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  1. ‘Structural Shrinkage’PremiumSudden Beaufort River Meats closure shocks industry

  2. Top awards PremiumBallard crowned cricketer of the year for his stellar season

  3. The West Australian exclusive
    The West Australian exclusive
    Crime     Premium
    The West Australian exclusive
    Alleged home detention escapee caught and charged

  4. HAPPY 100St Patrick’s School set to tick over century of learning

  5. Vital funding Wheatbelt and Great Southern bushfire brigades get funding

Albany police auxiliary officer Juan-Piere "JP" Jordan inside one of the holding cells.

new recruitDay in the life of an auxiliary officer in regional WA

Auxiliary officers are the behind-the-scenes heroes of a police station, with the WA Police Force calling for more people to take on the role that is vital to so many regional areas.

Jacki Elezovich

Drill rigs operating at the Katanning gold project, Badgebup.

Golden chancePremiumAusgold agrees to try for 5 per cent Indigenous workforce

Gold mine developer Ausgold has undertaken to provide employment and training opportunities for Indigenous people when its mine at Badgebup, near Katanning, begins operations.

Claire Middleton

Shire of Lake Grace chief executive Alan George standing in front of the abandoned pink building.

PINK BUILDING PROJECTPremiumAbandoned ‘pink building’ in Lake Grace set for revamp

An “unsightly” abandoned building on the main drag of a Wheatbelt town is on its way to a revamp as the shire gets the ball rolling to breathe new life into the site after nearly a decade.

Hannah Whitehead

Police received reports of at least three businesses that have been presented with fake $50 notes in the past two months.

FAKE notesVigilance urged as false $50 notes circulate Great Southern

A scourge of counterfeit currency is plaguing businesses across the Great Southern, with Albany police urging staff to double-check any cash tenders they handle at the till.

Melissa Sheil

Nat Fyfe with his 2019 Brownlow Medal.

AFLCommentsIs the change to Brownlow voting worth it? Fyfe has his say

Nat Fyfe holds the AFL record for most average Brownlow votes across a completed career under the modern system. The two-time winner has his say about umpires having access to stats before casting their votes.

Chris Robinson

Cuballing’s Brock Francis on his way to an unbeaten 109.

Big display Francis puts on a one-man show with 109 and seven wickets

Brock Francis hit an unbeaten 109 and took 7-8 in an extraordinary spell with the ball to put Towns to the sword as Cuballing made sure of a double-chance finals spot.

Claire Middleton and Hannah Whitehead

Robert John Mourish, 33, has been jailed for physically assaulting his 16-year-old girlfriend.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
COURTPremium
The West Australian exclusive
PremiumJail for Katanning man who assaulted his teenage girlfriend

A 33-year-old Katanning man who physically assaulted his teenage girlfriend in front of her friends has been jailed.

The blaze did not damage the main church hall building.

Church hall blazeReward offered for info about suspicious church hall fire

Katanning police are seeking the public’s help as they investigate a fire at the town’s Uniting Church Hall, which they suspect was deliberately lit.

Shire of Dumbleyung president Amy Knight and chief executive Gavin Treasure have appeared in Katanning Magistrates Court on behalf of the shire, which is charged with unauthorised clearing of native vegetation.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
COURTPremium
The West Australian exclusive
PremiumWheatbelt shire admits to illegal clearing of native flora

A Wheatbelt shire has been in court after admitting to clearing native flora from an endangered reserve without a permit and laying a road in its place. 

Police received reports of at least three businesses that have been presented with fake $50 notes in the past two months.

FAKE notesVigilance urged as false $50 notes circulate Great Southern

A scourge of counterfeit currency is plaguing businesses across the Great Southern, with Albany police urging staff to double-check any cash tenders they handle at the till.

