As it happened: WA news on Wednesday, March 18

Updated March 18, 2026 — 7:12pm,first published March 18, 2026 — 10:30am

7.12pm on Mar 18, 2026

Today’s headlines

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

Here’s a recap of some of the day’s headlines:

A former Shire of Coorow deputy CEO has been arrested in a public car park after allegedly stealing money from the council for his own personal benefit.
Firefighters battled a house fire in Aubin Grove overnight.
Woodside has appointed acting chief executive Liz Westcott as the permanent successor to Meg O’Neill – a former ExxonMobil and EnergyAustralia senior executive.
A Perth occult and conspiracy theory podcaster has pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend at her Bassendean home last August.
The man accused of a one-punch attack on former WA Labor MP Barry Urban that allegedly led to his death has pleaded not guilty to the assault.
Matsa Resources has played down the impact fuel shortages are having on its Devon gold mine in Laverton after its own contractor went on radio yesterday and revealed it was telling fly-in, fly-out workers to stay home.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch says police are preparing for an increase in fuel theft and drive-offs in response to growing anxieties about supply shortages.
Tension between Greens MP Sophie McNeill and Minister Stephen Dawson was high over questions regarding Alcoa during a committee hearing with Water Corporation today.
Police Minister Reece Whitby has rejected an assertion there were problems with GPS tracking of serial domestic violence offender Guy Leslie Cramp who handed himself in to be arrested after breaching his bail last week.

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

6.23pm on Mar 18, 2026

Police minister defends police response to repeat DV offender missing court date

By Hamish Hastie

Police Minister Reece Whitby has rejected an assertion there were problems with GPS tracking of serial domestic violence offender Guy Leslie Cramp who handed himself in to be arrested after breaching his bail last week.

Cramp, 33, was released on bail by a Midland magistrate last month despite staunch opposition from police prosecutors who argued he was both a threat to his victim, Chloe Wright, and the wider community.

Cramp has pleaded guilty to assaulting Wright in November in an attack caught on CCTV.

He allegedly breached those bail conditions last Tuesday after failing to appear in Midland Magistrates Court for a scheduled trial over separate allegations he assaulted two police officers last January and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

At the time a police spokesperson said they were “conducting inquiries into his whereabouts” despite Cramp wearing a trackable ankle monitoring bracelet.

During question time Deputy Liberal leader Libby Mettam asked Whitby why Cramp couldn’t be tracked with his GPS after his bail conditions were breached.

Whitby accused Mettam of being uninformed and said Cramp had rung the court and said he was aware he missed his appearance and adult community corrections were handling his case.

“There was no electronic monitoring breach ... no need for intervention,” he said.

“What happened was this individual called the courthouse and said they were at work, and said can I come to the courthouse now on the day they were supposed to appear.

“The court told that individual that the hearings and listings had concluded, they were put in touch with adult community corrections in Midland that day.

“The police were informed on that day that adult community corrections were handling the case ... that individual presented at Midland Police Station where he was formally arrested.”

3.39pm on Mar 18, 2026

‘We’ve never had this level of mining in a water catchment’: Water Corp on Alcoa operations

By Holly Thompson

Sticking with the Water Corporation committee hearing, and chief executive Pat Donovan has confirmed that they now had “unfettered access” to Alcoa’s mining sites, but that the blockage of access had lasted for “some months”.

“We were being chaperoned on site, so to speak, so I think we did have access, but I need to check that,” he told the committee.

Alcoa mining jarrah forest in Western Australia. Getty/Nine News

Donovan was also asked about the concerns internal documents showed Alcoa had over Perth’s drinking water supply.

“We don’t have any prior experience of this level of mining in the catchment,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone in the world does, so it’s not your fault,” Greens MP Sophie McNeill replied.

“We need to work to understand what the cumulative risk impacts are of that mining, so obviously, as a prudent operator, we’re always looking at managing the risks, and we’re trying to project forward what that changing risk profile is,” Donovan said.

Minister Stephen Dawson then spoke up after McNeill voiced concerns that 100,000 customers would be impacted within six hours if any contamination occurred.

“That’s like saying, if the world ended tomorrow, we would all die. That’s true, if it did, but it’s a very big if,” he said.

