An Aboriginal cultural center will be built on a site between the Derbarl Yerrigan, also known as the Swan River, and the Perth Concert Hall to showcase Western Australia’s indigenous culture.
Key points:
The center will be located between the Perth Concert Hall and Swan River
The state and federal governments provided $104 million in seed funding
Premier Mark McGowan says he is “very excited” by the location
The location was chosen by the Whadjuk Aboriginal Cultural Center Cultural Authority, a body set up to provide advice on the cultural center and a best possible site.
The committee’s Barry Winmar said the center would give Aboriginal people a strong voice and show Aboriginal culture in its best light.
“It gives us an opportunity to tell our stories, to tell our songlines and showcase what our culture looks like through art, dance and through print and media,” Mr Winmar said.
The site was culturally significant as the location of watering holes and tributaries of the river.
Barry Winmar says the site has a special significance for WA’s Indigenous people. (ABC News: James Carmody)
“There were walking trails along there. We had a really strong connection with the water and the land,” Mr Winmar said.
It was also close to where Whadjuk Noongar leader Yellagonga, who died in 1843, was buried.
The Commonwealth government has previously provided $50 million seed funding for the project, and the WA government $54 million, as part of an election commitment.
The Terrace Road carpark, located between the Swan River and the Perth Concert Hall, has been chosen as the site to build the Aboriginal Cultural Centre. (ABC News: James Carmody)
Premier Mark McGowan said the cultural center was due to be finished by 2028 and will likely include major private sector and philanthropic contributions to create a “world-standard facility”.
“We want tourists from Australia and around the world to come and visit and understand and enjoy that experience,” Mr McGowan said.
“It’s a great opportunity for understanding and for creating jobs and also for that great sense of identity that will come with it.
“So we’re very excited about this location.”
Patrick Gorman, seen here at a smoking ceremony during the announcement, believes the site could become an iconic attraction. (ABC News: James Carmody)
Federal minister and WA MP Patrick Gorman thought it could be WA’s answer to the Opera House in Sydney.
“This is about giving Western Australia something that expresses the full breadth of Aboriginal culture,” Mr Gorman said.
City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas said he was excited the cultural center would be located in the city.
“It’s hard to believe that in 2022 our nation does not have an Aboriginal cultural center and museum of this size and shape and standing, that we are anticipating will now be built,” Mr Zempilas said.
“So I’m absolutely thrilled that the City of Perth is likely to be home to this facility. It’s very important for our country, for our state and in particular for our city.”
A former law student at the University of Western Australia has been told he is facing a possible jail term after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a woman during post exam celebrations at Rottnest Island.
Key points:
Rayapen pleaded guilty to indecent assault causing bodily harm
He also admitted to digital sexual penetration without consent
The 26-year-old is due back in court next month
Luigi Ignace Rayapen, 26, admitted abusing the woman, who was in her 20s, as she tried to sleep in a bed in a bungalow on the holiday island in the early hours of July 1, 2020.
The District Court was told the woman, who cannot be identified, did not know Rayapen, but said he could stay the night at the accommodation she was sharing with others after they had been out drinking.
Three other people were in the room when the abuse happened, including a friend of the woman who was in the same bed.
The court heard Rayapen assaulted the woman as she tried to sleep.(Facebook)
State Prosecutor Rebekah Sleeth said the woman woke up to Rayapen rolling her over and groping her but she pretended to remain asleep in the hope he would stop what he was doing.
However, Rayapen did not and so she repeatedly told him to stop and kept pushing his hand away from her body.
She also tried to kick her friend who was sleeping nearby.
The court heard Rayapen also squeezed her breast so hard it left a bruise and he also bit her on the face while trying to kiss her.
Raya pen only backed off when the woman grabbed him around the throat, the court heard.(Facebook)
It was not until the woman grabbed Rayapen around the throat that he eventually backed away.
