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West Australian
3 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Premier Roger Cook issues fresh defence against Government's handling of proposed bare-knuckle fight in Perth
Premier Roger Cook has issued a fresh defence of his government's handling of a proposed bare-knuckle fight in Perth next month, saying it was better to have a controlled event, rather than it going underground. Mr Cook said he 'appreciated community concern' about the championship event — a spin-off of the UFC — earmarked for RAC Arena in July. But he said there was a greater risk if bare-knuckle fighting occurred in an unregulated environment. 'I appreciate community concern around bare-knuckle boxing and understand that combat sports are not for everyone, myself included,' Mr Cook said. 'While we understand there is risk to be balanced with any sports, there is an anticipated greater risk in serious harm to people who participate if it's not conducted in a controlled, permitted and regulated environment. 'Let me be clear: This is not an event the WA Government is sponsoring financially.' WA's boxing regulations were amended by former Sport Minister David Templeman in February to recognise the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship as a sanctioning body. The Combat Sports Commission has said additional conditions would be put in place — if the fight went ahead. But the Australian Medical Association WA says the event should not proceed — and if it did, it would send the wrong message to the community in the face of domestic violence and other vicious crimes committed in the community. 'The fact that the State Government has paved the way for this activity to occur in Western Australia is baffling,' AMA WA boss Dr Michael Page said. 'We are dismayed. 'What was the rationale? Did they consider this in light of family and domestic violence?' Mr Cook says Sports Minister Rita Saffioti has taken fresh advice on the proposed event from the Combat Sports Commission, which was made up of experts in the field. 'It advised bare-knuckle boxing is another emerging discipline, alongside kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts, that has started to grow here in Australia, since its following in the US and the UK,' Mr Cook said. 'The advice from the Combat Sports Commission is that it requires stringent rules and regulations so it isn't driven underground. 'With the Commission regulating this sport and events associated with it, it means there are strict rules applied and carried through such as having multiple ringside medical practitioners and a threshold to the minimum experience for participants.'
West Australian
26-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Albanese backs gas as ‘firming capacity' amid looming North West Shelf extension decision
Anthony Albanese has defended the nation's reliance on gas days out from the deadline to decide the future of the North West Shelf extension, saying 'you can't have renewables unless you have firming capacity'. Mr Albanese's comments came when asked how he could 'justify' extending the project 20 years beyond the 2050 net zero target, while speaking about climate change's role in worsening natural disasters such as the recent floods in NSW. 'You can't have renewables unless you have firming capacity. Simple as that, you don't change the transition through warm thoughts,' he said on Monday. 'You do it through a concrete proposal, which is the expansion of renewables up to 82 per cent of the grid. But the way that that occurs is it needs firming capacity to occur.' Environment minister Murray Watt has until Saturday to make a call on Woodside Energy's proposed 50-year extension of the gas venture off WA's North West coast in his first big test in the portfolio. Mr Albanese said while the North West Shelf decision would be considered according to environmental law, Australia needed to ensure there was 'security of energy supply.' 'You cannot have a shift to renewables without having a confidence, because you will lose community support if people walk into this room here and flick on this switch and the lights don't go on,' he said. 'We need to make sure that there is security of energy supply at the same time as we support the transition, which reduces our emissions. 'You need is a real plan with real solutions.' Mr Watt has been placed in the portfolio as a known 'fixer' after predecessor Tanya Plibersek's turbulent three-year tenure which included the decision being delayed twice. The new deadline is now May 31. He has been on a consultation blitz, meeting with industry, business and environmental groups across the past two weeks, including WA Premier Roger Cook in Perth. Mr Cook on Monday said the State was patiently awaiting the Federal Government decision after the WA Government approved the 50-year extension after a six-year assessment. 'If North West health is not approved, that will be a major barrier or challenge in relation to more ongoing activity and availability of gas,' he said. Mr Cook said he had a 'good' meeting with Mr Watt during his trip west but said the Federal minister was tight-lipped on his decision on the project. 'On the North West Shelf, he gave nothing away, absolutely nothing away, which is absolutely appropriate, but I encouraged him to make a decision as soon as possible,' he said. 'I want the federal government to make a decision as soon as possible, but I also want them to make a decision which is legally safe. I want it to stick. 'If we can see the ongoing operation of the Karratha gas plant into the future, that would be really important.' Mr Cook also revealed he agreed with Mr Watt's plans to rebrand and repitch the controversial and dumped 'Nature Positive' laws, saying he 'hated' the name. 'I hate the name 'Nature Positive' — sounds weird,' Mr Cook said, suggesting the name 'environmental protection laws' instead.
