ABC Perth

09/09/2026

A state government investigation into dust complaints in Geraldton has found magnetite from "industrial activities" as a contributor to dust polluting homes and businesses.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation says it will meet with the Mid West Ports Authority and Chinese-owned Karara Mining in a bid to change some operating licences conditions to reduce dust impact on the coastal community.

An investigation into dust pollution around Geraldton has found magnetite from industrial activities is directly contributing to the levels of dust throughout the community.

09/09/2026

An eight-year-old boy whose scalp was partially ripped open in an accident was forced to wait almost two days for a transfer to Perth from WA's remote East Kimberley.

Rachel McKay says her son's skull was exposed by the horrific injury, but he was not prioritised.

The WA Country Health service has apologised for failing to meet the family's expectations.

Rachel McKay says her eight-year-old son was left waiting with his skull exposed after an accident in the Kimberley, with no emergency flights available.

09/09/2026

The FBI found the bodies of two Australian men who were shot dead while on a surfing trip in Mexico in 2024, a murder trial has been told.

Three men are on trial on a number of charges for the alleged killing of Jake and Callum Robinson.

The United States FBI found the bodies of two Australian men, who were shot dead while on a surfing trip in Mexico in 2024, a murder trial hears.

09/09/2026

Two small lizards need a lift home after accidentally hitchhiking south to Perth when they climbed onto trucks from mine sites.

After they were discovered, the two were placed in the care of vets at WA Wildlife and were treated for dehydration and small scrapes.

After looking into where the trucks had come from, the carers realised the Western Ring-tailed Dragon needed a ride back to Tom Price and a Long-nosed Ta-ta to Pannawonica.

"They're both ready to go now, but under the current regulations here in WA, we can't just release them here in Perth and for good reason," Dean Huxley from WA Wildlife told Mark Gibson on 102.5 ABC Perth Breakfast.

The non-venomous reptiles will travel in secure transport containers.

WA Wildlife is looking for a 'good Samaritan' who could pop them in their cabin, take them back to the Pilbara and then open the lid to let them run off into their habitat.

"We have explored flights in the past, but it's just not the best thing for the reptiles."

If you’re travelling by road to Pannawonica or Tom Price and may be able to safely transport one of these little passengers, please get in touch: [email protected]

Share this with someone who might be travelling north!

09/09/2026

Simone Strobel was 25 years old when she said goodbye to her friends and family in Germany for the trip of a lifetime backpacking around Australia. Sadly, she would never make it home.

The kindergarten teacher had been travelling the NSW coast and seeing the sites with her boyfriend and two other visitors from Germany. On February 11, 2005, they arrived in the town of Lismore, NSW, and set up camp at a caravan park not far from the C*D.

Later that night, there was an argument and Simone appears to have walked away in frustration.

The next morning, her fellow travellers reported her missing to the police.

After six days of searching, Simone’s body was found less than 100 metres from the campsite where she’d been staying.

The community of Lismore was in shock.

Simone’s boyfriend appealed to the public to help find the “evil monster” who killed her, and police were inundated with calls about multiple possible suspects.

But did any of them kill Simone?

In Lies in Lismore, the latest season of ABC’s true crime podcast, Unravel, acclaimed journalist Richard Baker looks into the untold story of a 20-year police investigation into a murder case tangled by lies.

Unravel: Lies In Lismore – Hear it now on ABC listen.

08/09/2026

It took almost two decades for Samantha Banton to receive an endometriosis diagnosis, after years of pain that began as a teenager.

After difficulties falling pregnant, a laparoscopy finally confirmed Ms Banton had severe endometriosis.

But the long-lasting uncertainty around her physical struggles took a significant toll on her mental health — and a recently released study has found she's not alone.

For Samantha Banton, accessing an endometriosis diagnosis in WA's Pilbara took a significant toll on her mental health, and new research indicates she is not alone.

08/09/2026

Your social media feeds could soon look a little different.

The government is proposing new laws that allow it to require social media companies to send a notification to users, giving them the option of opting in or out of the algorithm on their feed.

But there are concerns social media companies could offer a substandard product, or engage in "protest design" by making non-algorithmic feeds less functional or more boring, to drive users back into the arms of the algorithm.

Read more: https://ab.co/4A3XNsD

08/09/2026

Happy everyone! 🤍💙

How gorgeous is the blue of the male splendid fairy-wren against the canola in Frankland River!

We'd love to see your best photos and videos of these cute little blue birds below
👇📸

📷 Facebook/Anrie Van Zyl

08/09/2026

Ian Styles turns 80 this year, and when asked if he's retired, he just laughs.

"I recover stuck craypots for people now. I did four last week. They normally give me a carton of b**r," he says.

The sea has been a constant throughout Ian's life.

He joined the Army at 17 and the SAS at 18, serving in the Vietnam War and the Rhodesian Bush War. After returning home, he completed a diving course with the SAS, learning underwater demolition.