Ms Sleeth said the woman then woke up her friend and told them what happened.
Rayapen was told to leave but he would not and ended up staying the night at the bungalow.
Guilty pleas entered for two charges
The court heard Rayapen later said to the woman he was “sorry” and that he hoped she could forgive him.
However, when she saw a police car driving past the bungalow, she flagged it down and reported what happened.
Rottnest Island lies 18km off the coast of Perth. (Supplied: Rottnest Island Authority)
Rayapen was originally facing four charges, but he pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault causing bodily harm and one count of [digital] sexual penetration without consent.
The remaining two charges were discontinued on what Ms Sleeth said were “public interest” grounds.
Luigi Rayapen was a law student at the University of Western Australia. (Facebook)
Rayapen’s barrister, Julie Condon QC, requested the matter be adjourned, telling the court the defense needed more time to prepare its submissions.
Rayapen had ‘mental health issues’
She said they may include a psychiatric report on Rayapen whom she said had “some mental health issues.”
Ms Condon also said her client had recently completed his degree.
Rayapen was on the committee of the Blackstone Society at UWA.(Facebook)
Judge Laurie Levy agreed to release Rayapen on bail until the sentencing hearing, but he told him not to take that as an indication of the penalty he may receive.
“I don’t want you to think because you’ve been granted bail you are not going to jail,” Judge Levy said.
Judge Levy said people “commonly” go to jail for these types of offenses.
Rayapen is due back in court next month.
While studying law at UWA, Rayapen was on the committee of the Blackstone Society which describes itself as the peak representative body for students in the law faculty.
The internet didn’t exist and the 747 aircraft was still a year off taking its first flight when Beth Franz started volunteering in 1968.
The 87-year-old from Denmark, on WA’s south coast, has notched up 54 years of community service, helping ensure the survival of the local Scouts.
But she knows without more volunteers, the group’s days are numbered.
A life of volunteering
The value of volunteering was ingrained into Ms Franz from birth, with her mother playing an active role in the local Parents and Citizens (P&C) and progress association.
“I’ve grown up with it,” she said.
Ms Franz has been attending the Denmark Scout Hall for decades.(Supplied: Beth Franz)
“It helped others and it gave to other people.”
She remembers introducing her son to Scouts when he was 8.
“I said to the leaders there if you need any help just ask,” she said.
“Two weeks later, I was in uniform.”
Volunteer decline
Widowed at just 46, and with adult kids, Ms Franz has dedicated most of her life to the Denmark Scouts — but the group’s inability to attract new leaders means its future hangs in the balance.
Ms Franz is one of only two leaders in Denmark with a group of about 15 kids.
“I can’t put my finger on why but there is a reason why we’re not getting the volunteers like we used to,” she said.
Ms Franz at a Great Southern Scout Fellowship gathering in 2020.(Supplied: Beth Franz)
It’s a challenge many volunteer groups are facing.
Volunteering WA figures show about 25 per cent of people in the state currently volunteer — a rate which has dropped by 10 per cent since 2020.
Volunteering WA chief executive Tina Williams said extra life pressures were a contributing factor.
“A lot of it comes down to more single-parent households … people not having as much time,” she said.
“I think [there are] more financial pressures … people are actually retiring later or even supporting families.”
She said there were about 150,000 fewer volunteers in WA compared to 2019.
Group’s future uncertain
Ms Franz knows what the trend could mean for Denmark Scouts if the group closes.
“Headquarters come down and they take all the assets,” she said.
Ms Franz has gathered many accolades during her time with Scouts.(ABC Great Southern: Tim Wong-See)
“Scouting is very hard to get going again in those small places.”
She said the lack of leaders meant the group had scaled back recruiting new Scouts.
“You need the leaders to have the children,” she said.
fond memories
Through her service Ms Franz has made life-long friends.
“I’ve just written a letter and sent a crochet blanket to a young lass called Phoebe in Derby who would now be in her 30s,” she said.
