Three children under the age of four walked out of a childcare center in Perth’s south and were found playing on a footpath, prompting a fine for the operators of the service.
Service provider ES5 Ltd, trading as Buggles Child Care Beeliar, was ordered to pay $22,000 and $2000 in costs by the State Administrative Tribunal for contravention of education and care service laws.
A Department of Communities investigation found that in August last year the children left the center through an outdoor gate.
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A mother who was leaving after collecting her child noticed the children and ushered them back inside.
The investigation found educators at the center had noticed the gate left open more than once during the day and failed to notify the responsible person.
They also failed to ensure the gate was securely locked while the center failed to notify the Department of Communities Education and Care Regulatory Unit about the incident within the required 24 hours.
“This is the ninth time over the past two years where disciplinary action has been taken against a service where children have left the service unattended, and staff have been unaware of them leaving,” Department of Communities Executive Director Phil Payne said in a statement on Friday.
“Childcare service staff must focus on active supervision of children in their care.
“Checks around outdoor areas should include a physical, not just visual, check of gates to ensure they are securely locked.”
In other unrelated incidents, a Mandurah center was ordered to pay $20,000 in penalties and costs after four young children climbed through a fence and were found on the verge of a four-lane highway, in August 2020.
While in November that year a childcare center at Thornlie left a two-year-old girl unsupervised on a bus for almost two hours.
The head of Perth Children’s Hospital has resigned amid an overhaul following the death of seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath.
Western Australia’s health department on Thursday confirmed the departure of Child and Adolescent Health Service chief executive Aresh Anwar.
Dr Anwar, who had served in the role since 2018, will finish up on Friday.
He was at the helm when Aishwarya died of sepsis in April last year, after presenting to the hospital’s emergency department with a fever.
An internal review into her death found staff had missed opportunities to escalate her care despite her parents pleading for help.
Dr Aresh Anwar, who had served in the role since 2018, will finish up on Friday. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West AustralianThe Perth Children’s Hospital. Credit: AAP
The government has since replaced several of the health service’s board members and recently appointed a new executive director to address “cultural challenges” at the hospital.
Chair Rosanna Capolingua said in a statement that she was confident the health service had the “right team in place”.
“The community can be assured that staff at the Child and Adolescent Health Service will continue to give their utmost to providing quality care for Western Australia’s children and young people and support them to lead healthier lives,” she said.
Health director-general David Russell-Weisz said Dr Anwar had brought dedication and integrity to the role.
Executive director Valerie Jovanovic will serve as acting chief executive while the recruitment process takes place.
An inquest into Aishwarya’s death is set to begin on August 24.
Within 20 minutes of arriving at the hospital, the little girl’s hands were cold, her eyes were discolored and her respiratory rate and heart rate were significantly elevated.
But an internal review found the severity of her condition wasn’t recognized until an hour and 17 minutes later.
She was pronounced dead within two hours of entering a resuscitation bay, having succumbed to an infection related to group A streptococcus.
An independent report last year found staff at the hospital had been “exhausted and demoralized” in the lead-up to her death.
Activists at an abortion rights protest have clashed with men bearing crosses at a rally in Perth on Thursday.
Around two dozen pro-choice supporters gathered outside Wesley Church before marching through the city to call for better abortion access in WA.
It follows a recent decision in the United States Supreme Court to strip back the laws allowing safe abortions.
Several men holding up wooden crosses tried to disrupt the rally in Perth by heckling speakers.
One man, who described himself as a Christian Nationalist and wore a hoodie bearing the words Australia First, pushed his cross into speakers’ faces.
Another two men stood on the sidelines, one with a cross, the other with a video camera.
Organizer Nicole McEwen said she found it ironic the men were claiming to be Christians, as abortion rights activists had been invited by the church where they were meeting to hold their protest there.
An Australia First supporter, who labeled himself as a Christian Nationalist disrupts the protest. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West AustralianActivists at an abortion rights protest have clashed with men bearing crosses at a rally in Perth on Thursday. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West AustralianThree men holding up wooden crosses tried to disrupt the rally in Perth by heckling speakers. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West Australian
The protesters then marched to Parliament House to present a petition to Greens MP Brad Pettitt demanding that the WA Government remove abortion from the criminal code.
They also called for abortions to be made free and for the removal of a requirement for approval by multiple doctors.
