ABC South West

24/04/2025

Labor's federal election campaign has reached Collie, where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was keen to congratulate the WA Premier on the progress of the Synergy big battery project and point out Opposition leader Peter Dutton's failure to visit the town since the campaign began.

The town is one of seven areas around Australia that the Coalition has flagged to host a nuclear reactor - a plan energy minister Chris Bowen yesterday called the 'Voldemort of policies' as he believed no one in the Liberal party wanted to bring it up.

Mr Bowen did not concede similarities with the Prime Minister's failure to meet with voters in the neighbouring electorate of Forrest concerned about Labor's offshore wind project, saying they had conducted community consultations and adjusted the zone accordingly.

Mr Dutton told the media in Perth there had been "no legitimate consultation" with local residents on the offshore wind project, which he has pledged to scrap if elected.

On nuclear, he said: "We've spoken with the community, we’ve made our decision and we’re happy to consult with people in government".

Local Labor candidate for O'Connor, Darren Moir, was absent from the Prime Minister's Collie press conference, and was said to be visiting other corners of the large electorate, which has been held by Liberal MP Rick Wilson for over a decade.

24/04/2025

Federal Labor promises to help the WA government in its bid to buy back the state's freight rail network if re-elected.

Get all the latest election news with ABC NEWS: https://ab.co/AusVotes

Federal Labor promises to help the WA government in its bid to buy back the state's freight rail network if re-elected.

23/04/2025

Do you sauna? 🥵

If you do and you're looking to get steamy amongst beautiful towering forest, add Pemberton to the list.

Public consultation is open for a proposed floating sauna to be moored on the southern foreshore of the Pemberton Swimming pool.

Shire of Manjimup president Donelle Buegge thinks the proposal is "fantastic" and could add to the wellness experiences already existing in the town.

"You'll be able to do your ice bath dip into the Pemby pool and then jump into the hot sauna," said Ms Buegge.

"It's located very close to the mountain bike tracks. So you'll be able to fly down the mountain on your motorbike track and then do some recovery in the hot sauna and cold water therapy."

What do you think?

Public consultation closes on 5pm, May 14 and submissions can be made through the Shire of Manjimup.

23/04/2025

Green bins in South West WA are being tipped straight into landfill after the region's main waste management facility stopped accepting organic waste.

The facility's managers have blamed high contamination rates, according to the local governments affected.

23/04/2025

WA's largest and oldest dairy company is looking for new owners after its Chinese owner defaulted a $200 million loan.

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WA's largest and oldest dairy company is looking for new owners after its Chinese owner defaulted a $200 million loan.

23/04/2025

WA Premier Roger Cook says "black spots" are to blame for an inability to monitor alleged domestic violence offenders in regional WA.

Get the news that matters to you straight from the source. Download the ABC NEWS app: https://ab.co/abcnewsapp.

WA's premier says he "hasn't been advised" a lack of staffing has led to gaps in the tracking of some alleged domestic violence offenders, despite the Department of Justice actively recruiting to fill roles.

23/04/2025

Forrest’s independent candidate Sue Chapman has articulated her stance on the impending ban on the live sheep export trade in 2028.

“My opinion on the live sheep trade is that the current timeline is completely unjust for farmers,” she says.

“It doesn’t allow us sufficient time to diversify our economy in the South West.

“It does not allow us to build capacity within the abattoirs in the South West.”

That said, Dr Chapman says she supported the live export ban in principle and would like to see it proceed.

“I feel it’s a good idea for Australians to start thinking about manufacturing and onshore processing, and value adding our products in this country," she says.

Liberal candidate for Forrest Ben Small says the only way to back farmers and “keep the sheep” is to vote Liberal.

“Locals are being played for fools by Teals with a position that seeks to be all things to all people,” he says.

23/04/2025

The Shire of Harvey says it will inform Main Roads that, following community consultation, it does not support lowering the speed limit throughout the Brunswick Junction townsite.

The decision was made at last night’s Ordinary Council Meeting, after Main Roads had advised the Shire that a stand-alone speed reduction could not be supported.

The Shire had previously approached Main Roads seeking to lower the speed limit along the Ommaney Road section of South Western Highway, which runs through the townsite, to 40 km/h.

Feedback from Main Roads stated that there is currently insufficient foot traffic, pedestrian activity, or broader townsite activation to warrant a change to the speed limit in that specific area.