3.34pm on Mar 18, 2026

Alcoa’s water monitoring sparks tense exchange during Water Corp hearing

By Holly Thompson

We’re tuning in to a committee hearing with Water Corporation today, and tension is growing between Greens MP Sophie McNeill and Minister Stephen Dawson over questions regarding Alcoa.

This masthead reported last week that WA’s water utility was shut out of Alcoa’s mining sites in state forest, and had growing concerns the lack of oversight could impact Perth’s drinking water supply.

It also expressed concerns that several state government departments had stopped providing them with information relevant to Alcoa’s mining plans that could have assisted them in mitigating risk.

Those concerns were raised by McNeill during the committee hearing.

“In terms of managing potential threats, is the corporation receiving all the information that it needs from the government about Alcoa’s mining plans?,” she asked Water Corporation chief executive Pat Donovan.

“Can I just stop you there,” Dawson then cut in.

“You’ve got this big conspiracy theory going – these are agencies of government, you’re suggesting ministers …”

“I’m quoting from a Guardian article minister,” McNeill interjects.

“Well, good on you. Good on you, I’m not here to talk about the Guardian today, we’re here to talk about the annual report,” Dawson replies.

McNeill then says he is “distracting from the question” which Dawson denies.

The question is once again directed to Donovan, who says the Water Corporation was “working collaboratively with the regulatory agencies here”.

2.18pm on Mar 18, 2026

WA’s top cop defends decision to take guns off bikie’s brother

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch has clarified the reasons the brother of a bikie member had his guns seized, saying it wasn’t simply that he was a relative, but that he shared a common property with the man.

The man’s gun licence was revoked because of the association, but he successfully challenged the decision in the State Administrative Tribunal.

Blanch clarified there were several reasons police took action in this case.

“Part of the new firearms act talks about associations and people that you are connected with … but it’s more than that, it’s about shared access of where the guns are stored,” he told ABC Perth.

“Hypothetically, if a bikie has access to a premise, it might be a parent’s house, where the guns are stored, and the gun owner has access to that same house, then we would have concerns about access to those guns by someone who is not a fit and proper person.

“That’s not what led to this circumstance … I believe there was a police call-out for a separate matter, and as part of proper process we took the guns for safety reasons, but when we looked more holistically at the circumstances, we found there was a shared address.

“People don’t get to choose their family, many people have family members they’d rather not associate with, it’s not about the pure family connection, it’s about access to the guns and frequency at the premises.”

The SAT found police had no proper basis to cancel the gun licence and reinstated the man’s licence.

2.06pm on Mar 18, 2026

WA Police preparing for increase in fuel thefts, drive-offs

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch says police are preparing for an increase in fuel theft and drive-offs in response to growing anxieties about supply shortages.

Speaking this morning on ABC Radio Perth, Blanch said the increase in prices, and fear of the unknown, were no excuse to break the law.

“What people would really be doing is just stealing it from someone else who is in the exact same circumstance as you - has the same fear, has the same anxiety, has the same cost pressures - so I’m not sure that contributes to a better outcome if you steal someone else’s fuel,” he said.

“It’s a criminal offence, you can get charged for it, it can ruin your life, you can go to prison, all of those things can happen, even though you might say, ‘But I needed the fuel because I thought I couldn’t buy any in the future’ that’s not a reason you can avoid court.”

Blanch said fuel supply was not the problem, with panic buying and people stockpiling being blamed for the fuel shortages.

“This is an emerging risk, it’s not a threat today,” he said.

1.31pm on Mar 18, 2026

WA gold miner plays down fuel shortages after contractor stands down staff

By Hamish Hastie

Matsa Resources has played down the impact fuel shortages are having on its Devon gold mine in Laverton after its own contractor went on radio yesterday and revealed it was telling fly-in, fly-out workers to stay home.

Blue Cap Mining managing director Ashley Fraser told ABC Radio Perth the company was standing down about two thirds of its 180-strong workforce in WA because of potential fuel interruptions.

The publicly listed Matsa Resources, which contracts Blue Cap at its Devon Gold Mine, went into a trading halt on Tuesday afternoon and released a statement to the ASX rejecting the assertion its operations were “set to grind to a halt”.