Ms McEwen, who on Wednesday approached Premier Mark McGowan while he was holding a press conference at the University of WA to ask him when he would make abortion free, said their aim was to remove barriers for anyone seeking an abortion.
“We think it should be completely subsidized and made more available in public hospitals and GP clinics,” she said.
“Because there’s only two major abortion clinics in the State, and they’re both private.”
Around two dozen pro-choice supporters gathered outside Wesley Church before marching through the city to call for better abortion access in WA. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West AustralianA picture from Thursday’s Perth rally. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West AustralianOrganizer Nicole McEwen said she found it ironic the men were claiming to be Christians, as abortion rights activists had been invited by the church they were meeting to hold their protest there.
Credit: daniel wilkins/The West Australian
Anger over abortion rights being stripped away by the US Supreme Court has prompted several WA rallies, with hundreds protesting outside the US Consulate General in Perth in June.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson in June revealed work was underway to modernize WA’s abortion laws, which have been described as among the most oppressive in Australia.
In WA, women who seek an abortion after 20 weeks must have their request reviewed by an “ethics panel” consisting of six medical practitioners, two of whom must agree the mother or fetus has a severe medical condition that justifies the procedure.
Mr McGowan said on Wednesday he understood a review of WA’s abortion regimen would be completed by the end of the year.
Smoking will be banned in WA prisons, in a move that risks a new riot flashpoint in jails across the State.
The ban will begin at Bandyup Women’s Prison, where inmates will be forced to stub out on October 31.
Prison bosses will evaluate the fallout with the attempt of making all other jails smoke-free.
WA is the only jurisdiction in Australia where smoking is allowed in jail. Prisoners are allowed to light up outdoors.
Previous governments have toyed with the idea because exposing prison staff to passive smoke rubs against occupational health and safety laws. But successive administrations have shied away from a ban for fear of inciting riots.
Four in five prisoners smoke and each year 5000 smokers spend $10 million on tobacco at jail canteens – half of all sales. A 25g pouch of White Ox tobacco costs $63.10.
Bandyup Women’s Prison. Credit: ross swanborough/The West Australian
The change at Bandyup will see prisoners, staff, contractors and visitors stopped from lighting up.
Nicotine patches are other products will be made available and QUIT support programs rolled out to the 161 Bandyup inmates who smoke.
Tobacco products will be limited in the lead up to the October 31 deadline to stop stockpiling.
The harmful effects of smoking and its impact on those who inhale second-hand smoke is well-documented and this move is an opportunity for prisoners to quit and have a fresh start.
The prison watchdog, the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services, estimates that 82 per cent of prisoners smoked, compared with 11 per cent of the free community.
The 2021 study found Aboriginal people, women and younger inmates were more likely to be smokers.
The ban would ensure jails comply with the Work Health and Safety Act 2021. It is understood there are five children staying at Bandyup with their mothers.
“The Bandyup Women’s Prison trial is part of the WA Government’s commitment to provide a healthy and safe environment for those in the care of, working or visiting custodial facilities,” Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston said.
Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston. Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian
“The harmful effects of smoking and its impact on those who inhale second-hand smoke is well-documented and this move is an opportunity for prisoners to quit and have a fresh start.
“WA and the ACT are the only Australian jurisdictions where smoking is allowed in prisons, with smoke-free policies successfully implemented everywhere else.
“We are taking a staged, cautious and considered approach to ensure a smoke-free Bandyup Women’s Prison.”
The Department of Justice is finalizing the schedule for bans in other facilities.
Tobacco will likely become sought-after contraband but the ban should reduce the number of fires lit deliberately by prisoners because of the availability of lighters and matches.
The move will be supported by the WA Prison officers Union, which has lobbied for the change.
In 2014 WorkSafe issued the Department of Corrective Services with an improvement notice, giving it until April 2015 to stop prisoners lighting up indoors.
A Port Kennedy driver has been accused of running over a man and pinning him under his car after a brawl at a Warnbro service station.
Police allege that the incident unfolded about 8.20pm on Wednesday, when the accused went to the Caltex petrol station on Warnbro Sound Avenue to buy a couple of items.
When he returned to his Mitsubishi Lancer, a man known to him hopped into the front passenger’s seat and a fight broke out between them.
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The 29-year-old man in the passenger’s seat got out of the car and started to walk away.
It is alleged the 33-year-old driver then sped towards him, with the Lancer jumping the kerb and ploughing into the victim, pinning him under the vehicle.