West Australian
12-05-2025
- West Australian
Joharna Wynaden: Holding men to account is key to addressing family violence
What if we thought beyond using electronic monitoring and started intervening before violence restraining orders are breached?The WA Government's Family and Domestic Violence Path to Safety strategy lays it out: invest in early legal advice, challenge denial with hard truths, and stabilise risk through co-ordinated, wrap-around support. This is perpetrator intervention done right: early, accountable, and is demonstrating to the rest of the country how this can be Street's respondent program is based on early legal advice and education, accountability and multi-disciplinary stabilisation, and is quietly changing how risk is managed across the family violence system. The Sussex Street model moves beyond reactive enforcement and instead treats perpetrator risk as something to be assessed, stabilised, and interrupted at every stage — from when the FVRO is first served through to court appearances and parenting the data speaks volumes. The breach rate for FVROs made final at trial in WA is 15 per cent. For those resolved through the conduct agreement orders or undertakings facilitated by Sussex Street at shuttle conferencing, just 1 per cent are is not theoretical. This is prevention operationalised — reducing trauma and making women and children safer. None of this detracts from the critical importance of services for victim-survivors, rather, it reinforces them. As the Bringing Pathways to Accountability Together report notes, perpetrator accountability is not the opposite of victim safety: it is its Rob, who is 49 years old. He starts by calling the Sussex Street legal advice line. The advice line is a free, State-wide service open to anyone who has been served with a FVRO. Rob was given Sussex Street's details by the police officer serving his FVRO. In his first phone call, he is challenged by the lawyer who advises him that there does not need to be physical violence for domestic violence to take place. It is the first time Rob has thought about this. In this first call, Rob admits that he has already breached the FVRO. He is told about the consequences of continued breaches and its potential impact on his work and any family court matters he may have. Without this advice, Rob would have gone on to breach his FVRO multiple first court appearance for many respondents to a FVRO is a shuttle conference. A shuttle conference finds an agreement that the person protected feels safe with and the respondent can accommodate, usually a conduct agreement order or an undertaking. Rob attends the shuttle conference and meets another Sussex Street lawyer. During the conference, Rob's lawyer provides him with advice about his likelihood of success if the matter went to trial, as well as the consequences of breaching an undertaking or order. Although Rob requires a significant amount of 'reality testing' of his position, he agrees to enter into a two-year conduct agreement order. He is anxious not to further impact his relationship with his child in future Family Court proceedings and does not breach the order. Representation is also provided if the matter does not settle at shuttle conference and goes to hearing in court. For clients who have children with the person protected by the FVRO, and who meet eligibility criteria, Sussex Street also provides family law help to agree safe and appropriate access. A key part of this program is an analysis of the intersectional factors impacting the respondent's life. By addressing the factors that impact on the decision to use violence, we are actively minimising the risk of ongoing WA, respondents are supported to reduce the risk of using family violence through increased understanding of its nature and impact, and reinforcement of their obligations to prevent harm. Critically, support also focuses on addressing the underlying issues and situational pressures that may escalate risk or destabilise circumstances leading to this scenario, Rob is provided with an assessment during his phone advice call. The assessment shows Rob is struggling with his finances since receiving the FVRO and he is referred to our in-house financial counsellor. At the same time his repeated drug use is assessed as needing an external referral to alcohol and drug services. WA is leading the way in connecting the dots across prevention, enforcement, and long-term the State and Commonwealth governments recognise the importance of holding perpetrators to account and supporting behavioural change. However, funding at the State and national level is wholly inadequate. The Commonwealth's recent $25 million commitment over five years to innovative perpetrator responses is one step forward but falls short of the commitment required to drive systemic assisting thousands of clients over the past five years, Sussex Street's telephone advice line and family law program remain unfunded beyond June. Perpetrator intervention is not optional but rather central to any credible prevention strategy. WA has the blueprint. What's needed now is bold, sustained investment to fund existing programs and expand the model across regional courts and, ultimately, nationwide. We can wait for harm, or we can prevent it. Joharna Wynaden is the Principal Solicitor of Sussex Street Community Law Service
Sydney Morning Herald
07-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bear facts: Everything you need to know about how new Perth NRL team will work