The Shire says Main Roads had indicated the only circumstance under which a speed reduction along that section of road could be implemented would be if it formed part of a townsite-wide speed limit reduction.

22/04/2025

The Milkshake Man is shaking his stuff in Madrid in the lead up to Eurovision in May! Is it just us, or is he giving Freddie Mercury?

Go-Jo (aka Marty Zambotto) is fast becoming one of Manjimup's most famous exports, and he's not even hit the competition stage in Switzerland yet!

He'll be first up for round two of the semi-finals on 15 May. Who's hosting the watch party? 👀

22/04/2025

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is confident there will be no repeat of the issues that plagued WA's recent state election at the May 3 federal poll.

Get all the latest election news with ABC NEWS: https://ab.co/AusVotes

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is confident there will be no repeat of the issues that plagued WA's recent state election at the May 3 federal poll.

22/04/2025

🗳️ It has been a busy morning in Bunbury on the first morning of early voting for the 2025 Federal election.

The Federal election isn't until May 3 but many people have taken the opportunity to have their say before they go on holiday.

The Australian Electoral Commission estimates about half of Australians will cast their vote at pre-polling stations, via postal vote or through mobile polling at remote places.

Are you voting early? 👇

22/04/2025

Two local Indigenous women are making history this week, becoming the first Noongar women from South West WA to attend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as part of the Australian delegation.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Michelle Woosnam and Jodie Riley from the South West Aboriginal Women's Collective just a few hours before they hopped on their flight to New York.

"[It's the] first time for me leaving my country and family and going overseas... but we are going as a group and we are strong Aboriginal women," Ms Riley said.

"We are going to have an amazing time, and we are going to learn so much and hopefully contribute in some strong conversations and build some really strong relationships and connections with other Indigenous people around the world."

"We've all got a three-minute statement to talk about what our concerns and priorities are in our region. The first priority is gender-based violence for us and the lack of safe spaces for all women to go to in this South West region," Ms Woosnam said.

"We're the first Noongar women from the South West, so we're pretty proud of that, and what we hope that does is it inspires other women and girls to think and know that anything is possible."

The forum kicks off today and runs for two weeks - looking forward to catching up with them post-trip to hear all about it!

21/04/2025

Green bins in South West WA are being tipped straight into landfill after the region's main waste management facility stopped accepting organic waste.

The facility's managers have blamed high contamination rates, according to the local governments affected.

Organic waste in several WA shires is going straight to landfill despite the tip tasked with processing it receiving significant funding to deal with FOGO.

21/04/2025

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, has died aged 88

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, has died aged 88.

21/04/2025

Australia's two major parties have tied their federal election fates to controversial energy projects in WA's South West where the issues have polarised voters.

Get all the latest election news with ABC NEWS: ab.co/AusVotes

Australia's two major parties have tied their federal election fates to controversial energy projects in WA's South West where the issues have polarised voters.

20/04/2025

COMMUNITY OPPOSITION RAMPS UP 🌊

A protest against a proposed development at Smiths Beach in the South West has drawn huge crowds.

About 300 people were at the coastal stretch in Yallingup this morning.

The Smiths Beach Action Group (SPAG) put out signs to show the size and scale of what they’re calling a seawall as part of the development.

The proposed development envelope is nearly 42 hectares, with around half of that to be impacted by buildings.

A spokesperson for the Smiths Beach Project says the proposed universal access ramp, which is being labelled by SBAG as a seawall, would replace the existing ramp for beach access.

The developer said claims in relation to the universal access ramp were "misleading" and designed to cause community concern.

19/04/2025

71 YEARS OF DONNYBROOK APPLE FESTIVAL 🍎🍏

Apple pie, toffee apples, apple cider… the list goes on!

Hundreds of people were in Donnybrook today for the town’s annual Apple Festival.

This event has been running since 1954 and is one of WA’s only festivals dedicated to apples!

19/04/2025

Worrying about buying property isn't exclusive to young people, and many people from older generations have written to the ABC with their concerns too.

But it's gen Zs and millennials who will outnumber boomers for the first time this election — and it's their vote politicians are desperately trying to court.

Many young people have written to the ABC with a similar story: they feel like they did everything "right" but will never achieve what previous generations did. It's a story that defined the past week in politics.