A man has been hospitalized after he was hit by a car at a service station in Warnbro. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS
Several people nearby managed to lift the car off the victim.
He was then given first aid by police officers before being taken to Royal Perth Hospital with third degree burns to his back.
The driver was arrested and charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to harm and no authority to drive.
He will appear at the Rockingham Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Photos of the aftermath showed the Mitsubishi dumped in the bushes near the service station, with the scene taped off by police.
Police have taped off the scene. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS
A record low rental vacancy rate is driving up property prices in Broome, with WA’s North West town becoming the top performing regional center for median house sale price growth in the most recent industry figures.
Real Estate Institute of WA data for the June quarter shows median house prices in the holiday hot spot increased by 4.7 per cent to $649,000 and shot up by 18 per cent in the 12 months to June.
The town was behind only Port Hedland which saw a 28.2 per cent growth in the same period.
Broome’s dire rental vacancy rate was recorded as zero by REIWA in March, appears to be forcing would-be tenants to buy instead.
Ray White Broome sales consultant Giles Tipping said real estate agents in the region could foresee the trend, even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“The supply of rental properties available for all the Government departments and the like to lease was drying up every year, so we got to a point, I think it was in about July 2019, where there was probably only about approximately 40 houses available to rent in the whole of Broome,” he revealed.
“With that low supply of rental housing obviously rentals were climbing higher and higher and there was less choice for tenants so more tenants were sort of filtering into the sales market and as rent were climbing as well, it was becoming better value to buy.”
The trent was further compounded by the pandemic, with closed borders exposing Broome to a new wave of buyers from across the country, as well as a lagging building industry placing further pressure on supply issues.
“Those influences are coming together and creating this pressure for the sales market,” Mr Tipping added.
In Busselton, which was the second highest regional performer for the June quarter with a 4.5 per cent growth in its median house sales price, the opportunity to work remotely is drawing in a new wave of Perth buyers looking for a lifestyle change.
The Busselton Jetty. Credit: Supplied/Supplied
Busselton’s house median, which now sits at $610,000, is also being pushed up by interstate investors and buyers with the airport and direct flights to Melbourne a major drawcard.
First National Real Estate Busselton general manager Matthew Snaddon said these factors were fueling the market, with the popular coastal town bucking the national trend of increasing supply.
“We are having conversations with buyers and they’re making the comments that they’ve got the opportunity to work remotely so lifestyle following COVID is one of the primary factors that buyers are looking at when choosing property now,” he said.
While Broome and Busselton were the standouts, the REIWA data showed a total of eight regional centers recorded median house sale price growth during the quarter.
Additionally, all nine regional centers experienced median house sale price growth on an annual basis.
Meanwhile, in Perth, the stock of properties listed for sale in July was 4.6 per cent higher than a year ago but new listings last month were down 15.7 per cent compared to June, according to the PropTrack Listings Report July 2022.
“The stock of properties listed for sale in Perth is still down around 15 per cent compared to the average over the past 10 years. While that means options are somewhat limited, it is an improvement compared to recent conditions and the stock of properties listed for sale is up 4.6 per cent compared to a year ago,” PropTrack Economist and report author Angus Moore said.
“Even so, buyers in Perth are facing fewer options than is the case for buyers in Melbourne, Sydney, and Canberra, where the total stock listed for sale is back around, or even above, the decade averages.
“By comparison, buyers in Adelaide and Brisbane have even fewer options, with the total number of properties listed for sale in both those cities down more than a third compared to the decade average.”
Former foreign minister turned mining adviser and fashion icon Julie Bishop has made another bold statement in her life post-politics.
Ms Bishop joined Australian department store David Jones for their first runway show in four years to premiere the latest Spring/ Summer 22 collection.
She turned heads on Wednesday night’s red carpet in a $3750 metallic jacquard long sleeve mini dress designed by French luxury fashion house Balmain.
Julie Bishop attends the David Jones SS22 Wonderworld Season Launch at David Jones. Credit: James Gourley/Getty Images for David Jones
The former politician slipped on a pair of black stockings, simple black pumps and completed the head-to-toe black look with a clutch adorned with silver chain detail.
Ms Bishop received a string of adoring comments when she posted photos of her look to her Instagram account.
Pip Edwards of Aussie activewear brand PE Nation wrote, “You stunner.”
