South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has received confirmation from the UK Home Office that he is a British citizen. Mr Xenophon received citizenship through his father, Theodoros Xenophou, who is from Cyprus which was a British colony until 1960. Mr Xenophou retained his British citizenship, which passed through to his son, making Mr Xenophon…
The shark debate has erupted again after Federal Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, accused the WA State Government of not doing enough to prevent shark attacks. Mr Frydenberg said WA’s response to the shark threat was “Nothing short of pathetic,” He commented drum lines should be put in the water to protect its own citizens and…
Close to a thousand Police Officers walked off the job to march at Parliament House demanding a pay rise of 1.5%. The Police Union and its members are sticking to the 1.5% deal, rejecting the state government’s $1,000 per year wage policy offer. Union boss George Tilbury says the Police Officers already shared the state’s…
Channel Nine political editor Laurie Oakes has announced his retirement, ending a 50-year career in journalism. The 73-year-old made the announcement on Thursday afternoon, claiming he was slowing down and “It’s time.” “I don’t think there’s anything special about Laurie Oakes,” he told 774 ABC Radio Melbourne. “I’m a bit of a fixture, I’ve been…
Former Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson APM has been appointed as Western Australia’s new Police Commissioner by the McGowan Government. Mr Dawson has spent 30 years in WA Police, 10 of them as the second in-charge, before jump ship to ACIC as commissioner for three and a half years. During his time as Deputy Commissioner, he oversaw WA Police’s…
Education assistants and Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers (AIEO) are set to return to Kimberley classrooms, reversing teaching cuts made by the previous Liberal-National government. An additional 10.5 full-time equivalent education assistants will return to public school classrooms in the Kimberley from 2018, while 21.1 will return in 2019 and 13.3 in 2020. Meanwhile, 3.8…
Western Australia still has the worst performing economy in the country, according to a recent report from CommSec. The quarterly report analyses eight key economic factors for each state: economic growth; retail spending; equipment investment; unemployment; construction work done; population growth; housing finance and dwelling commencements. CommSec Economist Craig James said WA’s performance reflects the…
There have been calls for local city councils to adopt live streaming in order to increase transparency and accountability to their ratepayers. Paul Miles, the former Local Government Minister, believes that it is vitally important for councils to adopt live streaming in order to reach those ratepayers who may be unable to attend council…
The State Opposition has criticised federal Labor for not supporting a better GST deal for WA. State Liberal leader Mike Nahan urging federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to get behind WA’s plan for an increased share. Dr Nahan said the WA’s federal Labor members had not encouraged a better GST deal for the State in their…
The WA Liberal and Nationals parties voted to scrap their own savings measures yesterday, in a move WA Labor is labelling “fiscal vandalism.” Last year, the Liberal National Government decided to discontinue the motor vehicle licensing concessions granted to local government authorities. Local government authorities would also no longer be exempt from paying stamp duty…