"We'd never get away with it today, but we blew up things, like rocks near Rottnest Island," he says.

Ian went on to spend around 20 years as a commercial diver in the offshore oil industry. Based out of Singapore, his work took him to oil fields all around the world.

Later, he and his wife settled first in Leeman and then Jurien Bay, where Ian began taking people diving.

"People were pestering me to teach them how to scuba dive, so I ended up getting my dive instructor's ticket so I could teach them."

His military experience also led him into volunteer service with Marine Rescue, where he helped develop training manuals and became a training officer.

"Because of my military background, I could teach people, so I became a training officer for Marine Rescue," he says.

Ian spent 26 years with Volunteer Marine Rescue, receiving an Order of Australia Medal for his service.

His specialist military skills also proved invaluable to the Department of Parks and Wildlife, which called on his expertise when a beached whale needed to be humanely euthanised.

"They were looking for someone with a shotfirer's ticket to euthanise this beached whale, and so I said I have a shotfirer's ticket."

Despite approaching 80, Ian still dives whenever he can, although he knows that day won't last forever.

"I can still climb on a boat if it's got a ladder with my scuba tank on and my weight belt, but there'll come a day when I can't," he says, laughing.

He believes the ocean has helped keep him young.

"It's psychological, because some people think they're an old man, but I still think I'm young."

For Ian, diving isn't just about adventure. It's the feeling of weightlessness, the marine life, and the simple joy of being in the water that keeps drawing him back.

Looking out across the sparkling ocean, he reflects on the day he'll finally have to leave it behind.

"It's going to be a sad day when I can't get into the sea. It'll be like saying goodbye to a loved one."

Via ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt

08/09/2026

The small WA town of Boyup Brook has held an annual memorial service for the victims of Sandakan Death Marches for more than 30 years.

June Edwards lost her brother Bill to the horrors of the notorious Japanese Prisoner of War camp.

The Sandakan death marches in WWII are described by the Australian War Memorial as the greatest single atrocity committed against Australians in war.

Bill Beard's last message to his sister June was a note scrawled in the notorious Japanese POW camp, acknowledging his birthday. He died a month before the end of the war.

08/09/2026

Perth women took to the steps of WA’s Parliament House today to exercise in protest against comments made by One Nation's Luke Herdegen about domestic violence.

Event co-organiser Megan McLeod says 'the bro-test', which mimics the push-up demonstrations by Andrew Tate supporters, is about accountability.

"Stop minimising violence against women. It's irresponsible of public leaders to talk about such a serious topic in such a way," she told 102.5 ABC Perth.

But Herdegen, who is yet to be sworn into parliament, says his comments were taken out of context.

08/09/2026

10-year-old Noah Ross shattered his knee in an accident at a skate park in Karratha.

He has spent six days waiting in the local hospital to be flown to Perth for specialised treatment.

READ MORE: https://bit.ly/4ymOa6B

"I haven't seen sunlight for days and I can't do anything so it's really painful and annoying," Noah told Nadia Mitsopoulos on 102.5 ABC Perth.

08/09/2026

Cricket Australia agrees to bring private investment into the Big Bash League, starting with the sale of the Melbourne Renegades.

Depending on the success of the Renegades sale, CA said in a statement on Tuesday that it would "consider taking other clubs to market under a self-determination model that gives each State member the ability to assess the optimal pathway for its own club and community".

Cricket Australia agrees to bring private investment into the Big Bash League, starting with the sale of the Melbourne Renegades.

08/09/2026

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has seized more than a million illegal ci******es and vapes in a series of raids throughout Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

An ABF spokesperson said the haul would have had a street value of more than $814,000 and represented almost $4 million in foregone taxes.

The Australian Border Force has seized more than 1.7 million illegal ci******es and thousands of vapes with a street value of more than $800,000 in a joint operation across Western Australian and the Northern Territory.

08/09/2026

A burst water main in Perth's south has caused a car to plunge into a sinkhole overnight, cutting off the water supply to nearby homes.

STORY: https://ab.co/4ymG4uJ

The sedan has fallen into a large hole in the middle of The Bridgeway, one of the key suburban roads running through Canning Vale.

In a statement, the Water Corporation confirmed the car became stuck around 4am after driving through floodwater following a burst water main.

The Water Corporation's Paul Prottey said while burst pipes were not uncommon, it was rare for one to cause a sinkhole.

"With a network the size that we have across Perth, we get our leaks and bursts, like every other water scheme across the world," he told 102.5 ABC Perth.

"But to have a car fall into a hole in the middle of a road is an extremely rare occurrence."

07/09/2026

A trial has begun for three men accused of murdering two Western Australian brothers in Mexico, but the defendants have been removed from the courtroom after prosecutors said witnesses had been intimidated.