“Va va va Voom!!,” Sunrise entertainment reporter Nelson Aspen commented.
One spot-on Instagram user compared Ms Bishop’s look to that of the late Princess Diana’s infamous ‘revenge’ dress which she wore at her first public event following her headline-making split from Prince Charles.
She was wearing a short black cocktail dress designed by Christina Stambolian. Tim Graham/Getty Images Credit: News Corp Australia
“Is that like Diana’s revenge dress?,” they said.
The skin tight mini black number certainly looked similar to the Christina Stambolian cocktail dress worn by the British princess.
It’s even more fitting given Ms Bishops very public split from long-time boyfriend David Panton who reportedly dumped her over dinner in July ending their eight-year relationship.
“I’m very busy,” Bishop told Confidential of her newly single life.
Julie Bishop introduced her former beau of eight years, David Panton to Prince Charles. Image: Instagram Credit: Supplied
“I spend a lot of time at the ANU as chancellor, I’m doing a lot of speaking engagements and attending fabulous events like the David Jones launch”.
Just this month, Bishop hosted a Q&A with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended by university students from across Australia.
Ms Bishop also showed off a return to her iconic close-cropped blonde look after many months of growing out her hair post-politics.
“Ooo has she gone short hair again! I love her with short hair,” One fan, @amysuart commented below the photo.
Julie Bishop hosts a Q&A with President Zelenskyy as part of her role as ANU Chancellor. NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
“Looking gorgeous, what an inspiration, love the new do,” a friend said.
Bishop told Confidential she rushed to the salon just hours before the event.
“It’s a post-Covid recovery haircut,” Bishop said.
“After we went into lockdown I let my hair grow and then it became so easy but I managed to get an appointment with Scott Sloan, whom I have a great deal of respect for, and he cut my hair so I’m feeling great. ”
Ms Bishop was joined on the guest list by indie artist Vera Blue, model Natalie Roser, TV-host Erin Holland, activewear entrepreneur Pip Edwards, and fashion designer Bianca Spender at the flagship store.
Radio 6PR host Liam Bartlett is opposed to group homes opposite his house having clear glass on their balconies because he doesn’t want to look at their washing.
Owners of five terrace homes being built in Nedlands want a condition to have frosted glass on their balcony balustrades — to stop people looking into their houses — removed. The side of Bartlett’s house is opposite the houses, which are being built.
Mr Bartlett — who lives opposite the homes — has objected to the move saying he didn’t want to see the residents’ “bikes” or “washing” on the balconies.
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Mr Bartlett told the council when the development was approved last year, they had negotiated the preservation of an “important tree” and the frosted glass.
6pr presenter Liam Bartlett has objected to removing a condition for frosted glass. Credit: 6pr.com.au/6pr.com.au
“We were more than happy to see height to see density. To have four separate apartments opposite our house. To lose parking. To see more bins and less amenities,” he said.
Mr Bartlett said his house was elevated behind his wall and had four windows that looked out onto the property.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not fond of looking out onto people’s balconies and their bikes and their washing or whatever else they want to stick up on their balcony or what they’re doing behind their balconies,” he said.
“That’s the reason we had this compromised position.”
Bartlett said the staff recommendation to allow clear glass was “beyond the pale”.
“I can’t understand why we paid rates for 29 years at that property. The first I hear about this is an email saying administration has recommended it,” he said.
Grouped homes under construction in Nedlands Credit: Jake Dietsch/Perth Now
The City of Nedlands approved the construction of five grouped homes, with one on the corner of a Nedlands street and the other four on the adjoining avenue, in May 2021.
Each was sold for $690,000 last year and are all currently under construction.
City staff have recommended the condition to use “either opaque material or frosted glass” be removed.
They said the “cone of vision” for the home on the corner block was confined to the street and it did not overlook any other residential property behind the street setback area.
“Passive surveillance from the balcony on to (the streetscape) is a positive outcome, as it is generally a good planning principle to promote safety through providing opportunities for ‘eyes on the street’,” staff said.
Grouped homes under construction in Nedlands Credit: Jake Dietsch/Perth Now
Staff said the application for the other four homes “satisfies all the relevant deemed-to-comply provisions” for visual privacy and reiterated “street surveillance is seen as a positive outcome.”
One of the homeowners, Geoffrey Nathan, spoke on behalf of himself and the owners of three other homes being built.
