WA news LIVE: Severe storm warning for Perth; Mercanti charges dropped

West Australian-born Gold Coast player Wil Powell has been given a five-match ban for using the same homophobic slur as previously suspended Port Adelaide player Jeremy Finlayson in last Sunday’s clash.

The league announced the ban this morning for what it described as a “highly offensive homophobic slur” against a Lions opponent, just weeks after Finlayson served a three-match suspension for vilifying Essendon opponent.

Powell called a Lions player a “f-----” according to two sources familiar with the incident, who were not authorised to speak publicly.

Powell previously played for the Claremont Tigers and Scarborough Junior Football Club.

Read more here.

Before the state budget is handed down this afternoon, let’s take a look at the more than $3.4 billion in additional spending we already know about.

While we’re expecting few surprises today, an electricity credit – likely to be around the same size as last year’s $400 credit – is likely to be announced as a cost-of-living measure.

Analysts are predicting the 2023-24 surplus will fall short of last year’s projected $3.7 billion and drop below $3 billion for 2024-25.

Economist Alan Duncan says WA’s growth has been stronger than other jurisdictions but “headwinds” have taken some polish off the state’s strong economic performance.

These include high prices and the lack of available housing, along with workforce, infrastructure and supply constraints.

Read more here.

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam says Labor MP Stuart Aubrey should apologise to the Jewish community after he compared her to dictator Adolf Hitler for her stance on puberty blockers for trans children.

Aubrey made the remark while speaking in parliament yesterday on a bill related to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act.

Here’s what he had to say:

Infamous world leaders have found ways to blame marginalised sections of society for the suffering of the masses, using mass communication methods to spread propaganda, lies and fear and using politics of fear and division in an attempt to overthrow democracies and convince people to vote against their better interests—people like Trump and the Mexicans, Hitler and the Jewish, Abbott and the boat people, Morrison and trans athletes, Dutton and Indigenous Australians, Hanson and Asians, Indigenous Australians and basically all minorities, and the Leader of the Liberal Party, Libby Mettam, and the trans community of WA.

Mettam has previously said if the Liberals were elected in 2025, they would ban puberty blockers being used on young children with gender dysphoria.

Speaking to Radio 6PR this morning, Mettam said Aubrey’s comments were appalling.

“It’s certainly hard to understand how you can compare a debate about the provision of puberty blockers for children in WA, and the murder of six million Jews,” she said.

“I was contacted by a member of the Jewish community last night in response to this incident, it’s obviously very distressing for them, but what I can say and what needs to happen is that Stuart Aubrey should be apologising to the Western Australian Jewish community, and apologise for his comments trivialising one of the greatest atrocities in human history.”

To the online radicalisation of a Perth schoolboy shot dead by police at the weekend, and WAtoday has obtained a copy of an email sent by a concerned parent in the weeks before he died.

In the letter, dated April 3, the parent expressed concerns for a student named ‘Mohammed’ who, according to her child, was using the Rossmoyne Senior High School’s prayer room to convince other students to convert to Islam.

The parent said she had seen screenshots of a ‘prayer room group chat’ between students which alarmed her, including a reference to the children watching videos of Zakir Naik, a controversial figure who has been accused of spreading Islamic extremism.

“Me and my husband are worried for [our child] and our family’s safety,” the letter read.

“As a parent I am seriously concerned why my son was targeted.

“If we can be clarified about [whether] a prayer room is legal in public school premises.”

Yesterday, Department of Education director general Lisa Rodgers told Radio 6PR that, despite the letter, the Year 11 teenager was still able to access the prayer room without active supervision.

His laptop and phone access, however, had been limited and was being monitored by the school on behalf of police.

Education Minister Tony Buti had previously tried to distance himself from the letter, saying the author had raised concerns about a boy named ‘Mohammed’, which is not the name of the slain teen – a Caucasian boy who self-converted to Islam.

It’s not clear if the boy went by different names.

The minister, school and police have all moved to reassure the community they held no concerns about other students at the school being radicalised.

Read more here. 

To the tragic case of the Robinson brothers now, and the Mexican state of Baja California’s Attorney General has just released a statement about their murders claiming they were assaulted and killed on the weekend of April 27 and 28.

“While the foreigners were camping, they were surprised by Jesus and other people, with the intention of stealing their vehicle and in response to the victims’ reaction, they deprived them of their lives,” Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez said.

“Through the investigations carried out ... the white Chevrolet Colorado vehicle in which the victims were travelling was found burned.

“Other evidence was also collected, such as rods from tents, firearm shells, plastic gallon bottles, blood stains and traces of dragging, in the place where it is presumed that they were camping.”

Read more here.

Ahead of handing down her first state budget today, Treasurer Rita Saffioti has just spoken to Radio 6PR’s Millsy & Karl.

She is just the second female treasurer in WA history after Carmen Lawrence, joking that punters will not be able to bet on the colour of her tie today, but as a well-known Dockers fan, she had bought a new purple jacket for the occasion.

Saffioti said former premiers and treasurers had wished her well today, including Mark McGowan, Ben Wyatt and Geoff Gallop.

The budget is expected to focus on three big spending items - cost of living relief, housing and health.

“A big focus for us is helping households, and we’ve made some announcements already, and we’ll be making another announcement this afternoon,” she said.

The budget will be handed down at 2pm this afternoon.

• It’s not just the WA government running a ruler over its finances – in case you hadn’t noticed, the federal budget is due to arrive soon. So what will be at the heart of Jim Chalmers’ third budget?
• Meanwhile, states and territories have been urged thoroughly investigate every domestic violence death and feed that knowledge to a national body that makes sure governments learn lessons and act on them whenever a woman is killed by her partner.

• New gas projects will gain stronger federal support in a Labor pledge to deliver affordable gas to customers for decades to come, as it warns of shortages within four years unless the nation boosts supply.
• And Shaun Carney writes: this the first federal government I’ve seen that has sought to build most of its political and policy mandate after winning office rather than before it. Is Albanese’s “experimental” government failing?
• China and Australia have escalated the blame game over a dangerous aerial encounter above the Yellow Sea.
• And overseas, US President Joe Biden’s administration has paused a shipment of weapons to Israel in opposition to apparent moves by the Israelis to invade the Gazan city of Rafah.

Do you call this autumn? A high of 27 degrees, after reaching a low of 18. Mostly cloudy.