As it happened: WA news on Thursday, March 27 (2025)

A prisoner has died in the state’s largest maximum-security prison.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon the Department of Justice said the 38-year-old man was found unresponsive in his cell this morning.

Loading

Staff provided first aid until paramedics arrived, but he was declared dead at the scene.

The department said preliminary reports suggested there was nothing suspicious about the death.

The death is the third in custody this year.

In February, a 37-year-old woman was found unresponsive in her cell at Melaleuca Women’s Prison while a 79-year-old man died from a medical condition in January.

Perth remains the fastest-growing capital in the nation, with new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing it added 72,700 residents in the 12 months to the end of June 2024. The western capital is now home to almost 2.4 million people.

The nations capitals added almost 430,000 over that time period, with 107,500 of those pushing Sydney’s official population past the 5.5 million mark.

But it was a slowdown on the 520,900 who moved into capital cities in the previous 12 months.

Melbourne and Brisbane, whose populations each grew by 2.7 per cent, are the next fastest growing.

Melbourne added the most people, 142,600, to take its population to 5.35 million while Brisbane is now home to 2.78 million.

Sydney and Melbourne now account for 40 per cent of the nation’s 27.2 million residents.

Overall, 18.4 million people live in capital cities. Regional Australia grew by 1.3 per cent, or 113,800, to 8.8 million.

The outer suburbs of our capitals are the fastest growing parts of the country. The northern Canberra suburb of Taylor was the fastest, with its population soaring by 29 per cent in the past 12 months.

Youth broadcaster Triple J has revealed its iconic One Night Stand festival is heading west this year. Well, south-west to be specific.

Busselton has been announced as the host of the gig’s 2025 iteration, with Triple J presenter Ash McGregor revealing the news from the iconic Busselton Jetty this afternoon.

But eagle-eyed Triple J fans were already piecing together the clues posted on the station’s social media account.

To be fair, the South West gem’s idyllic foreshore is instantly recognisable to a sizable portion of West Australians, who no doubt have holidayed in Busso once or twice over the years (or at least stopped in en route to Dunsborough or Margs).

As for the headliners, local legends Spacey Jane are leading the pack, along with Perth-raised d’n’b wunderkind LUUDE, First Nations hip hop supergroup 3%, pop outfit Blusher, psych-rockers Velvet Trip and, of course, the Triple J Unearthed competition winner.

The all-ages concert takes over Barnard Park on the town’s foreshore on Saturday, May 24. Yeeeww!

WA Health has released a warning about a confirmed measles case identified at Bunbury Regional Hospital.

Dr Paul Effler, the department’s acting director of the Communicable Disease Control Directorate, said WA Health was working with the hospital to manage any exposure to staff, patients and visitors.

Effler said contact tracing and infection control measures were under way to prevent further infection.

“It is important that anyone aged under 60 (who has not received two doses of the measles vaccine) and who visited Bunbury Regional Hospital between 19 and 23 March 2025 should monitor for symptoms, particularly fever and respiratory illness,” he said.

“They should continue to monitor themselves for seven to 18 days after the visit.”

The department has released a full list of exposure locations – ranging from Perth down to Busselton – which will be regularly updated on the WA Health website.

The news comes just days after it emerged a prisoner at WA’s biggest remand facility was hospitalised with measles.

WA Health said the Hakea Prison inmate was currently receiving treatment in a metropolitan hospital.

Anyone who visited the prison between March 16 to March 21 was urged to check their measles immunisation record.

“This is a timely reminder to all Western Australians to make sure they are up to date with their vaccinations,” Effler said.

“People born after 1965 are encouraged to check their immunisation status to make sure they have had two doses of the measles vaccine.”

A 36-year-old man has faced court after allegedly stealing a car while a teenage girl and her dog were in the back seat.

The Nissan Altima was parked on Boas Avenue in Joondalup about 7.15pm on Tuesday when the man allegedly jumped into the driver’s seat and took off towards Shenton Avenue on the wrong side of the road.

The 17-year-old girl and her dog were in the rear passenger seat at the time but managed to jump out of the car about 200 metres down the road.