The WA NRL Club will be a membership-based, not-for-profit organisation with a board that includes three Western Australians, one of whom will be chair. For the first five years, the club's sole voting member will be the Australian Rugby League Commission, with control transitioning to grassroots members upon the achievement of on-field and off-field performance milestones. How long will the initial license be for? The ARLC will provide the club with an initial license of five years, to compete in the NRL premiership competition for the first time in 2027 or 2028. Who will be responsible for the club's financial performance? The ARLC will cover the costs associated with running the club for the period of its initial license and ensure its financial viability. How much financial support is the WA Government providing? The WA Government will provide $60 million in direct financial assistance over seven years to help get the club off the ground, with $35 million ring-fenced for development, including grassroots. This funding will commence in the 2025/26 financial year. The WA Government will provide an additional $5.6 million in match-day support and marketing support through Tourism WA, where it delivers a positive return to WA taxpayers. Will any of this funding be provided to the ARLC or NRL? Not one dollar of WA Government financial assistance will go to the ARLC or NRL. The financial assistance will be provided directly to the WA NRL club. Every dollar of the financial assistance provided will be spent in Western Australia. Will the NRL charge the club a license fee? No. The Perth club will not be charged for participating in the NRL premiership competition. Will the WA Government have oversight on how the financial assistance is spent? Loading The WA NRL club will provide a report to the WA Government each year, detailing how the financial assistance provided has been spent in Western Australia. Has the WA Government carried out any modelling to support this expenditure? Last year, the ARLC provided modelling that suggested a WA NRL club would deliver $52.2 million in economic benefits annually, once the team was competing in the NRL premiership. This year, the department of treasury engaged consultancy firm Acil Allen to review the ARLC modelling. Taking a conservative approach, Acil Allen estimated that a WA NRL club would deliver $28 million in economic benefits annually, once competing. Based on these two sets of modelling, the financial support provided to the club will deliver a positive return to WA taxpayers. The economic benefits include new jobs, as well as tourism visitation and branding benefits, as the game is broadcast around Australia and internationally. Is there any other support the WA Government will provide? Loading The development of rugby league in WA will benefit from the WA Government's pre-existing commitments to nearly 500 community sporting organisations, including for rectangular field sports. This will include fast-tracking the $20 million election commitment for a high-performance centre at Malaga, which the WA NRL club will share with rugby union. The WA Government will also work with the Club and ARLC to grow junior participation in the game, including expanding formal touch, tag and tackle rugby league programs in Western Australia's public schools.
The Age
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Bear facts: Everything you need to know about how new Perth NRL team will work
The WA NRL Club will be a membership-based, not-for-profit organisation with a board that includes three Western Australians, one of whom will be chair. For the first five years, the club's sole voting member will be the Australian Rugby League Commission, with control transitioning to grassroots members upon the achievement of on-field and off-field performance milestones. How long will the initial license be for? The ARLC will provide the club with an initial license of five years, to compete in the NRL premiership competition for the first time in 2027 or 2028. Who will be responsible for the club's financial performance? The ARLC will cover the costs associated with running the club for the period of its initial license and ensure its financial viability. How much financial support is the WA Government providing? The WA Government will provide $60 million in direct financial assistance over seven years to help get the club off the ground, with $35 million ring-fenced for development, including grassroots. This funding will commence in the 2025/26 financial year. The WA Government will provide an additional $5.6 million in match-day support and marketing support through Tourism WA, where it delivers a positive return to WA taxpayers. Will any of this funding be provided to the ARLC or NRL? Not one dollar of WA Government financial assistance will go to the ARLC or NRL. The financial assistance will be provided directly to the WA NRL club. Every dollar of the financial assistance provided will be spent in Western Australia. Will the NRL charge the club a license fee? No. The Perth club will not be charged for participating in the NRL premiership competition. Will the WA Government have oversight on how the financial assistance is spent? Loading The WA NRL club will provide a report to the WA Government each year, detailing how the financial assistance provided has been spent in Western Australia. Has the WA Government carried out any modelling to support this expenditure? Last year, the ARLC provided modelling that suggested a WA NRL club would deliver $52.2 million in economic benefits annually, once the team was competing in the NRL premiership. This year, the department of treasury engaged consultancy firm Acil Allen to review the ARLC modelling. Taking a conservative approach, Acil Allen estimated that a WA NRL club would deliver $28 million in economic benefits annually, once competing. Based on these two sets of modelling, the financial support provided to the club will deliver a positive return to WA taxpayers. The economic benefits include new jobs, as well as tourism visitation and branding benefits, as the game is broadcast around Australia and internationally. Is there any other support the WA Government will provide? Loading The development of rugby league in WA will benefit from the WA Government's pre-existing commitments to nearly 500 community sporting organisations, including for rectangular field sports. This will include fast-tracking the $20 million election commitment for a high-performance centre at Malaga, which the WA NRL club will share with rugby union. The WA Government will also work with the Club and ARLC to grow junior participation in the game, including expanding formal touch, tag and tackle rugby league programs in Western Australia's public schools.
