WA

The Shire of Broome, in collaboration with several community organisations, will host a program of events to commemorate the Broome Air Raid on Thursday, March 2 and Friday March 3, 2023, marking one of the deadliest wartime attacks on Australian soil ... "March 3 marks tragedy for Broome, although it is also a story of inspiration for those that helped the victims of this brutal attack and those victims that survived and lived to share the tale": Shire of Broome President Harold Tracey.

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud is calling for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to urgently visit the Western Australian town of Carnarvon while he is in the state this week. Mr Littleproud said the Prime Minister should spend a night in Carnarvon, rather than holding a $1,500 a head fundraiser in Perth to appreciate what’s needed in this community and others across regional WA.

Firefighting volunteers are monitoring a sprinkler system set up due to the February 4 bushfire getting into peat, which means it will produce smoke for some time ... “Peat has a high carbon content and is naturally porous": Department of Health.

The Shire of Gingin says claims the former Guilderton café lessee was discouraged from applying for a lease renewal are false but the Enright family was only invited to join the closed tender process when councillors amended an officer’s report to include them.

"We feed an average of 80 people every week but we’ve also had nights when we’ve fed more than a 100 ... What I get out of it is far more than I give. It’s not a business; it’s a sense of service and with that comes incredible nourishment”: Lindsey Sesin, Denmark Soupy.  

Seafood Industry Australia (SIA), the national peak-body representing Australia’s commercial seafood industry, in conjunction with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), have launched Sea Safe, a program designed to improve the culture of safety in the commercial seafood industry ...

George Grant of Neergabby has been recognised for his years of volunteer firefighting and his mentoring of other bushfire brigade volunteers with an Australian fire service medal. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said Mr Grant joined the Gingin West Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade in 1963, clocking up 60 years of firefighting and along the way using his knowledge to mentor those around him.

So called minor changes to the proposed Woolworths Two Rocks shopping centre to be built south of the King Neptune statue, which include shifting the main building slightly and a direct-to-boot service, have been approved. According to the Metro Outer JDAP minutes the minor changes are valued at $10 million which appears to be on top of the original proposal for 10 (Lot 9702) Enterprise Ave which was costed at $16m.

The Australian Government has nominated Murujuga Cultural Landscape for inscription on the World Heritage List. The formal nomination was submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in late January 2023. If accepted, Murujuga would be the second site in Australia listed for World Heritage Status for First Nations cultural heritage.

Environment and Climate Action Minister Reece Whitby attended a series of meetings in Denmark last month. With Warren Blackwood MLA Jane Kelsbie, Mr Whitby visited local peat swamps, met with Green Skills Inc., and with several stakeholders to discuss the latest forest management plan.

Serena Kirby. Renowned surfboard shaper, big wave rider and local identity, Warren (Wazza) Thompson was farewelled with a heartfelt tribute at Ocean Beach last month ... Organised by long time friend and fellow board shaper, Patrick McCarthy, the tribute included a paddle-out and the forming of a circle of surfers in the water.

The Kwoorabup Nature School has for the past 10 years explored options to expand and believes the best is to use the neighbouring Denmark Lions Club lease area. The school is WA’s first Nature School and has experienced a 70 per cent growth in 18 months.

Out now!

Central Regional TAFE has welcomed the first group of international students to Geraldton following their success in the inaugural round of the McGowan Government's regional bursaries for TAFE international students ... Interest in the program has been strong with a total of 22 international students already receiving bursaries to study at TAFE campuses in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Bunbury and Broome in Semester 1, 2023.

Claire Stuchbery. If Government is serious about supporting media diversity and public interest journalism to address the news deserts that have emerged across Australia, it needs to clear a path for locally produced news to build sustainability.

Two buildings – a transportable home and a shed containing machinery – have been lost in the Neergabby bushfire, which the Department of Fire and Emergency Services downgraded to an advice this afternoon ... “It burnt over 500ha in the first six hours, with a total area burnt of 995ha": Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) incident controller Shaun Champ.

Three thousand general admission tickets are now on sale for the prime viewing location of the 2023 Total Solar Eclipse. The viewing site will be one of the best places on Earth to experience the 2023 Total Solar Eclipse when it is plunged into darkness on 20 April.

Australian grain leaders are calling on other growers and farm businesses to show generosity and donate a tonne of grain or more, to help support Ukraine farmers and rural communities. The #AUSSIEGRAIN4UKRAINE initiative was established last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to give Australian grain producers a way of supporting their farming colleagues and communities facing the continuing challenges and horrors of war.

The Shire of Gingin and the Department of Health are warning people to avoid swimming and other full-body water immersion activities in Moore River at Guilderton after recent sampling results detected amoeba and high bacteria levels at several sampling locations.

About 650 breakfasts – cooked and served by volunteers – were consumed at the 2023 Australia Day event in Two Rocks ... Yanchep resident Sharon Conley, who is a member of the Yanchep Netball Club, received the YTRCRA citizen award.

Australia’s most trusted rural charity, Rural Aid, has joined forces with the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen’s Association (KPCA) to create a fundraising drive for flood-affected graziers in Western Australia’s Kimberley region ... Ex-tropical cyclone Ellie brought unfathomable volumes of rain to Fitzroy River catchments – up to 800 millimetres in a week for some locations - resulting in a flood that exceeded previous water levels by more than two metres. Properties such as Yeeda Station, just outside of Derby, were battling up to 40 kilometres of flood frontage.

Patricia Gill. An overdue public toilet block will be built at Prawn Rock Channel ... The toilets will be a welcome facility in the peak holiday times for many families of picnickers when the nearest public facility is at Ocean Beach. Walkers in the area have complained about the state of the PRC water and surrounds due to there being no toilets.