“She never comes to Denmark without seeing us.”
Ms Franz says she was raised to appreciate the value of volunteering.(Supplied: Beth Franz)
Ms Franz tears up recalling a recent moment at the local pool when she didn’t have money to pay an entry fee.
“I got a tap on the shoulder, a six-foot-tall young man said to me ‘I’ll pay for her. She was my scout leader for years’,” she said.
“That paid back for everything.”
While Ms Franz acknowledges some people are too busy to volunteer, she remembers encountering similar challenges.
“Unfortunately, we were all very busy as well when we were young,” she said.
And while she doesn’t think younger people need to “toughen up”, Ms Franz did urge them to look at life from a broader perspective and made a compassionate plea for new volunteers to get involved.
A driver whose pregnant partner was killed when he fell asleep at the wheel, a year before he caused another crash in Darwin that seriously injured his new partner, has been jailed in Western Australia.
Key points:
Michael Dixon has been jailed over a 2019 crash that killed Mel Duffey
Dixon had not slept for more than 72 hours before the incident
A year later, he was involved in another crash that seriously injured his new partner
Michael Dixon, 37, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of 31-year-old Mel Duffey in Coolup, about 100 kilometers south of Perth, on December 13, 2019.
The District Court was told Dixon had not slept for more than 72 hours.
Traces of methamphetamine were also found in his blood and he admitted injecting the drug two days before the crash.
Ms Duffey, who had wanted to return home from their camping trip because she was worried about her three children, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.
She was six months pregnant.
Mel Duffey was killed when his partner Michael Dixon fell asleep at the wheel while driving.(Facebook: Mel Duffey)
After the crash, Dixon moved to Darwin, where a year later, in December 2020, he crashed an all terrain vehicle into a street sign, seriously injuring his new partner, former police officer Kristi Wenck.
Dixon had been drinking with friends at a party beforehand and he pleaded guilty in the Northern Territory to driving under the influence as well as dangerous driving causing harm.
The aftermath of the crash in Darwin, in which Michael Dixon’s new partner received serious injuries. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)
He was given a suspended jail term, but he was later extradited to Perth to face the charge over the crash that claimed the life of Ms Duffey.
‘disastrous decision’
Judge Mara Barone accepted Dixon had made the decision to drive because Ms Duffey was concerned and anxious about her children and not because of a selfish desire to return home.
“You drove because you believed it was the right thing … it proved to be a disastrous decision,” Judge Barone told a tearful Dixon.
The wreckage after Michael Dixon fell asleep at the wheel while driving in Coolup in December 2019, killing his partner Mel Duffey.(ABCNews)
She said Dixon must have been aware of the extent of his fatigue and of the risk he would fall asleep.
Judge Barone highlighted Dixon’s subsequent offenses in the Northern Territory and told him he needed to understand that he could not drive in a manner that put the safety and lives of others in danger.
She sentenced him to three years’ jail — he will have to serve 18 months before he can be released on parole.
Dixon was also disqualified from driving for five years.
Mel Duffey’s mother Cindy Rogers (right), pictured with her family outside court, criticized the sentence. (ABC News: Greg Pollock)
Outside the court Ms Duffey’s mother, Cindy Rogers, fought back tears as she described the sentence as “wrong”.
“I’ve still got her children, they’re with me and they want their mum and I can’t give them their mum and it’s his fault,” she said.
If you’ve been driving around with bags of clothes in your boot ready to off-load at the nearest charity bin but can’t find one, you’re not alone.
Key points:
Charity bins are becoming more scarce across WA because of dumping
Winter donations are needed as the rising cost of living hits the vulnerable
If you want to donate, visit a charity shop during business hours
For years now, local governments, private landowners — and sometimes charity shops themselves — have been removing the bins which are all too often left in an unsightly state due to illegal dumping and vandalism.
