNeill A Perth woman who pleaded with the Federal Government to reinstate her life-saving medical treatment has been granted an extra 12 months treatment following a wave of online support and a school girl's personal plea to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The three topics West Australians gave a s*** about in 2015
![Brendan, who sought a new school for his daughter after being told Foundation Christian College did not promote ‘gay’, was supported through thousands of petition signatures after the news broke.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/l/g/g/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glr5n1.png/1450425969845.jpg)
Emma Young If 'clicktivism' is any indicator, the topics grinding West Australian gears most in 2015 were gay equality, public transport and animal welfare.
WA taxi industry shake-up signals green light for ride sharers
![Uber has rocked the taxi industry - but more players are on the way.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/q/z/g/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glr29g.png/1450419759793.jpg)
Ray Sparvell A shake-up of the rules for the taxi industry in 2016 has signalled the green light for a number of new ride sharing platforms - and the race is on.
Who you gonna call?..bug-busters! Patrols defend Qfly quarantine zone
![The spray zone inside the eight-suburb quarantine zone surrounding Alfred Cove.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/r/1/w/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqzki.png/1450416169636.jpg)
Emma Young Residents in the quarantine zone formed around an outbreak of Queensland fruit fly will see contracted bug-busters moving through their streets with tanks of insecticide over coming weeks.
Perth named Australia's rising star by renowned travel magazine
![Cottesloe Beach in Perth, lauded by Conde Nast in its latest issue.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/o/m/2/p/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqzx6.png/1450421076666.jpg)
Heather McNeill Perth's status as a tourist destination continues to fluctuate with a review by renowned travel publisher Conde Nast Traveler naming the city Australia's rising star just three months after Huffington Post labelled Perth one of the top ten most hated cities in the world.
Taxi reform to legalise Uber in Western Australia
![Uber drivers will be able to obtain 'omnibus' licenses in Western Australia from 2016.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/q/6/x/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqkkz.png/1450413959028.jpg)
Emma Young The government will enable Uber drivers to be licensed in Western Australia under reforms announced on Friday.
Officer who leaked Ben Cousins arrest info to face trial
![Seven News Perth reporter Monique Dirksz with First Class Constable Daniel Jamieson.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/r/j/g/3/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqw0b.png/1450408638281.jpg)
Staff Reporters A WA Police officer who allegedly leaked information about the arrest of former West Coast captain Ben Cousins to his journalist girlfriend will proceed to trial.
Rego plate mix-up sees City Beach man get stranger's fines - ten times
![Luigi D'Annunzio who keeps receiving speeding infringements in a bizarre mix-up](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/q/4/0/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glq3pr.png/1450406132224.jpg)
Ray Sparvell A City Beach man has received ten speeding infringements over the past two years due to a bizarre coincidence.
WA tops national mortgage default list according to Reserve Bank
![The RBA says Western Australia tops the mortgage-default list, followed by Tasmania, while NSW was the best performer.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/j/r/3/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqclf.png/1450389178555.jpg)
Western Australia now leads the nation on mortgage defaults, with more than three per cent of the market in arrears or worse, according to Reserve Bank figures.
Elderly man spends 12 hours in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital corridor
![Healthcare stocks were hit hard after the government unveiled planned cuts to diagnostics and pathology funding.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/6/l/r/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glq8j1.png/1450336612127.jpg)
Emma Young A 74-year-old man was kept in a corridor at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for 10 hours this week, his daughter says, because the hospital is at capacity.
EPA gets 'health check' after knock-back
![Drilling works had already begun on Roe 8, abruptly halted by the Supreme Court's ruling that environmental approvals were invalid.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/7/2/l/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glq78i.png/1450334794569.jpg)
Emma Young A "health check" of Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority has been ordered a day after its assessment of the contentious Roe 8 project was deemed invalid.
Police charge Christmas Grinches with thefts from Perth doorsteps
![CCTV footage captured the woman apparently making off with parcels.](/web/20151220213511im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/p/c/s/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glppvz.png/1450333766484.jpg)
Emma Young Social media has saved Christmas after security camera images of a woman allegedly stealing parcels from doorsteps went viral, helping police charge two northern suburbs women.