Mr Nathan said the condition for frosted glass was placed after they had bought their homes individually and all the sales material showed clear glass.
“The builders weren’t aware that this motion (to impose frosted glass) was coming through,” he said.
Mr Nathan said it was a “matter of aesthetics” but frosted glass would cut off their natural light and view of the street.
Staff estimated it would cost the city between $30,000 to $50,000 if the council refused to remove the condition and an owner took the matter to the State Administrative Tribunal.
The council is scheduled to vote on whether or not to remove the condition at its August 23 meeting.
A luxury car stolen from a home in Woodvale — which is linked to the investigation into whether two teenagers were being followed in a vigilante chase before they came off a stolen motorcycle in Hillarys — has crashed in Balga after it failed to stop for police.
The white BMW hatchback crashed into a civilian van after a short police pursuit about 4pm on Wednesday on the corner of Princess Road and Princess Way.
Three people in the BMW have been taken into custody and nobody was injured.
The white BMW hatchback crashed into a civilian van after a short police pursuit about 4pm on Wednesday. Credit: simon santi/The West Australian
A Princess Road resident, who did not want to be named, said it was lucky her five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter were not playing outside at the time.
The crash happened within meters of the family’s backyard where there is a children’s swing set.
The crash happened within meters of the family’s backyard where there is a children’s swing set. Credit: simon santi/The West Australian
“I got home from work and made (the kids) go in the house straight away, the biggest frustration is just how close it was to going through my fence,” she said.
“It would be a whole different ball game had it gone further in, we might not be standing here today.”
Another resident said he was watching TV about 3pm when he heard what sounds like “bombs had gone off”.
A man is arrested by detectives. Credit: simon santi/The West Australian
Police allege the BMW was stolen during a home burglary in Woodvale in the early hours of Monday.
A Woodvale couple and their two children were asleep inside their home when the BMW was allegedly stolen.
A Perth man who severely bashed an African migrant in a misguided vigilante attack has had his conviction overturned by the High Court and will face a retrial.
Brett Christopher O’Dea, 46, was found guilty by a jury of committing grievous bodily harm with intent to Alimamy Koroma, a 35-year-old migrant from Sierra Leone, in the driveway of a Manning home in January 2018.
Mr Koroma had been chasing a young woman who had attempted to steal from the bowling club where he worked as a cleaner when he was attacked by O’Dea and another man, Jacob Jefferson Webb.
O’Dea testified he had heard the woman screaming she had been raped and ran out to protect her, responding in a manner he felt was appropriate at the time.
He attacked Mr Koroma with a weapon similar to a hockey stick, kicked him in the face and punched him in the head at least 10 times while he was on the ground.
The father-of-one suffered a traumatic brain injury and a fractured skull. He was forced to move into a rehabilitation facility after suffering cognitive impairments that left him unable to work or drive.
O’Dea’s trial in the District Court of Western Australia was told Mr Koroma’s brain injury was more likely to have been caused by O’Dea than Webb. It was also possible it was caused by a combination of their acts, prosecutors said.
A father-of-one suffered a traumatic brain injury and a fractured skull. He was forced to move into a rehabilitation facility after suffering cognitive impairments that left him unable to work or drive. Credit: trevor collens/The Sunday Times
O’Dea was found guilty in 2019 and sentenced to a minimum of four years and three months in prison.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict for Webb, who later faced a retrial and was convicted of the alternative charge of unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm.
O’Dea’s conviction was upheld last year by WA’s Court of Appeal.
Brett Christopher O’Dea, pictured, was found guilty by a jury of committing grievous bodily harm with intent to Alimamy Koroma. Credit: unknown/Facebook
But Australia’s highest court on Wednesday ruled O’Dea had suffered a miscarriage of justice because the trial judge had erred in his instructions to the jury.
A majority of High Court judges found the instructions, based upon the “broadest” interpretation of the relevant legislation, left it open to the jury to attribute acts to O’Dea that Webb may have been carried out.
“That direction was an error of law amounting to a miscarriage of justice,” Justices Michelle Gordon, James Edelman and Simon Steward said.
The jury needed to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that O’Dea’s acts, in isolation, were sufficient to have caused the brain injury and were not undertaken in self-defence or because of an honest or reasonable mistake, they said.
In dissenting remarks, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel and Justice Stephen Gageler found the jury had been entitled to convict O’Dea.
The court ordered his conviction be set aside and a new trial held.