Melissa Sheil

Jake Thomas Hardie, 29, allegedly led police on a car chase for more than an hour before being arrested in Williams.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Crime Premium
The West Australian exclusive
Alleged home detention escapee caught and charged

A Great Southern man who allegedly removed his monitoring device and fled from his home detention bail address in Northam has been arrested, and charged with a raft of new offences. 

Jacki Elezovich

Subscriber Exclusive

The parents of Cleo Smith — the young girl who was kidnapped from a WA campsite and held for 18 days — have closed the door on a difficult chapter in their lives.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Housing MarketVideoCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Cleo Smith family’s major life update years after kidnapping

The family of the young girl who was abducted from a WA campsite and held for 18 days have closed the door on a difficult chapter.

Kim Macdonald

Hailee Hildebrand was allowed out on day release, only four days after another suicide attempt inside the hospital’s youth mental health ward.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
State PoliticsCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Grieving mum’s plea: ‘They were meant to save her’

Stacey Hildebrandt is brokenhearted but insists she wants change — not sympathy — in the wake of her daughter’s suicide while she was an inpatient at Fiona Stanley Hospital.

Jessica Page

Laurence Escalante arrives at the Perth Magistrates Court today. Michael Wilson

Courts & JusticePremiumDramatic scenes as billionaire faces nine new drug charges

Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante has been hit with a raft of new criminal charges as his minder clashed with media outside court in dramatic scenes.

Rebecca Le May

One of seven people charged over a massive cocaine haul found stashed inside a bulk carrier off Perth has had his charge dropped.

Courts & JusticePremiumNew twist as epic trial looms after huge drug bust off WA

One of seven people charged over a massive cocaine haul found stashed inside a bulk carrier off Perth has had his charge dropped.

Rebecca Le May

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In Case You Missed It

The parents of Cleo Smith — the young girl who was kidnapped from a WA campsite and held for 18 days — have closed the door on a difficult chapter in their lives.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Housing MarketVideoCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Cleo Smith family’s major life update years after kidnapping

The family of the young girl who was abducted from a WA campsite and held for 18 days have closed the door on a difficult chapter.

Kim Macdonald

Zach Merrett and Lachie Neale will be fascinating to watch this season.

AFLVideoCommentsPremium2026’s biggest AFL storylines: Neale, Merrett, rules & more

From Neale to Nasiah, and from Butters to wantaway Bombers - these are some of the most interesting plots to stay across as the 2026 season gets underway.

Samantha Rogers

Forensic Police examine a track beside Finke Bend Yanchep.

PolicePremiumPremiumYoung man found dead in bushland, police launch murder probe

Homicide detectives are investigating after a man was found dead in bushland near Yanchep.

Brianna Throssell is set to be married down south.

LifestyleCommentsCommentsMajor life update for WA Olympic star Brianna Throssell

The West Aussie’s journey back to full fitness even threatened to derail the biggest day in her personal life.

When David Henke gets the call about an entangled whale, he knows it could take anywhere from a few hours to several days before the semi-truck-sized mammals can be set free.

EnvironmentCommentsPremiumCommentsPremiumThe WA whale-whisperers saving giant endangered titans

When David Henke gets the call about an entangled whale, he knows it could take anywhere from a few hours to several days before the semi-truck-sized mammals can be set free. 

Regional News

The Supermoon shot from Kings Park.

updated
updated
SEE THE PICSComments
updated
Spectacular Blood Moon captured in Perth’s night sky

Australians have witnessed the last blood Moon for two years. See the photos here.

Ibanez Taylor

A 60-year-old Geraldton man is facing more than a dozen charges.

Courts & JusticePremiumWA man facing string of child sex doll charges

A 60-year-old man is facing more than a dozen charges of possessing a child-like sex doll and child exploitation material.

Kate Campbell

Bateman MLA Kim Giddens, Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn, South West Minister Don Punch MLA and Collie-Preston MLA Jodie Hanns at Parliament House.

FOGOSouth West councils offered state support for FOGO

Dardanup will take another shot at its FOGO services now the State Government has sweetened the deal to keep the waste program running.  

