As it happened: WA news on Wednesday, August 20

WA mining magnate and billionaire Gina Rinehart has given a video address at the Australian Bush Summit held in Broome today.

Her appearance was met with protest from local community members, calling on Rinehart to not “trash the Kimberley”.

Environs Kimberley executive director Martin Pritchard said that the summit was “clearly being used by Gina Rinehart to platform her anti ‘Net-zero’ campaign”.

He said a presentation by Gerhard Veldsman, chief-executive of Hancock Iron Ore, castigated Net-Zero and “noisy, minority activists”.

Pritchard said Rinehart had previously called to take 325 billion litres per year of water out of the Fitzroy River – met with stiff resistance from the community and Traditional Owners.

Concerns were heightened after Rinehart applied for five mining leases on her pastoral interests in the Kimberley.

“The Kimberley is known the world over for its breathtaking landscapes, free-flowing rivers and intact tropical savannahs,” he said.

“The type of development that has been proposed by Ms Rinehart in the past is totally inappropriate and would see the bulldozing of tens of thousands of hectares.

“We’re calling on Ms Rinehart to withdraw these mining leases; we don’t want to see the Kimberley turned into the next Pilbara.

“If Ms Rinehart doesn’t withdraw these leases then we call on the Cook government to reject them.”

An application from Aquinas College to install a $2.37 million digital billboard on Kwinana Freeway to raise money for its bursary for disadvantaged students through third-party advertisements has been rejected.

The City of South Perth recommended the application be rejected, and this was supported unanimously by the Metro Inner Development Assessment Panel on Wednesday, despite strong opposition from the school and town planners Urbis.

The proposed sign would have been 40 square metres, almost exactly the size of a standard Transperth bus, just north of Mount Henry Bridge, visible to north and southbound traffic.

Officers wrote the bulk, scale and illuminated third-party ads would harm the amenity of the surrounding bushland and homes, “introducing a visually dominant illuminated structure into an otherwise natural and low-impact landscape.”

Former City of South Perth councillor Stephen Russell had previously said he was “having difficulties reconciling Aquinas funding college infrastructure to the tune of $25 million yet needing to rely upon third-party advertisements to fund a bursary for disadvantaged students.

But Urbis town planner Ben Stonebridge said he was “disappointed” by the decision.

Perth obstetrician Rhys Bellinge has pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of a young woman and driving drunk and dangerously in his Jaguar after a crash in February this year that also seriously injured an Uber driver.

The 45-year-old appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he pleaded to two charges. A third charge of driving under the influence was discontinued.

Bellinge was driving at 130km/h in a 50km/h zone while drunk with tears blurring his vision, the court previously heard, when he crashed into the stationary ride-share car on Birdwood Parade in Dalkeith.

The passenger using the ride-share service, Elizabeth Pearce, 24, died just metres from her destination.

Police prosecutors had previously claimed Bellinge was driving in an arrogant and aggressive manner and ran a red light before accelerating heavily, which caused him to clip the curb and lose control of the vehicle, slamming into the ride-share car which was on the other side of the road.

He blew 0.183 blood alcohol reading at the scene, and admitted to police he had been drinking at his parents’ house while watching a game of football on the TV.

He allegedly told police in an interview that he couldn’t see while driving due to tears in his eyes.

Bellinge and his wife had recently separated, with the court previously hearing dashcam footage from his car at the time of the incident revealed some “unflattering remarks” about her.

He will be sentenced next February.

Police have charged two teenagers over threats via social media that had Mount Lawley Senior High School on high alert last week.

News broke on Friday that police had responded to reports of threats to “shoot up the school” aired on TikTok.

Now, police have revealed a 16-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy have been charged with statements or acts creating false apprehension as to the existence of threats or danger.

A WA Police spokeswoman said the alleged “serious threats” were made via social media on Thursday, August 14.

“It was identified there were no safety concerns or imminent risk to students, teachers, or members of the community,” the spokeswoman said.

The charged teenagers will be referred to the juvenile justice team.

Elective surgeries at public hospitals in WA that had been scheduled for Wednesday will be moved after a surge of patients this week.

WA Health director general Dr Shirley Bowen said the “significant surge in demand” meant the department was “proactively rescheduling some non-urgent surgeries in the metropolitan area”.

“Reprioritising and rescheduling non-urgent surgeries is a mechanism used nationally, when required, to manage hospital system demand,” Bowen said.

“We continue to prioritise our most seriously ill and injured patients.

“Our hospitals continue to carefully manage surgery lists so that our sickest and most urgent cases are cared for promptly.

“We acknowledge that deferring surgery for a short time might be inconvenient and difficult for some patients.

“We are committed to ensuring patients’ surgery is re-scheduled as soon as possible.

“Affected patients will be notified by their treating hospital.”

Australian Medical Association WA president Dr Kyle Hoath said postponing category 2 and 3 surgeries was a “tough, temporary call”, however “with unprecedented pressure it’s the right call to keep emergency and urgent care safe”.

“Category 1 continues, and affected patients will be rebooked as soon as it’s safe,” he said.

“The growing pressure point is aged‑care capacity – too many people ready for nursing‑home placement are stuck in hospital beds.

“We back the minister and premier in calling on the Commonwealth to step up and deliver on aged‑care reforms and placements.

“We’ve warned the health system is stretched thin. We need to progress solutions now so we don’t keep repeating this cycle.

“We’re awaiting confirmation of the overnight figures, but pressure has been severe across multiple sites.”

The news comes days after the government announced it was committing $50 million towards hospital maintenance and review its procedures following a raft of headlines laying bare conditions at some of WA’s busiest hospitals.

Turning back to question time, Premier Roger Cook has defended the state government’s gun laws, refusing to agree with the WA Nationals that law-abiding, gun-owning citizens had suffered as a result.

“We make no apology, no apology for having the strictest gun laws in the country,” he said. “They (the new laws) are important reforms. They have taken literally tens of thousands of guns off the streets.”

He said the position taken by the opposition was “rank hypocrisy”.

“They will stop at nothing to twist the truth and to twist facts in a way which drives more hatred and division,” Cook said.

“The National Party lies.”

Member for Roe, Peter Rundle, said he did not appreciate “the premier calling us liars”.

Police are asking for witnesses to come forward after a four-year-old child was hit by a car in Swan View on the weekend.

Investigators allege the child was struck by a female driver of a blue Suzuki Swift travelling along Morrison Road, about 2pm on Sunday.

They say the driver stopped briefly before driving away. The child was taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

Police have asked for the female driver, witnesses to the crash or anyone with footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.

Two police officers have been injured after they were attacked while trying to arrest a man over a family violence incident.

Police attended the house in Mullewa, about 450 kilometres north of Perth in the Mid West region, about 4.25pm on Tuesday.

A 29-year-old man had allegedly assaulted a woman known to him. While police were trying to arrest him he allegedly assaulted them too before fleeing the scene.

“One officer sustained serious facial injuries, and after receiving treatment at the Mullewa Nursing Post, was conveyed to the Geraldton Regional Hospital for further medical treatment,” a WA Police spokeswoman said.

Police caught up with the man several hours later and took him into custody.

He has been charged with six offences, including assaulting a public officer, and is set to face Geraldton Magistrates Court on Wednesday.