Despite the mess often scattered around them, the bins generate much-needed funding for not-for-profit organizations and provide equal opportunity employment to West Australians.
Good Sammy employs 300 people in WA with disabilities.
CEO Kane Blackman said the organization had gone from having 500 charity bins in the WA community, to just 200.
Good Sammy CEO Kane Blackman wants to see more accessible community collection points. (ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)
“We have 40 per cent of our workforce with a disability, and we need donations through these charity collection points so people can have a job and sell to our customers,” he said.
“Each community collection point collects about 10,000 kilograms of textiles each year, so having [charity bins] is critical for Good Sammy’s supply of recycled goods to sell in stores.
“[About] 30,000 West Australians enter one of our 27 shops every week and our core mission is disability employment.”
Drop-in donations
Mr Blackman said the quantity of donations had been significantly affected by some local governments banning charity bins.
And while people could still drop off donations in store, this option was not as popular, leaving charities with a big shortfall.
“We certainly notice in tougher times that there are a lot of people that do come into our stores because of the low price point,” Mr Blackman said.
Monica sorts through recent donations at a Sammy’s shop.(ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)
“And we like to be able to keep servicing them as best we can.”
Mr Blackman said dropping off pre-loved items was one of the most effective ways to reduce waste and contribute to the circular economy.
“The best way to do that is to promote recycling, to work with charities, and to have accessible community collection points,” he said.
Australians are some of the biggest consumers of textiles in the world — buying an average of 14.8kg or 48 new items of clothing every year.
Jo working at a Good Sammy’s store. (ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)
The Australian Fashion Council estimates charities sort through 720 million items of clothing per year, some 190,000 tonnes of pre-loved fashion.
The shortfall felt at Good Sammy has also been noticed at Alinea, formerly known as the Spine and Limb Foundation, which has lost around 100 charity bins over the past nine years.
Joseph Tuscon, the manager of Alinea’s commercial services ParaQuad Industries, said it was disappointing some local governments banned the bins regardless of where they were placed or how well they were kept.
“I think they take the easy way out sometimes,” he said.
“I’d like local governments and the community in general to just see the vendors for what they are — a convenient means for people to redistribute and help society by donating used and unwanted goods.”
Alinea and Good Sammy have implemented measures to reduce dumping, including putting up CCTV cameras, placing the bins in well-lit, well-trafficked areas, and having people regularly tend to the bins and remove donations and rubbish.
Councils seek alternatives to bins
In 2015, the City of Joondalup became the first local government in WA to ban the bins on council-owned land.
They now hold days where residents can drop off goods to the council, which then works with charities to distribute the donations.
But due to the pandemic, the last clothing donation day was held in January 2021.
City of Joondalup Deputy Mayor Christine Hamilton-Prime called the last donation day an overwhelming success.
“Many people were using charity bins as convenient places to dump unwanted goods and bulk rubbish, which is a littering offence,” she said.
“The ban only applied to city-owned land and not privately-owned land, such as shopping centres, where charity bins were still permitted.”
Charity clothing bins like these have been disappearing off Perth streets over the past few years. (ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)
Mr Tuscon said when it came to local governments, it was a mixed bag.
“The Town of Cambridge and City of Subiaco are just as severe as the City of Joondalup who have blanket banned charity bins on any city land,” he said.
“City of Melville, City of Stirling are good and they support us. The City of Canning aren’t too bad, but a lot of the others just won’t have bins at all.”
St Vincent de Paul manager of social enterprise Carl Prowse said with the rising cost of living, more people than ever were accessing the charity’s crisis services.
Carl Prowse says about five to 10 per cent of donated items end up in landfill. (ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)
“From mental health to homeless and youth services, a lot more people are requesting support from us in what is a true sad state of affairs,” he said.
Mr Prowse said Vinnies kept its charity bins on private property like churches and school grounds, so donation numbers remained high and local governments could not have them removed.
