ABC Kimberley

03/11/2024

Can Western Australia's northernmost town, Wyndham, be revived? Locals say they know how to bring the tourists back.

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Can Western Australia's northernmost town be revived? Locals say they know how to bring the tourists back.

03/11/2024

WOMEN RANGERS REPRESENT KIMBERLEY IN FRANCE ✈️

Ngurrara Ranger Sumayah Surprise and Bardi Jawi Ranger Tamara Moore proudly represented the Kimberley earlier this month at an international conference.

The 10th World Rangers Congress hosted 450 rangers in the French town of Hyeres in October.

The gathering aimed at exchanging information and technology from countries focusing on protected area management.

02/11/2024

There's a good chance that your superannuation is one of your largest assets. But how much do you know about how your retirement money is invested?

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Small improvements in your superannuation's performance or fees can make a significant difference in retirement.

02/11/2024

Home sweet home for Kelly Kitching, who sent us this aerial photo on her way back to Derby.

02/11/2024

PARK RUN CELEBRATES MILESTONE 🏃‍♀️⭐

Kununurra Parkrun celebrated its 300th event last weekend - that's a lot of kilometres !!

The group hit the ground running in April 2018 and has attracted many local runners, with its largest single event gathering 107 people.

Parkrun starts at 7am every Saturday at Swim Beach, where participants are welcome to walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate.

02/11/2024

Pests in the garden can be utterly infuriating and can ruin our careful planting and tending in one vicious fell swoop.

Whether you're growing indoors or out, prevention is often better than cure.

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Whether you're growing indoors or out, prevention is often better than cure when dealing with pests. Here are my DIY measures.

01/11/2024

A sunshot shot taken by Kae-De Cox up the Dampier Peninsula.

01/11/2024

🌀 Cyclone season starts today and WA’s cyclone warning system has changed
Now, there are three levels: Advice, Watch and Act, and Emergency. The same as bushfires, floods, storms, and heatwaves.

👉This change is part of the Australian Warning System: https://ab.co/Understanding-Warnings

01/11/2024

High-profile Liberals are optimistic they can make up ground in WA ahead of the 2025 federal and state elections.

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The Liberal Party is optimistic that it can make up ground in WA ahead of the 2025 federal and state elections as high-profile figures tour Perth this week. But does the party have what it takes to get voters over the line?

01/11/2024

Perth-based company Kimberley Minerals Group has bought the Halls Creek gold project in the East Kimberley for $8 million.

Previous owners Pantoro placed the mine on care and maintenance in June last year, having operated it since 2015.

In a letter to the ASX, Pantoro's Paul Cmrlec said they sold in order to focus on their gold-mining operations in the Goldfields,

“The Halls Creek Project was the first full mine developed by Pantoro in 2015 and was a critical element in the evolution of the company," he said.

"We firmly believe that now is the right time to focus our effort and resources on growth at Norseman, which provides the best upside potential for our investors.”

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01/11/2024

Located on the NT/WA border, north-east of Kununurra, the grow-out facility was supposed to create 1,600 jobs, and produce 100,000 tonnes of tiger prawns per year.

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A decade-long plan to build the world's largest prawn farm on a remote NT cattle station has finally ended after the Federal Court ordered the company to be liquidated.

01/11/2024

The WA health minister is yet to meet with the Shire of Broome after the government announced it would turn the town's existing syringe program into an exchange - which will allow intravenous drug users to swap used needles for sterile ones.

Minister Amber Jade Sanderson says the exchange will provide further withdrawal support.

The location of the exchange has not yet been confirmed on the Broome Hospital's current health campus, but the minister says there will be consultation - as there are community concerns about the needle exchange potentially being opposite a primary school.

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31/10/2024

The use of rental e-scooters in Broome is set to continue for another two years, after the Shire of Broome approved a new trading licence.

E-scooter company Beam first brought 300 devices to the town last year for a 12-month trial, which was extended.

A council meeting council on Thursday evening saw councillors approve the licence, after community feedback on the trial - which recorded 705 responses.

Shire of Broome acting director of development services Kirsten Wood says there will be conditions to ensure community concerns are addressed.

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31/10/2024

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Check out the 'warty goblin' pumpkin variety grown in Kununurra's Ord Valley in honour of the spooky American holiday.

📷 Alys Marshall, ABC Kimberley

31/10/2024

Australia's wealthiest woman has thrown embattled WA mining mogul Chris Ellison a billion-dollar lifeline, just days before he learns the outcome of an investigation into allegations of tax evasion.

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Australia's wealthiest woman throws embattled WA mining mogul Chris Ellison a billion-dollar lifeline, just days before he learns the outcome of an investigation into alleged tax evasion.

