WA news LIVE: Weather warning for Perth as damaging winds roll in; Father of Ellenbrook coward punch victim calls for justice as alleged attacker released on bail (2025)

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher’s press conference in Perth has been disrupted by two separate protesters who managed to sneak into the event masquerading as journalists in high vis vests.

Chalmers was speaking about critical minerals at an Australian Vanadium facility north of Perth when a woman started yelling at Chalmers about the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax.

“This government collects more from the HECS student debt than the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax. Why is your government supporting Woodside and Burrup project while gas companies are ripping us off.”

Security then pushed her out of the press conference.

When asked later about whether he was concerned at the security breach Chalmers said he was “completely untroubled by it”.

“You would prefer that press conferences weren’t interrupted, but you also want to live in a country where people have got a view and they can express a view,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody felt unsafe. I don’t speak for everyone, but I’m pretty relaxed about it.”

Later in the press conference Chalmers invited the second protester to ask a question.

The woman asked the following: “Considering the US tariffs and that over the last, I think 16 months, we’ve increased our exports and investments into Israel. I’m just wondering if the current political climate might see us divesting from genocide and apartheid in the foreseeable future, especially considering we are heading towards escalated, global conflict.”

“I think we’ve commented at some length about the conflict in Gaza. We’ve made it clear that we want ceasefire there,” Chalmers responded.

“We want humanitarian access, and we’ve made our position very clear on that.”

The protester then started yelling at Chalmers about ethnic cleansing before also being removed by security.

Pharmacists are urging West Australians, particularly those in more vulnerable groups, to get their flu vaccinations, with Australia recording the worst year to date for confirmed cases.

Nationally, confirmed flu cases exceed the number of cases recorded at the same time last year by 60 per cent, and WA has faced 4454 confirmed cases to date.

TerryWhite Chemmart Chief Pharmacist Brenton Hart said the flu could be severe, even deadly, especially for those most at risk.

“A simple flu shot is one of the best ways to protect yourself and those around you,” he said.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, pregnant women, those with other health complications and those over 65 are at higher risk.

Due to their developing immune systems, infants and children up to the age of five also have an increased risk of complications.

In 2024, only 32 per cent of Australians were vaccinated against influenza as recorded by the Department of Health and Aged Care, which was 500,000 less than in 2023, and 2.3 million less than in 2022.

Sticking with crime news and a 33-year-old man from Balga has been charged with attempting to kill a 49-year-old man, who was found on Thursday morning lying in a carpark with life-threatening injuries.

About 6.20am, police found the victim in the carpark of a community centre near Armadale with extensive head and upper body injuries.

He was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment.

The 33-year-old man will appear in the Armadale Magistrates Court today.

An investigation is underway and anyone with any information relating to this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to make a report online.

Police are also appealing for CCTV footage or dashcam recordings from anyone who was driving in the area between 11pm on April 1 and 7am on April 2.

The distraught father of a 14-year-old boy who was coward punched and had his head ‘stomped on’ in a shopping centre in Perth’s north-east on Wednesday has said he wants justice for his son.

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The alleged teenage attacker, 15, was granted bail on Thursday afternoon.

9 News Perth have reported that the 14-year-old, who is in Perth Children’s Hospital, was conscious on Friday, but his MRI scans showed some bleeding on the brain.

He is booked in for surgery on his jaw today, which was broken in two places during the attack at Ellenbrook Central shopping centre.

Outside the hospital, the boys father John said he had seen “blood and carnage everywhere” after the incident.

“It was awful,” he said. “Having the police there, security, people standing by videoing what’s happening and just seeing my son in pain.”

The boy’s father is not the only one upset, with angry Ellenbrook locals writing to the premier to demand the alleged attacker be put back behind bars.

Turning to the courts first this morning and an Alkimos man will appear before Perth Magistrates Court today, to face a charge of possessing child abuse material.

The Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team executed a search warrant at the 52-year-old’s home on February 4.

They were following a report from the United States’ National Centre for Missing Exploited Children about an online user allegedly transmitting child abuse material.

During the search, officers seized the man’s phone. A forensic examination of the device allegedly uncovered child abuse material.

The maximum penalty for the offence is 15 years’ imprisonment.

Australian Federal Police Inspector Shona Davis said any involvement in the exploitation or abuse of children, even if it was behind a screen, was “deplorable”.

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.

If you know abuse is happening right now, or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.

Here’s what’s making headlines today:

• We spoke to 12 undecided voters and asked them how they felt about the May 3 election, what they thought the big issues were - and what they thought the result would be.

• Body searches will be ramped up for football fans at the MCG after security staff failed to stop two men from allegedly carrying loaded guns into Thursday night’s Carlton-Collingwood blockbuster.
• US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says it is “nonsense” that Australia bans American beef imports due to disease or chemical concerns, arguing it is simply a protectionist tactic to prop up local farmers and block American sellers.
• Donald Trump has fired six National Security Council officials after an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office with far-right activist Laura Loomer, who laid out a list of people she believed were disloyal to the president, US officials say.
• A Sydney father was part of a Nigerian scam that took millions of dollars off lonely Australian women and defrauded businesses, siphoning the money to a terrifying African “blood cult”.
• Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel will walk from custody a free man for the first time in 18 years after three Court of Appeal justices granted him bail.

Good morning, and happy Friday!

Last night, we brought you the news that a 15-year-old schoolboy was arrested and charged over the alleged assault of a teenager at a Perth shopping centre that left him with a broken jaw.

Witnesses claim they saw a group of boys at the Ellenbrook Central shopping centre near a café when an altercation ensued and the victim had his head “stomped on”.

You can read more about that shocking incident here.

And another Perth restaurant has been hatted!

This French bistro is a spirited blend of new and old, according to reviewer Max Veenhuyzen, who writes that the neighbourhood destination in Mount Lawley remains a bastion of French(ish) dining and wining.

His go-to dish? The crab toast. Find out more about what’s on offer here.

Stick with us as more news breaks today.