“We have less dumping than what some of the other charities have, because we’re not in shopping center car parks and so on. We have less people rifling through the donations and breaking into the bins,” he said.
“But it’s still a regular thing. Too often, to be honest, it happens.”
“And sadly, when people start splitting bags open, if it then does rain, if everything’s wet, there’s not much we can do with it, it really has to go to the tip.”
But Vinnies has another problem.
Mr Prowse said his organization was struggling to deal with the quantity of donations, as volunteer numbers were so low they often had to intermittently refuse donations at some stores.
Vinnies’ Canning Vale center sorts through about 12 million items a year.(ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)
“We were 2,500-3,000 volunteers. We’re sitting at about half that at the moment at a time where there’s more people needing our support and stock being donated at our shops but not enough volunteers to sort through it,” he said.
Good Sammy’s Kane Blackman is calling for thoughtful, warm donations this winter, and local governments to come to the table.
“We’re calling for quality donations, around the winter period, thick winter coats. You know, in terms of thick pants in terms of beanies, we’re always after those quality donations,” he said.
“We would like to see more local governments say yes to charity collection points. We believe that’s important to help divert items from landfill and achieve the recycling and sustainability goals that are set for our state.”
The chief executive of WA’s Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS), which oversees Perth Children’s Hospital, has resigned from the position.
Key points:
Dr Aresh Anwar was appointed to the role in 2018
He offered to resign last year following the death of Aishwarya Aswath at PCH
The Health Director General praised his “work ethic, dedication and integrity”
The WA Department of Health confirmed the news that Aresh Anwar had resigned from his role effective from Friday.
Health Director General David Russell-Weisz said he had accepted Dr Anwar’s resignation, 15 months after he rejected it when it was offered in the weeks following the tragic death of Aishwarya Aswath at Perth Children’s Hospital last April.
Aishwarya was seven when she died from organ failure resulting from sepsis after waiting for two hours in the hospital’s emergency department.
A report, released in November last year, revealed extensive problems with the hospital’s handling of her case.
A coronial inquest into the little girl’s death will begin on August 24.
In a media release issued on Thursday, Dr Russell-Weisz acknowledged Dr Anwar’s efforts in charge of CAHS.
Dr Anwar initially offered to resign in the weeks after the death of Aishwarya Aswath at Perth Children’s Hospital in April 2021. (ABC News: Darren Dunstan)
“Dr Anwar brought considerable expertise, a strong work ethic, dedication and integrity, and he has also been a trusted member of the broader WA Health executive team,” Dr Russell-Weisz said.
“Among many achievements, he oversaw the foundational phase of our flagship Perth Children’s Hospital and steered CAHS through a complex and challenging period while also leading CAHS’s outstanding response to COVID-19.
“Dr Anwar played a critical role in setting up the initial roll-out of the state’s highly successful COVID-19 vaccination program and has made a considerable contribution to the WA health system, including stewardship of key recommendations within the Sustainable Health Review.”
Family worried about timing of resignation
In a statement, Aishwarya’s family said they hoped Dr Anwar was “not being made a scapegoat”.
“We are worried about the timing of the resignation, which is two weeks away from the start of the inquest,” they said.
Aswath Chavittupara and Prasitha Sasidharan, are the parents of Aishwarya Aswath who died at Perth Children’s Hospital.(ABC News: West Matteussen)
“All we are looking for is a change and a better health system.”
Ms Valerie Jovanovic has been appointed as acting chief executive for four months until a full recruitment process has been carried out.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson thanked Dr Anwar for his service, in particular for his work throughout the two-and-a-half years of the COVID pandemic.
“I would like to thank Dr Aresh Anwar for his valuable contribution to our public health system as the chief executive of the Child and Adolescent Health Service,” she said.
“Dr Anwar is a hardworking and dedicated individual, his management, in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped protect vulnerable children and ensure they continued to access essential treatment.
