WA news LIVE: ‘Unacceptable’ that Dockers were forced to urinate in basins on chartered flight

Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has spoken about his company Fortescue’s decision yesterday to axe 700 jobs and merge its energy and mining divisions, telling Radio 6PR he’s “not walking back from hydrogen”.

“We’re not pulling back, this is something which I genuinely believe in, I’m a hardcore bloke from the bush, I’m a miner, I’m a practical person, I’ve also had the good fortune to have an education in Australia, so I’ve really looked hard at the science,” he said this morning.

“I just know that going the way we’re going with fossil fuels isn’t an option, the climate is changing dramatically around us.

“We need lower power prices, hydrogen is directly a function of the electricity cost - if the electricity cost is high, then we can’t make hydrogen cheaply enough to compete with fossil fuels.”

Since 2020, Forrest has toured the world promoting the virtues of green hydrogen as an emissions-free fuel and seeking to partner with governments that have areas suitable for producing the vast amounts of wind, solar or hydropower required.

However, Fortescue’s reassessment yesterday highlights a realisation that producing the huge amount of energy required to separate hydrogen from water is extraordinarily costly.

Forrest says he’s “not giving up” on hydrogen, and was gutted to axe 700 jobs.

“I hate doing it,” he said.

“We need to bring energy prices down”.

Read more here. 

Authorities are this morning urging swimmers to be cautious after a surfer was bitten by a shark at one of Perth’s most popular beaches.

The incident occurred at Trigg Beach around 5.30pm yesterday, with the man taking himself to get medical treatment for what a relative said was puncture wounds to his leg, and the removal of a shark tooth.

Fisheries believes the shark was only small and around 10 metres from shore when the incident occurred.

It comes a day after a father and son were injured off the Kalbarri coast in a freak accident when a whale struck their boat. John Craike, 69, remains in a critical condition in hospital this morning suffering from serious head injuries.

A man, 35, is fighting for his life in hospital this morning after being found stabbed on Canning Highway in South Perth yesterday afternoon.

WA Police allege the altercation unfolded on the street during an arranged meet up between three men at around 2.30pm.

Two men, aged 18 and 20, were arrested following a police manhunt, with officers allegedly finding the teenager hiding in a toilet of the nearby Como Bowls club, where a wake event was taking place.

The teen has since been released without charge, however the 20-year-old man, from High Wycombe, has been charged with grievous bodily harm and possessing an article with intent to injure.

He is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court this morning.

The victim remains in a critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery last night.

Here’s what’s making headlines this morning.

• Union officials have vowed to fight “to the ends of the earth” against federal government moves to appoint an administrator to oversee the scandal-plagued CFMEU, as the reports of alleged wrongdoing continue.
• Nervous investors are seeking reassurances from the Albanese government over the fate of the renewables rollout, Energy Minister Chris Bowen has revealed.
• New South Wales has won the State of Origin overnight, in what has been labelled one of their greatest performances.

• Overseas, Israeli airstrikes killed more than 60 Palestinians in southern and central Gaza, including one that struck an Israeli-declared “safe zone” crowded with thousands of displaced people.
• And the stunned aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, and the former president’s appearance at the Republican National Convention, has captured the world’s attention.

Heavy showers today, so bring the brolly.

Good morning readers, you’re over the hump now and the weekend is nigh. But first, some news!

In another worrying sign for the housing crisis gripping Western Australia, the number of homes completed has dropped for a second consecutive quarter, writes Sarah Brookes, with the Property Council WA saying “we must adopt a ‘yes’ attitude towards apartment living” (from both an industry and individual perspective) if WA is to hold up its end of the National Housing Accord.

Sarah also has a report on the best-performing Perth suburbs for the past year in terms of property sales.

To resources sector news now and mining giants including Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto lobbied the Albanese government to weaken national environmental reforms, warning the government’s “nature positive plan” could cost billions of dollars in lost investment and tens of thousands of jobs in Western Australia alone.

And in an exclusive, Rebecca Peppiatt reveals alleged drug dealers have been forced to forfeit $640,000 – and $90,000 in luxury watches – after Federal Police raids.

Stay with us for more news as the day unfolds.