A popular bowling alley in Perth's north has closed indefinitely after a fire broke out on Monday evening. Rosemount Bowl on Fitzgerald Street in North Perth was evacuated, along with the nearby Pot Black and Bloodlines venues. The business said at about 10pm that everyone had left safely and no one was hurt. The fire is not believed to be suspicious and is being managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. A witness claims the blaze started in the kitchen, but this has not been officially confirmed.
Complaints about the Australian Taxation Office have risen sharply as the agency ramps up debt collection. The Tax Ombudsman received 2376 complaints in the six months to September, up 74 per cent on the same period last year. The office said it received 1358 complaints over that period, because the ombudsman's figures also included matters not involving the tax office. The ombudsman found the tax office acted reasonably in 63 per cent of debt collection complaints it investigated. Outstanding tax debt stood at $54.2 billion in 2024/25, with $35.9 billion owed by small businesses.
A Western Australian country town is giving 16 per cent of its annual rates income to keep a local doctor. The Shire of Narembeen pays the local medical practice $370,000 a year and also provides a building, a car and a house. Shire President Holly Cusack says the arrangement is financially unsustainable but that losing the GP would mean a 120-kilometre round trip to the nearest doctor. In Kalbarri, a community group crowdfunded more than $70,000 to set up a not-for-profit, bulk-billing clinic after the town's only GP closed in June.
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WA police will use a new drone program to gather real-time intelligence before officers reach emergencies. Drones will launch from docking stations in Kwinana, Rockingham and Baldivis and can operate beyond line of sight. They will be dispatched from a command centre in Perth. Police Minister Reece Whitby says the program is an Australian first. Targeted uses include family and domestic violence matters, missing persons, crimes in progress and stolen vehicles.
US stocks closed higher on Monday after two weeks of declines, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lifted by optimism around AI companies. Anthropic disclosed steep losses and rapid revenue growth in its filing for a US initial public offering. Semiconductor firms helped drive the gains, while Meta plans to raise up to $US95 billion in equity to fund its AI expansion. Investors are watching the Federal Reserve's policy statement on Wednesday and a busy week of earnings reports.
Plans for a $3 billion upgrade to Perth Airport have been revealed, including a new Airport Central terminal, a parallel runway, two multistorey carparks and an airport hotel. Premier Roger Cook said the development, due to open in 2031, will add 4.4 million seats to and from Perth each year. Qantas and Jetstar will move to the new precinct. Airport chief executive Jason Waters said biometric technology will help passengers move through the airport more quickly. Several new routes have already started, including extra flights to Tokyo and a new service to Christchurch, New Zealand.
Outdated technology and weak digital safety skills are the biggest threats to national cybersecurity, according to the latest Cyber Threat Report from the Australian Signals Directorate. The public sector recorded nearly half of the 1500 incidents reported to the Australian Cyber Security Centre in the past financial year. Director-general Abigail Bradshaw warned that service outages will likely become normal and urged companies to put security ahead of access. Medium-sized businesses reported a 45 per cent rise in cybercrime losses, with an average cost of $141,300.
At least nine MPs will have security upgrades for their electorate offices brought forward, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has confirmed. The move follows an alleged attack last Monday on independent MP Helen Haines outside her Wangaratta office. Haines was struck repeatedly by a four-wheel drive and has lost both legs. She remains in a serious but stable condition in a Melbourne hospital, and police are examining the motive. Gallagher also urged social media companies to act on threats posted on their platforms against women in public life.
Wildlife rescuers have been praised after freeing a young dugong tangled in a car fanbelt near Exmouth, on Western Australia's north-west coast. Fifteen responders returned the roughly two-metre animal to deeper water in less than 24 hours after it was spotted struggling at Wapet Creek. Officials said the animal showed no major signs of distress. Dugongs are endangered, and each one saved may help the wider Exmouth Gulf population. Helene Marsh, a conservation scientist, said the species is increasingly under threat across the country.
A holidaymaker who flew into Western Sydney Airport from Auckland said he thought he had travelled to Western Australia. The airport opened on Sunday, and its first commercial flight landed that day. He told a TV interview he realised on the flight that he was not heading to Perth, but said it was not the worst thing while on holiday. Another passenger, Julie Lundmark, said she looked out of the window after landing on a Jetstar flight and had no idea where she was. There are no direct flights between Perth and the new airport.
A 13-year-old boy accused of a drive-by shooting in Perth will stay in custody for the next six weeks. He chose not to apply for bail, and will remain at Banksia Hill Detention Centre. Police allege he fired more than 20 shots from a semi-automatic rifle into a Gosnells home on October 17, when seven people were inside. No one was seriously injured. The boy faces eight charges, including unlawful use of a firearm. Police have not yet found the weapon, and the boy will return to court in December.
Perth Airport's chief executive, Jason Waters, has warned travellers to prepare for major disruption over the next few years. The airport plans to consolidate its terminals and move Qantas into a central hub. A new domestic and international terminal is planned at Airport Central, with preliminary work expected within 12 months. Waters said he could not yet confirm the total cost or completion date, though he expected the project to stay on target. The new terminal is hoped to open by 2031.
The Sydney Sixers have launched their season at North Sydney Olympic Pool, marking the club's 15th anniversary. The side will play four home games at North Sydney Oval over the summer. The Summer Session and Community Round returns after last year's record crowd of 5,023 fans, with live entertainment and double-header matches. Captain Ash Gardner said the team hopes to turn North Sydney Oval into a fortress after struggling there for some time. The club is also visiting local schools, with a clinic planned at Neutral Bay Public School.
WA Police is expanding an automated drone program that sends unmanned aircraft from Perth's CBD to emergency scenes within seconds. Police say the drones help catch criminals and protect officers. Civil liberties advocates warn the rollout is moving faster than laws protecting individual privacy. Drones will first operate in the southern Perth suburbs of Baldivis, Kwinana and Rockingham. State privacy laws are largely untested on drone filming of private property, and the rules around how footage is kept remain unclear.
Overnight rain soaked Perth, with rain gauges overflowing across the metropolitan area. The Bureau of Meteorology's Angus Hines said the system is moving north, and storms are possible. The Perth metro site recorded 7.2mm, while the heaviest fall of 28mm was recorded east of Lancelin. Mr Hines warned that more rain is likely before summer patterns settle in. Sunny weather and temperatures up to 28 degrees are forecast midweek, before a cold front brings showers on Saturday.
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Global shares edged up on Monday as oil prices eased from six-month highs, ahead of a week of central bank meetings and corporate earnings. Oil fell about two per cent to $US114.60 after reports that Qatari mediators were in Tehran in an effort to ease tensions. The Houthi group in Yemen said it had attacked Saudi Arabia's East-West crude oil pumping stations and Riyadh airport, though Riyadh did not immediately confirm this. Markets expect the US Federal Reserve to hold rates steady this month but price in a likely rate rise in December.
A man was struck on the head with a golf club in a violent attack on Pier Street in Perth's CBD at about 5.30am on Tuesday. The man was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. A man has been charged with unlawful wounding. Cafe owner Al Absawi said the victim was allegedly hit without warning. Business owners in the city say incidents like this are common, and some are considering closing. Perth Mayor Bruce Reynolds said the City continues to invest in lighting, patrols and CCTV.
One in three households experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months, according to Foodbank's latest Hunger Report. That is 3.6 million households, 100,000 more than last year. Up to 60 per cent of single-parent households were affected, with some parents going without so their children can eat. Foodbank CEO Kylea Tink called for a national school breakfast program. The Federal Government has provided $700,000 in surge funding to help redirect surplus food to struggling households.