“I will continue to work with the CAHS Board and the WA Health Director-General to progress important changes at CAHS for the benefit of children in our state and our hardworking healthcare workforce.”
A 65-year-old Perth woman who over seven years “ruthlessly” stole $2 million from trusting family friends she worked for, has been sentenced to more than four-and-a-half years in jail.
Key points:
Moe Moe Myint Kelly committed more than 400 acts of theft
The judge said she stole “without guilt, remorse or shame”
At the time, Kelly lost large sums at Perth’s nearly
Moe Moe Myint Kelly was employed as a bookkeeper and accountant for a Northbridge business, which operated both a pharmacy and a newsagent.
She was a family friend of the owners, and the District Court was told when the business started struggling, Kelly agreed to work for free until things improved.
However, unknown to the owners, she began funneling sums of cash from the daily takings into her own accounts.
The thieving began in 2011 and only stopped when Kelly made what was described as “a minor error” in 2018 which led to an audit that uncovered her crime.
The court heard when the owners confronted her, she claimed she had sent most of the money to charities in Burma.
State Prosecutor Justin Whalley SC said bank statements showed the sums Kelly deposited into her accounts ranged from just under $1,000 to $15,000, with most of them being around the $5,000 mark.
Moe Moe Myint Kelly’s earliest possible release date is April 2025. (ABC News: Glyn Jones)
In total there were more than four hundred separate instances of stealing, with records showing that between 2011 and 2015 she lost large amounts of money at the casino.
The owners provided victim impact statements to the court which detailed the struggles they went through including working around 100 hours a week and using their savings to pay their staff.
Woman was ‘riding a gravy train’
Mr Whalley said Kelly was a trusted family friend of the owners and he described her offenses as “a massive breach of trust”.
“We say she continued to work for nothing because she was riding a gravy train, that was providing her with hundreds of thousands of dollars a year,” he said.
Kelly was initially charged with stealing $3.5 million and had been due to stand trial earlier this year.
However, after negotiations, she pleaded guilty to stealing the lesser sum of $2 million, although Mr Whalley said it was not accepted the figure was that low.
“But it was not in the public interest to litigate the difference,” he told the court.
Kelly’s lawyer said her client, who was born in Burma, had an extremely deprived childhood that effectively included being “abandoned” by her parents when she was seven.
She said Kelly was now married to a man who had been diagnosed with cancer.
Aggravated, ‘ruthless’ offending
Judge David MacLean told Kelly her crimes were aggravated because she was a trusted family friend of the business owners.
“You had a ringside seat to their suffering… you cynically abused that position of trust,” he said.
He also described her actions as “ruthless”.
“You stole directly, repeatedly without guilt, remorse or shame from someone who you appeared to consider as a family,” he said.
Judge MacLean said greed appeared to be the motivation for the offenses.
“It was undertaken by reason for a desire to either enrich yourself or to spend more time at the casino.”
He also described the sum stolen as “enormous”.
“It was an amount of money which was squandered on a parasitic enterprise, something in the order of $1.2 million at the Crown Casino,” he said.
Judge MacLean said Kelly continued to try to justify her actions by claiming she had not been properly paid, and because of that he did not accept she was entirely remorseful.
After taking into account her deprived upbringing and her pleas of guilty, Judge MacLean sentenced Kelly to four years and eight months in jail.
She will have to serve two years and eight months before she is eligible for parole — her earliest possible release date will be in April 2025.
The court heard none of the money had been paid back.
Victim says Kelly ‘cost year years of her life’
Judge MacLean did make a compensation order and the court heard any of Kelly’s assets will be forfeited.
The business owner, Diana Quan, was in court for the sentencing.
She said the jail term was not enough.
“She took 10 years of my life,” she said.
“It’s been an emotional toll. It’s brought up a lot of emotions.
“It was a hard time for us and it continues to be a hard time, we’ll never recover from this, we’re just a small family business and we work really, really hard.”