31/10/2024

A Kimberley driving instructor says recent changes to WA's P-Plate laws should consider regional and remote drivers.

Tom's Law, created by the state government, bans P-Platers from carrying more than one passenger in their first six months behind the wheel.

Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation's driving school helps residents overcome financial and access barriers to obtaining their licences.

Driving instructor Catterina Panizza says the changes need to be adaptable for drivers in the Kimberley region.

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31/10/2024

Coming up on Australian Story on Monday night's ABCTV: Kimberley residents Chris & Jacqui Henggler from Kachana Station

Follow the latest news headlines from Australia's most trusted source. Read in-depth expert analysis and watch live coverage on ABC News.

31/10/2024

With on-site construction set to begin on a $200 million floating jetty in Broome, dozens of people gathered in the town last night to protest the development, fearing it could cause irreversible environmental damage.

The Kimberley Marine Support Base (KMSB) project, which was first announced back in 2018, is expected to be completed in September next year.

While a KMSB spokesperson has said it had undertaken extensive consultation and studies to ensure the impact on the environment was as “light touch” as possible, some community members said their concerns about potential damage to the ecosystem had not been heard.

Citizen scientist Sharmaine Donnelly-Chorlton said she was concerned the development would put the marine life found in the reef at risk.

“There’s a lot of species out there that haven’t been documented,” she said.

“With all the ships coming and going, you’ve got to think about invasive marine species, what are they going to do to the reef?”

Speaking to the ABC earlier this month, KMSB project director Andrew Natta said the company had undergone extensive work to ensure there would be minimal environmental impact.

“We undertook multiple studies in regard to the reefs, the tides, the social side of things as well, so the Broome community and we made sure that we took those learnings and put it into what we’re building right now,” he said.

“When you look at what we can service and you think about the size of the cargo vessels or the cruise ships, and the fact that we’re only impacting less than 100 square metres of ocean floor, it’s unbelievable.”

Yawuru man Tony Lee, who has been fishing in this region for decades, said he wasn’t convinced.

“It’s not looking at the accumulative effect of that development on the eco, cultural, social system that we have here in Broome,” he said.

Mr Lee said he believed consultation hadn’t gone far enough, despite KMSB saying it had undertaken extensive consultation with traditional owners Nyamba Buru Yawuru and the Yawuru Prescribed Body Corporate.

While KMSB conducted stakeholder engagement and a public comment period in 2020, Environs Kimberley acting chief executive Martin Pritchard said consultation and transparency hadn’t been adequate.

“We haven’t had any serious consultation, the community at large has not had an opportunity to have a say on this development,” he said.

Mr Natta told the ABC KMSB endeavoured to respond to all community concerns.

“We try to be as open as we possibly can and if we get approached, we always reach out and we always try to provide as much information as possible,” he said.

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31/10/2024

A CHOICE investigation across four remote First Nations communities in northern WA and the NT has found grocery items cost more than double capital city prices, with calls for the federal government to introduce price monitoring tools and price caps.

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A CHOICE investigation across four remote First Nations communities has found grocery items cost more than double capital city prices, with calls for the federal government to introduce price monitoring tools and price caps on essentials.

30/10/2024

Supermarkets are full of mangoes at the moment, with some varieties selling for $1 or $2 each.

It's great for mango fans, but what about growers?

Mango prices are on the slide, which is great for consumers but what about farmers?

30/10/2024

Thanks to Tilly Roe for this one. 😎

30/10/2024

The operators of Kununurra's new withdrawal centre hope it will help address the community's high rates of drug and alcohol abuse.

The six-bed facility, run by Wunan Foundation, will offer the community a safe space to withdraw from alcohol and other drugs, while staying close to home.

Wunan chief executive Prue Jenkins says there is a dire need for this service in the region.

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30/10/2024

The police officer in charge the night a woman was killed by her partner in Kununurra has apologised for errors which led to a potentially critical triple-0 call not being responded to for more than an hour.

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The police officer in charge the night a woman was killed by her partner in a northern WA town apologises for errors which led to a potentially critical triple-0 call going unanswered for more than an hour.

30/10/2024

A Kimberley man has pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in Kununurra.

David Junior Tax was charged over the murder of the woman in September 2023.

Police said at the time, the victim had been found with a head injury before she was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital.

She later died in hospital.

Tax pleaded guilty in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court this morning, appearing via videolink from custody.

The 28-year-old is due before the Supreme Court in February.

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30/10/2024

UPDATE: Police have confirmed the 28-year-old man who was missing in Broome has been located.

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