ABC Goldfields-Esperance

10/08/2026

WA’s Midwest is putting on another spectacular wildflower show. 🌼

Some scenes from this week’s travels through the Yalgoo–Mt Magnet area.

🎥 - Chris Lewis

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10/08/2026

What's making news in the region today?🗞

The Shire of Esperance says a 6 per cent rate rise approved by council was a difficult but necessary decision.

The increase was passed unanimously at a special council meeting last week.

Shire president Ron Chambers said the council had extensive obligations to keep the region functioning and liveable.

He said the council understood 6 per cent was higher than it wanted, but did not want to "take the easy way out".

Get your local news briefing below 👇

Here's what's making news in the Goldfields, Esperance, Midwest and Wheatbelt regions of WA today.

09/08/2026

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor Glenn Wilson is hopeful Tuesday's Census will shed new light on the number of fly-in, fly-out workers travelling between some of Australia's biggest mining regions.

Mining cities across Australia say the count fails to acknowledge the increasing pressure the nation's growing fly-in fly-out workforce puts on communities.

07/08/2026

What's making news today?🗞

A major gold mining development in the Shire of Ravensthorpe is set to get underway after receiving final approval from the Environmental Protection Authority.

Medallion Metals was granted permission to clear, and later offset, more than 54 hectares of significant fauna habitat at its Kundip mine site.

The site is about 17 kilometres south-east of the Ravensthorpe townsite.

The company plans first production by the beginning of next year.

Get your local news briefing 👇

Here's what's making news in the Goldfields, Esperance, Midwest and Wheatbelt regions of WA today.

07/08/2026

❄WINTER WONDERLAND IN THE OUTBACK CITY⛄

A sudden thunderstorm turned into a hail storm in the Goldfields on Thursday evening.

Many residents in Kalgoorlie-Boulder found their backyards covered in thick blanket of hail during the storm.

Speaking on ABC Goldfields-Esperance Breakfast this morning, Jessica Lingard from the Bureau of Meteorology said hail can quickly form during thunderstorms when rain reaches freezing temperatures.

"Because the clouds extend so high into the atmosphere, they are so freezing cold at the top, so the rain droplets that whiz around these clouds freeze into hail stones," she said.

"Eventually they grow so big that the power of gravity overtakes, and it sends them all tumbling down."

Did you get much hail where you live? Or was anything damaged in the storm?

We'd love to see your pictures below👇

06/08/2026

Australia holds some of the world's largest lithium reserves, and the people that live here are rapidly adopting lithium-ion batteries into their cars and homes.

Now, Australian governments want to see more parts of the batteries powering that shift processed here, and while some Australian miners are attempting to get in on the game, commercial success has been limited in the face of Chinese competition.

Until recently, Australian lithium miners were digging up their ore and selling to China for processing into battery materials. Now, a handful of them are trying to get a bit more value out of that supply chain.

06/08/2026

A grieving dolphin has been observed carrying her dead calf through an estuary near Bunbury in WA's south for 11 days.

Researchers say this is the fourth calf the dolphin named Fraggle has lost, which could explain her extended mourning period.

06/08/2026

Former Deputy Mayor Graham Thomson has been inducted into the Kalgoorlie-Boulder walk-of-fame this week in honour of his impact on the local region.

Mayor Glenn Wilson made the announcement during the closing session of Diggers and Dealers, which Mr Thomson helped establish into one of Australia's leading mining conferences.

Mr Thomson also served as a City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillor from 2001 to 2009, and was a key advocate for royalties for regions and Portlink.

His Walk of Fame induction included a commemorative paving stone on Hannan Street in the Kalgoorlie CBD.

Mr Thomson said he was proud how many people came together for the projects he worked on through his career.

"The number of local people who do so much work, so much, it's incredible," he said.

Mr Thomson's daughter Jonnene said it was an honour for their family.

"Knowing how much work he's done for the community and I guess there's been little acknowledgements along his entire lifetime but you know this is a real a real visual acknowledgement [and] another place that we get to come, and it's much better than a grave," she said.

"We get to come and see his name being celebrated in the city, it's amazing."

📸ABC Goldfields: Nicholas R Ward

05/08/2026

A 37-year-old man has died following a crash in Merivale near Esperance,

The accident occured around 6:05am Wednesday morning on Fisheries rd.

Police said the car left the road and collided with a tree.

The driver was the sole occupant of the car and died at the scene.

Police are asking anyone with footage of the incident to contact crime stoppers.

04/08/2026

A 24-year-old Victorian man has taken on one of WA's most infamous 4 wheel drive tracks in his two-decade old Corolla.
📹 Supplied/
🎬 Veronica Buck
Via ABC Perth and ABC Kimberley