Ms Quan also said she did not believe the business would get any of the money back but she was grateful the Judge did not accept Kelly was truly remorseful.
“The picture that she presents to the world is very different from who she actually is.”
So-called medi-hotels formed a key part of Mark McGowan’s pitch to voters at the 2017 election, but five years on there is little sign of them.
Key points:
Three medi-hotels were promised, but only Royal Perth Hospital’s has opened
The opposition is criticizing a shift to mental health beds in Joondalup
The government expects a Murdoch medi-hotel to be opened within a year
Sold as a way to solve what was then labeled a “crisis” in the health system, three facilities were promised to free up hospital beds and ease strain on the system.
It was imagined they would mostly be used by regional patients who no longer needed the care of a full hospital bed but were not yet ready to go home.
Three were promised, but so far, the only one to open is a four-bed facility at Royal Perth Hospital.
Work on another, being built by a private provider in Murdoch, is under way with hopes it will be open in the next year.
The site of the planned Murdoch medi-hotel near Fiona Stanley Hospital in 2017.(ABC News: Jacob Kagi)
But the third, promised by Joondalup, appears to be no more, with the Health Minister yesterday telling parliament for the second time that plans had changed.
“We’ve actually made a bigger investment in Joondalup Health Campus, an even bigger investment than a medi-hotel, by expanding the bed base and [adding] 102 mental health beds,” Amber-Jade Sanderson said.
“In discussion with the local community, and with the local provider, that’s what they wanted.”
Joondalup plan disintegrates
Cracks started to show when what was planned to be the first facility, near Fiona Stanley Hospital, was already a year behind schedule before the pandemic.
But plans for others remained alive, including when then-health minister Roger Cook told parliament in September 2021 that development approval had been received for a 110-bed mental health unit at Joondalup, with 90 inpatient beds also on the agenda.
The government says it has come up with bigger and better plans for Joondalup Health Campus.(Supplied: John Holland)
Mr Cook said while the focus was on completing the first phase of the expansion, “ambitions” remained for a medi-hotel in the future.
But just eight months later his replacement, Ms Sanderson, told budget estimates the now 102-bed mental health facility would be a “far greater contribution” than a medi-hotel – a sentiment she echoed yesterday.
Not all of those 102 beds are new or will open at the same time though.
The Joondalup Health Campus website notes the project contains only 30 additional beds, the same as was initially promised in 2019.
Of the remainder, 47 are described as “replacement” beds, while 25 will be “shelled to meet future demand”.
Ms Sanderson said at the time that all would be operational by February 2026.
The 90-inpatient-bed promise remains unchanged from three years ago, with the website revealing that it will comprise 30 in an inpatient ward and 66 “shelled” for future demand.
Row over what beds are best
The original aim of medi-hotels was to free up hospital capacity by giving people somewhere else to stay when they did not need a full-blown bed.
Ms Sanderson said the new mental health beds at Joondalup would be even more effective at achieving that outcome.
“Those mental health beds will take pressure off the beds within the main hospital, and will provide a much more appropriate place for those patients to be treated and recover from their episodes,” she said.
But opposition health spokeswoman Libby Mettam questioned that claim, saying it was “simply not true” to say the mental health beds would replace the medi-hotel promise.
“Medi-hotel beds play a very different role to mental health beds, and quite clearly the McGowan government have stepped away from this election commitment,” she said.
“The purpose of medi-hotels is to be an alternative to the more expensive hospital beds and address the very real issue of bed block across our hospital system.
“[It’s] disappointing to hear confirmation in parliament that it is no longer part of the McGowan government’s strategy for delivery, probably because they are struggling to deliver the current sets of projects under their books.”
Talks on Fiona Stanley medi-hotel
The Fiona Stanley medi-hotel remains under construction, with the private developer’s plans including an urgent care clinic and consulting rooms.
Ms Sanderson told parliament she expected it would be operational within the next year.