Police allege the 36-year-old man then drove off in the stolen car.

Detectives tracked the man to a home in Clarkson on Wednesday, arresting and charging him with robbery, deprivation of liberty, reckless driving and no authority to drive.

He appeared before Joondalup Magistrates Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody to reappear next Wednesday, April 2.

Commuters be warned: the roads may be as packed as a livestock saleyard pen tomorrow when truckers, farmers and their supporters drive through Perth as part of the Keep the Sheep protest movement.

The truck convoy is part of a rally that aims to draw attention to the federal government’s phase-out of live sheep exports under legislation passed last year.

The government wants to end all live sheep trade by May 2028, and has promised a $139.7 million transition package to help navigate the stormy waters ahead for farmers and exporters.

But, as you may well be aware, there’s a federal election coming up, and the Keep the Sheep movement is drumming up support for the ban to be reversed.

David Vandenberghe, chairman of sheep and cattle grower group ASHEEP & BEEF, said it was generally rare to see farmers pushed to the point they felt the need to publicly protest.

“It shows the high level of anger and frustration toward the Albanese government’s decision to shut down WA’s sheep live export trade and the lack of understanding or consultation in reaching that position,” he said.

“There are now over 110,000 signatures on a petition to stop the ban on sheep live exports.

“WA’s sheep industry is seeing huge damage from the shutdown of one of our key markets. Our industry has made a significant investment in reforming the trade over the last decade and Australia now leads the world in best practice standards, but this has been disregarded.”

Loading

The phase-out legislation came after a series of high-profile animal welfare incidents, including the deaths of thousands of sheep on a trip to the Middle East in 2018.

Main Roads WA has put out an alert for commuters, with the convoys – due to begin about 7.30am in Neerabup, Mundijong, Bedfordale and Fremantle – travelling on a set route through Perth and converging at Quarry Farm in Whitby.

“Consider adjusting travel times to ensure your safe and timely arrival to work, school or other locations,” the alert reads, noting long delays are expected.

A Cloverdale man will face court on Thursday after allegedly dousing another man in flammable liquid before setting him alight, leaving him fighting for his life in hospital.

Police were called to the suburb in the city’s east just after midnight when the two men – who were known to each other – became embroiled in an altercation.

During the altercation, the 42-year-old victim was covered in flammable liquid and set alight.

A WA Police spokeswoman said the man was rushed to Fiona Stanley Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A 46-year-old Cloverdale man has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm and is set to face Perth Magistrates Court today.

We’ve got our courts and crime reporter Rebecca Peppiatt on her way there now, so will bring you updates as they come through.

No sooner did your blogger hit “publish” on that last post than an alert from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development dropped into our inbox.

The department is sounding a warning over the bull shark we mentioned that has been pinged 41 times over the past few days at Blackwall Reach.

Because it’s a tagged shark, the department knows a thing or two about its history. It was tagged and released on December 12 last year at Minim Cove on the Swan River, and the department tells us it’s about 2.9 metres long.

“It is possible that the frequency and duration of the recent reported tagged shark detections may increase the likelihood of encountering a shark in this area,” the department’s alert read.

The department warns people should take extra caution in the waters near Blackwall Reach, adhere to beach closures, and check for shark activity on the SharkSmart website.

Anyone who sees a shark is urged to report the sighting to Water Police on 9442 8600.

“Bull sharks” and “Blackwall Reach” in the same sentence might ring a bell.

Cameron Wrathall was swimming in the popular river spot in January 2021 when he was attacked by a bull shark, suffering a broken hip and nerve damage in the ordeal.

Wrathall’s life was saved when nearby kayakers and his friend Richard O’Brien came to his aid, using a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding.

The Bicton father was the first person to be bitten by a shark in the Swan River in more than 50 years, and now shares his story as a public speaker.

He told 7News in 2021 that he momentarily died in the ambulance on his way to the hospital.

He also said he used to swim in the ocean near Cottesloe, but, ironically, switched to swimming in the river in a bid to avoid sharks.