Matsa executive chairman Paul Poli said that statement was incorrect and that the two companies were working through fuel shortage issues.

“Whilst Matsa and BCM are working through the fuel shortage issue which is impacting the mining industry, as well as other industries, mining at Devon is continuing and processing of Campaign 3 ore remains on target to commence on 28 May 2026 as previously advised,” he said.

Fraser’s comments were backed by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Warren Pearce who said small mining operations and mining services companies, that rely on fuel provision from independent fuel companies, that are bearing the brunt of fuel shortages.

“There is a breakdown occurring within the commercial supply chain between major wholesalers and independent operators, who traditionally ensure fuel is delivered to remote and regional project sites,” he said.

1.28pm on Mar 18, 2026

Man accused of delivering the fatal blow to Barry Urban to take matter to trial

By Rebecca Peppiatt

The man accused of a one-punch attack on former WA Labor MP Barry Urban that allegedly led to his death, has pleaded not guilty to the assault.

Jerry Aniseto Masipau, 26, appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court this morning where he entered a plea of not guilty to the manslaughter of Urban in February last year.

Urban, 56, suffered a severe brain injury in the alleged attack outside his workplace in Perth’s south-east in November 2024.

At the time police prosecutors claimed Urban and Masipau were engaged in a verbal dispute outside Tyre Brigade in Kelmscott before Urban was struck and knocked to the ground.

The former MP — whose political career unravelled following a fake medals scandal that eventually landed him behind bars — was left fighting for his life in hospital for two months before he died.

12.49pm on Mar 18, 2026

Perth podcaster pleads guilty to murdering girlfriend

By Rebecca Peppiatt

A Perth occult and conspiracy theory podcaster has pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend at her Bassendean home last August.

Tobias Nuttall, 32, is the co-host of the Waking World podcast, which covers “the occult, magick, spirituality, and everything clandestine”.

He is also the son of Dr Alastair Nuttall who made headlines in 2017 after he was suspended following the death of a patient.

Nuttall appeared at Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday via video link sporting a long beard and long hair.

The court was told a psychiatric report and psychological report were being ordered prior to his sentencing.

Friends described Nuttall’s victim as an animal lover and avid reader, who “delved into psychology and philosophy” and was “head over heels in love” with Nuttall.

She was found at a Reid Street property with stab wounds after the pair had returned from a trip to Sydney.

Nuttall has been remanded through to the Supreme Court of WA on April 13 where a date will be made for his sentencing.

12.21pm on Mar 18, 2026

Woodside names Meg O’Neill’s successor after lengthy recruitment process

Woodside has appointed acting chief executive Liz Westcott as the permanent successor to Meg O’Neill – a former ExxonMobil and EnergyAustralia senior executive.

Westcott said she believes Woodside is “a great company with highly talented people and a proud track record of delivery for our customers and stakeholders”.

Liz Westcott has been Woodside’s interim chief since December.Dominic Lorrimer

“My focus as CEO is on sustainable value creation for Woodside shareholders, operational excellence and
disciplined execution of our growth projects,” she said.

The Australian Financial Review reported that Westcott’s appointment had shown the company had favoured operational expertise over the deep commercial relationships that some investors thought should be prioritised.

“Liz is a very accomplished operator and would have been the perfect choice to lead Woodside at other points in time,” MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic said.

“But from a shareholder standpoint, what Woodside needs today is a different set of experiences that are more tailored to the international and commercial opportunities and challenges ahead.”

Westcott will now be responsible for a new deal inked with the state government to export nearly 3 million tonnes more LNG in exchange for selling additional gas into the domestic market.

Conservation Council executive director Matt Roberts has criticised that deal, and said Woodside’s Pluto project would still provide less than the 15 per cent of production most offshore gas producers are required to supply to the domestic market.

He labelled the state government’s decision as “another example of a government beholden to corporate interests.”

“Premier Roger Cook has said previously the company’s social licence was reliant on it properly supplying the people of WA with gas. Despite this new agreement, Woodside still isn’t doing that — but its profits will increase,” he said.

“We see time and again Woodside bullying the federal and state governments, and our politicians seem powerless to stand up to them.