WA


Is the Yindjibarndi native title deal from FMG up to scratch?

Yindjibarndi members in favour of the current deal with FMG say it offers them security and the chance to make their own future better. Woodley says the agreement is inadequate and will be doled out to a select group of people willing to sign the contract. Who’s right?

Fortescue releases its own native title video

Fortescue Metals Group has stepped up efforts to counter the claims made in a controversial clip of a native title meeting held in Roebourne last month by releasing their own video online.

Twiggy’s legal team: native title video ‘incites racial hatred’

In an email from Fortescue’s legal team to Vimeo, FMG says a controversial native title video is defamatory, misleading and “designed to intimidate”.

FMG edits history while video of Twiggy’s “superb” native title meeting taken down

A Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) PR spinner has been editing the Wikipedia page of the mining giant, while a video entitled “FMG’s Great Native Title Swindle” uploaded by Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation expressing their concern over a native title meeting was deleted last night by host Vimeo.

What will the QLD floods mean for healthcare?

Hopefully researchers are using the opportunity afforded by the flooding that is now devastating Queensland and parts of NSW and WA to look at what short and long-term health impacts will emerge because of the deluges, writes Melissa Sweet.

WA chief justice tells it like it is

Western Australian Chief Justice Wayne Martin’s refreshingly honest view of the world, delivered to a criminology conference in Perth yesterday will fortify his growing reputation as perhaps the most progressive leader of a court in the nation, writes Greg Barns.

Rio’s looming union nightmare

Rio Tinto is refusing to enter into wage negotiations with the union that represents some of the train drivers at its rich iron ore operations in the Pilbara, writes Nicholas Way.

How close did WA Nats come to falling in with Labor?

How close did the WA Nationals really come to an historic deal to keep Labor in government? asks Poll bludger William Bowe.

Nationals resurgent after a weird weekend on unwanted hustings

Playing kingmaker at a State level opens up vast pork-barrelling possibilities, writes Bernard Keane.

WA poll 1: Conservatives should stitch a winning patchwork

Conservative politics has a new hero in Colin Barnett, who in just five weeks has transformed the WA Liberal Party from feather-duster to rooster, writes Poll Bludger William Bowe.

Where do they find state politicians anyway?

It’s probably too much to ask for political courage and vision, writes Bernard Keane.

WA election gets down and dirty — no surprises there

With so much ammunition available to both sides, it comes as no surprise to find the WA election campaign dominated by negative advertising, writes Poll Bludger.

Labor ‘cr-pping itself” over WA polling

Expectations that Alan Carpenter’s government will be comfortably returned in Western Australia are dying hard, writes Poll Bludger.

The WA Liberals: no place for a woman

When nominations closed on Friday, it was revealed the Liberals had managed a grand total of six female lower house candidates out of 58, writes William Bowe.

WA poll: Barnett falters on daylight and the shops

The Western Australian Liberal Party stumbled badly on two issues this week, writes Noel Crichton-Browne.

First NT now WA — hot vote in 08

Everybody loves an early election, writes William Bowe.

WA part II: this election is Barnett’s to win. Or lose

The people of Western Australian just want good government, writes Noel Crichton-Browne.

WA part I: Libs are underdogs, but backable

The timing is cynical, and the odds are stacked against the opposition, but don’t write the Liberals off in WA, writes William Bowe.

Mackerras: the WA redistribution that grew

I assumed it would be a pretty minor affair but I could not have been proved more wrong,’ writes Malcolm Mackerras.

Crichton-Browne: Buswell’s departure a tragedy. Sniff.

The departure of Troy Buswell leaves the WA Liberal Party in search of its fifth leader in three years, writes former Liberal Senator and WA President Noel Crichton Browne.

Richard Farmer’s political bite-sized meaty chunks

Meaty snippets from the home of government, Richard Farmer writes.

Tips and rumours

Big W delivered a very, very large broadsheet sized glossy catalogue to my home on Wednesday, heavily promoting a 42” Sanyo plasma TV for $794. On arrival at the store yesterday morning at 9am, on the first day of the sale, I was told by a smiling shop assistant that all of the TVs had sold out […]

WA gas worker: Fark, we ran for our lives

In the wake of last week’s WA gas explosion at Varanus Island, Crikey has received two illuminating insider accounts of the energy situation in WA (complete with pictures).

Are Perth’s silver stocks low?

A storm appears to be brewing around The Perth Mint, with speculation that the Mint’s precious metals pool has run dry, writes Lachlan Taylor.

Tips and rumours

Have you us seen the new WA Today website — Fairfax’s new portal on the West? Those of us on the West Coast were looking forward to someone setting up shop in opposition to the single limp daily we suffer at the moment. Unfortunately what we got was SMH content with a thin veneer of local stories […]