As it happened: WA news on Wednesday, July 2

What happened to Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan 26 years ago remains a mystery after a coroner was unable to determine her cause of death.

The 28-year-old vanished in 1999 after she was last seen at a Club Deroes Motorcycle clubhouse with two men on October 8 that year.

A recent coronial inquest into her disappearance failed to make inroads, with many witnesses invoking a bikie code of silence.

In handing down his findings today, Coroner Michael Jenkin said he believed Govan died on the day she went missing, but was unable to determine what caused her death.

“There have been numerous rumours about what might have happened to Lisa after she was last seen standing out the front of the compound on the morning of 8 October 1999,” he said.

“These rumours include that Lisa may have died accidentally after overdosing on illicit drugs, that she may have been assaulted and died, and/or that she was murdered.

“It seems that the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and subsequent death are destined to remain a mystery.

“This is clearly a frustrating and wholly unsatisfactory state of affairs, and I cannot imagine the additional grief and sadness that Lisa’s family and loved ones have had to endure since her disappearance in the face of this information vacuum.”

We’re bringing our blog to a close for the day, thank you for joining us.

Here’s a recap of some of today’s headlines:

• A $10,000 cash incentive for homeowners to convert their Airbnb’s into long-term rentals has been extended for a second time.

• The victim of an alleged home invasion in Parmelia overnight has been arrested after police attended the property and claim to have discovered drugs and a weapon.

• A once-iconic, now dilapidated two-storey building on the corner of Barrack and Wellington streets in Perth’s CBD is officially up for sale.

• Three people who forced the evacuation of thousands of employees at Woodside’s Perth headquarters after letting off “stench gas” in protest of the company’s $50 billion Burrup Hub projects have narrowly avoided jail.

• WA Police are investigating after a 30-year-old man died in a collision with a truck and a third vehicle in the state’s Wheatbelt region on Tuesday afternoon.

• What happened to Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan 26 years ago remains a mystery after a coroner was unable to determine her cause of death.

Thank you again for tuning in today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for more news you need to know.

The West Australian newspaper has lost some of its most senior reporters in the past week after a fresh round of redundancies in its editorial department.

WAtoday understands the state’s daily newspaper called for voluntary redundancies late last month in its editorial team.

On Tuesday, the paper granted three of those while also tapping three other staff on the shoulder for forced redundancies including the paper’s personal finance editor Neale Prior and chief lifestyle and features writer Simon Collins.

The redundancies come after the resignation of the paper’s senior state political reporter Dylan Caporn who is leaving to take up a media advisor role in Premier Roger Cook’s office.

What happened to Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan 26 years ago remains a mystery after a coroner was unable to determine her cause of death.

The 28-year-old vanished in 1999 after she was last seen at a Club Deroes Motorcycle clubhouse with two men on October 8 that year.

A recent coronial inquest into her disappearance failed to make inroads, with many witnesses invoking a bikie code of silence.

In handing down his findings today, Coroner Michael Jenkin said he believed Govan died on the day she went missing, but was unable to determine what caused her death.

“There have been numerous rumours about what might have happened to Lisa after she was last seen standing out the front of the compound on the morning of 8 October 1999,” he said.

“These rumours include that Lisa may have died accidentally after overdosing on illicit drugs, that she may have been assaulted and died, and/or that she was murdered.

“It seems that the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and subsequent death are destined to remain a mystery.

“This is clearly a frustrating and wholly unsatisfactory state of affairs, and I cannot imagine the additional grief and sadness that Lisa’s family and loved ones have had to endure since her disappearance in the face of this information vacuum.”

Three people who forced the evacuation of thousands of employees at Woodside’s Perth headquarters after letting off “stench gas” in protest of the company’s $50 billion Burrup Hub projects have narrowly avoided jail.

Emil Davey, Kristen Morrissey and Joana Partyka pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the incident, where a dozen firefighters swarmed the building to investigate the smell just after 10am on June 1, 2023.

Morrissey had let off canisters of the gas in the company’s Mount Street building with the support of Partyka, while Davey stood outside capturing the evacuation on camera.

The substance, typically used by mining companies for an emergency, forced Woodside’s workers to flee across a nearby pedestrian bridge and to an adjacent park.

Read the full story here.

The victim of an alleged home invasion in Parmelia overnight has been arrested after police attended the property and claim to have discovered drugs and a weapon.

Rockingham detectives were called to The Ramble address around 10.30pm following reports of two unknown people entering the address and threatening the occupants with an edged weapon, before fleeing.

Upon attendance, police allege they found cash, drugs and a gel blaster at the house.

A 26-year-old male occupant has been charged with two counts of possessing prohibited drugs with intent to sell or supply, and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon.

He is due in court later this month.