“That will provide really important relief, particularly for Fiona Stanley Hospital, and we’re in contract negotiations with that contract provider now,” she said.
But Ms Mettam said that it was time an already strained system could hardly afford to wait.
Libby Mettam says the government has “quite clearly” stepped away from an election commitment.(ABC News: James Carmody)
“This points to why our emergency departments and hospitals still struggle with bed block and the highest level of ambulance ramping on record,” she said.
Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith said while medi-hotel beds did have a role to play, they were no replacement for proper hospital beds.
“Medi-hotels are really a second-tier lever to pull on trying to increase capacity of the health system,” he said.
“I would rather see that money be redirected to actually create extra tertiary hospital beds, which is a more direct lever to increase capacity of the system.”
A magistrate in Fremantle has lifted a suppression order, allowing the reporting of a domestic violence charge against a prominent WA doctor accused of assaulting his wife, human rights lawyer Rabia Siddique.
Key points:
Anthony Jenner Bell denies assaulting Rabia Saddique in Mount Pleasant
The court heard he feared publicity could result in him being stood down
The magistrate ruled suppressing the case was not in the interests of justice
St John of God doctor Anthony Jenner Bell has pleaded not guilty to the aggravated assault of Ms Siddique in Mount Pleasant.
An interim suppression order was in place until this morning, when Magistrate Adam Hills-Wright lifted it.
The court heard Dr Bell had sought the suppression order to prevent his identity from being reported.
Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell had stated in an affidavit that the complaint against him was made in the context of a separation.
Dr Bell also stated that reporters had contacted St John of God asking whether his position was under question.
He said his employer was supporting him, but if the matter got into the media, it could lead to him being stood down and he may not be able to see some patients.
Not in interests of justice: magistrate
Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell was presumed to be innocent.
He said publicity increased the community’s understanding of how the justice system worked, and for a suppression order to be made, the court had to be satisfied there were exceptional circumstances.
While widespread publicity could cause “significant embarrassment”, the court process applied “equally for all”, he said.
Magistrate Hills-Wright said the court was being asked to weigh the potential wider ramifications for patients and institutions.
He told the court suppression was not in the interests of justice.
Dr Bell is scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court next month for a trial allocation date.
A magistrate in Fremantle has lifted a suppression order, allowing the reporting of a domestic violence charge against a prominent WA doctor accused of assaulting his wife, human rights lawyer Rabia Saddique.
Key points:
Anthony Jenner Bell denies assaulting Rabia Saddique in Mount Pleasant
The court heard he feared publicity could result in him being stood down
The magistrate ruled suppressing the case was not in the interests of justice
St John of God doctor Anthony Jenner Bell has pleaded not guilty to the aggravated assault of Ms Saddique in Mount Pleasant.
An interim suppression order was in place until this morning, when Magistrate Adam Hills-Wright lifted it.
The court heard Dr Bell had sought the suppression order to prevent his identity from being reported.
Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell had stated in an affidavit that the complaint against him was made in the context of a separation.
Dr Bell also suggested the allegations were “baseless” and said the complainant had expressed a desire to “ruin his life”.
He said his wife had suggested she would do this by using connections with people in the media.
Dr Bell also stated that reporters had contacted St John of God asking whether his position was under question.
He said his employer was supporting him, but if the matter got into the media, it could lead to him being stood down and he may not be able to see some patients.
Not in interests of justice: magistrate
Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell was presumed to be innocent.
He said publicity increased the community’s understanding of how the justice system worked, and for a suppression order to be made, the court had to be satisfied there were exceptional circumstances.
While widespread publicity could cause “significant embarrassment”, the court process applied “equally for all”, he said.
Magistrate Hills-Wright said the court was being asked to weigh the potential wider ramifications for patients and institutions.
He told the court suppression was not in the interests of justice.
Dr Bell is scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court next month for a trial allocation date.