Yousuf Shameel

Red-capped plovers attempt to nest among the tyre tracks on Peppermint Grove Beach.

COUNTER PETITIONPremiumPremiumCounter petition submitted to have the 4WD at beach stay

Peppermint Grove Beach took the centre stage at Shire of Capel’s ordinary council meeting on Wednesday, February 25 as the council received a petition to keep four-wheel-drive access to the popular beach.

Queenie van de Zandt will be performing in Choose Your Own Musical Theatre Adventure.

Theatre showPremiumPremiumChoose your own adventure show

Lovers of Broadway shows and choose-your-own-adventure stories can call the shots in a new performance coming to Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

A tree which fell on a car in Norseman is removed.

Dangerous trees PremiumPremiumNear misses prompt dangerous tree replacement in Norseman

More than two-dozen “near misses” during the past 1½ years have spurred the Shire of Dundas to remove dangerous trees and put in new ones.

News Flash

More Stories

Iranian Navy soldiers at an armed speed boat in Persian Gulf near the strait of Hormuz about 1320km south of Tehran, in April 2019.

CNBC newsThe countries most affected by Strait of Hormuz blockade

A prolonged closure of the Strait would likely lead to a further surge in oil prices, with some analysts seeing oil crossing $US100 per barrel.

Lee Ying Shan

President Donald Trump

CNBC newsPremiumTrump insists trade deals safe as ruling upends tariffs

President Donald Trump defended his tariff agenda during his State of the Union address even as a Supreme Court ruling striking down his emergency tariffs cast fresh confusion.

Anniek Bao

Before the Covid pandemic, Chinese consumers accounted for about one-third of the global luxury goods market.

CNBC newsPremiumLunar New Year gives brands chance to win back big spenders

Luxury brands from Harry Winston to Loewe are going all in on Lunar New Year collections in a bid to attract Chinese customers.

Hayley Cuccinello

China’s property market, once accounting for more than a quarter of the economy, has seen its annual sales volume halve in just four years.

CNBC newsPremiumS&P bets China property slump will be worse than expected

S&P Global Ratings has lowered its forecast for China property sales this year, barely two months into 2026.

Evelyn Cheng

WA News

Health Minister Meredith Hammat won’t guarantee that pregnant mothers in labour turned away from WA hospitals will be examined first and have ambulance transfers.

State PoliticsCommentsPremiumLabour no guarantee for ambulance transfer: Health Minister

Health Minister Meredith Hammat won’t guarantee that all WA hospitals will adopt mandatory examinations and ambulance transfers for pregnant mums in labour that are turned away from hospitals.

Caleb Runciman

Two huge Saturday Lotto wins have marked a WA Labour Day long weekend to remember for a pair of local ticketholders. 

LottoCommentsWA’s lucky Lotto streak continues with two division one wins

Two West Aussie ticketholders will be celebrating the huge division one wins.

Chloe Maher

Perth drivers are set to be slugged at the bowser on Wednesday.

WA NewsVideoCommentsCommentsPerth fuel prices to hit $2.07 a litre amid Middle East war

Perth drivers are set to be punished at the bowser on Wednesday with prices for petrol hitting as high as $2.07 a litre amid escalating conflicts in the Middle East that threaten to disrupt global oil supplies.

Not Supplied

CrimeMen torched home with family inside: cops

Two men have been charged over a fire that destroyed a family home and injured a woman and children just weeks before Christmas.

Arson squad are investigating a blaze, which caused damage to a car and home.

WA NewsVideoPremiumPremiumPair accused of setting fire to home as mum, children slept

Detectives have charged two men with arson after a family home in Maddington was set alight. 

A heatwave warning has been issued for the Gascoyne as Perth turns up the heat on Friday.

WeatherCommentsPerth to swelter in near 40C as heatwave grips parts of WA

Parts of WA are set to swelter through an unrelenting heatwave this week. 

Chloe Maher