Anita McInnes, Yanchep News Online

Yesterday  Yanchep News Online  reported Opposition Transport spokesman Shane Love had called for the McGowan Government to answer legitimate questions about whether the Yanchep rail extension was on budget and on time. Today in his first Budget as Treasurer the Premier Mark McGowan said as well as the Yanchep rail extension being deferred one year the Joondalup Light Auto Workshop had also been deferred one year with completion now expected in mid‑2024.

Gingin trainer Sue Olive says her plan is for Mystical View to go the Black Hart Bart Stakes in a fortnight after tackling the Seacorp Handicap (1200m) at Belmont Park on Saturday 11 September.

Shire of Gingin brigades will join City of Wanneroo brigades in having access to their own thermal imaging cameras this bushfire season ... The cameras help firefighters identify hotspots in bushfires, enabling them to target specific areas and deploy their resources accordingly. They are also an important tool to detect fires burning underground, which are a common threat in Western Australia and can cause bushfires to reignite after they have been extinguished.

Deckhand Thomas Breeze has worked on an octopus fishing boat operating out of the Two Rocks marina for about nine months now. It is physically demanding work because even though the pots used to catch octopus are smaller than the ones used to catch western rock lobster they still weigh 30kg each.

Uniting WA chief executive officer Amanda Hunt said a significant number of people in Yanchep and surrounding areas were living under food stress. “With the government’s Covid support removed, pressure on working families has never been greater, ‘’ she said.

Megadon and Sluice Box’s first metropolitan wins together with a convincing win by Bad Wolf gave Gingin trainer Ashley Maley a treble at Belmont Park yesterday ... By the end of the day Maley was positively beaming when Sluice Box won the Congratulations On Your Career Peter Hall Handicap (2000m) handicap by five lengths.

Two serious bushfires in the Shire of Gingin earlier this year were due to accidental causes, according to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. In Gingin on April 28 a bushfire ignited near the intersection of Jones St and Roe St while the Red Gully bushfire started on January 2 near the intersection of Mogumber Rd West and Brand Hwy.

About half the number of small metropolitan businesses the McGowan Government said would be eligible for assistance due to the Anzac weekend lockdown have missed out on financial assistance ... In a statement on July 19 the government said more than 15,400 businesses in Perth and Peel and 2300 businesses in regional WA could be eligible for support for the lockdown between June 29 and July 2 and the associated restriction period from July 3 to July 6. But Dr Thomas said the government’s small business Covid compensation eligibility criteria were too restrictive and not consistent.

A new emergency services centre with the capacity for an incident control centre if there is a major bushfire in the area is being built in Gingin. The Gingin Volunteer Fire & Rescue and Gingin South Bushfire Brigade will share the Gingin Emergency Services Centre ... Emergency Services Minister Reece Whitby said volunteer firefighters in the Gingin area had been in the thick of bushfire fighting responses this year, including the Red Gully and Wooroloo bushfires.

Trainer Cliff Green is quietly confident Benji’s will finish in the top five in the WAROA-Belmont Guineas (1600m) on Saturday at Belmont Park. Benji’s improvement between every run including since his fourth in the Raconteur Stakes (1400m) on June 5 has given Green confidence he will run a good race.