The parents of Callum and Jake Robinson earlier came face to face with their sons' alleged killers after they travelled from Perth to Ensenada for the trial.

Witnesses have been intimidated in the lead-up to the trial for three men accused of killing two Australian brothers in Mexico, prosecutors tell a Mexican court.

07/09/2026

Yarra-mo-up is the traditional Noongar name for Jerramungup meaning "Place of the tall yate trees".

Menang Elder Aunty Carol Petterson was four years old when her family worked as shepherds driving sheep from Jerramungup to the coast. Eighty-one years later, Aunty Carol returns to a crossing on the Gairdner River.

Standing on the same rocks, she visualises the journey, the landscape and her childhood living in the bush. For Aunty Carol, the bush was more than home. It was their kitchen, classroom and therapy.

The "This Place" project invites Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to create a short video about a place name, and the story behind it. www.abc.net.au/thisplace

07/09/2026

Each winter, southern right whales move north from the Antarctic to the southern Australian coastline to breed in warmer waters.

For 50 years, researchers have been tracking the great whale's migratory patterns between Fremantle in Western Australia to Ceduna on South Australia's far west coast, revealing a key change in their birthing cycles.

This year's data show nearly twice as many whales are travelling solo rather than in cow-calf pairs, compared to 2023.

From WA's capital to SA's far west coast, scientists have collated 50 years' worth of data on the southern right whale to track changes to breeding cycles.

07/09/2026

A Perth school has taken the 'idle off' pledge - where parents and carers will turn off their car engines if they're waiting in the drop-off and pick-up zones for more than a few seconds.

Rachel Hornecastle, a GP and parent who pitched this to Mosman Park Primary school, told Oliver Peterson on 102.5 ABC Perth Drive that it's all about reducing the kids' exposure to toxic fumes.

What do you think? Would you like your school to take the 'idle off' pledge?

07/09/2026

A Canadian sailor has been rescued by Australian authorities after his vessel began taking on water in the remote Indian Ocean.

The man was 1,000 kilometres south-east of Christmas Island when his boat began taking on water.

07/09/2026

Myanmar national Wai Phyo Aung has not been seen since leaving Kununurra Hospital last week.

07/09/2026

Three men who allegedly set out on a boat to retrieve packages of co***ne off Rottnest Island on a "dark and stormy night" had to be rescued by water police, the WA Supreme Court hears.

07/09/2026

Yanchep National Park's koala colony has welcomed a new arrival, and you can help name the joey.

The baby was born to parents Franklin Doogsie and Poppy around mid-March and has just started peeking out of mum's pouch.

Senior Ranger Pip Jarvis Carboon says it's a 'wee little thing'.

"The whole little thing at the moment is only probably about 20 centimetres big. So tiny, tiny little thing still," she told Mark Gibson on 102.5 ABC Perth Breakfast.

There are four names to choose from:

Karla: a Noongar word meaning 'fire'
Scout: because the joey emerged three weeks earlier than expected
Pembi: a tribute to former Yanchep senior ranger John Wheeler, who was from Pemberton
Ash: from the koala's scientific name Phascolarctos cinereus, which translates to 'ash-coloured pouched bear' - even though we know they're not bears.

Cast your vote by placing a token in one of four koala feeding tubes at the McNess House Visitor Centre in the park.

This is the second joey born in the park in two years. Last year Louie Jet (Franklin's brother) and Miffy successfully bred and gave birth to the first koala joey to be born at Yanchep in 15 years - baby Djilba.

07/09/2026

Western Australian filmmaker Harvey Zielinski's debut feature 'Sweet Milk Lake' has won 2026 CinefestOZ film prize.

At $100,000, it’s Australia’s richest film prize and awarded each year at the CinefestOZ film festival in south-west WA.

Zielinski said he drew on his own experiences to write the script, which follows a soft-spoken trans man who is mistaken for his twin brother by his dying father, who he’s been estranged from for many years.

Zielinkski said juggling directing, writing, producing and acting in two lead roles was a creative risk but paid off to share a largely untold perspective in Australian cinema.

"Transmasculine representation is virtually non-existent," he said.

"I just want to hear stories from people who haven't got to tell their stories more and more, I just think we're missing out when we don't platform those voices."

Yawuru and Wajarri actor Ngaire Pigram said they hope the film changes hearts and minds.

"From the reaction we got, [it] means that there's going to be space and platform and audience formed for it."

"This story just solidifies the fact that q***r, trans, non-binary, everybody - we're all humans."

Jury member Greer Simpkin said the film won because it "clearly had something to say and share" and had a strong emotional resonance.

The film will be out in cinemas in November.

✍️WA Arts Reporter Mietta Adams

07/09/2026

Menang elder Aunty Carol Petterson remembers when her family worked as shepherds, driving sheep through the bushland and along rivers towards the coast in southern Western Australia. Decades later, she recalls in vivid detail the natural abundance of the landscape.