Latest News from West Australian
West Australian
31 minutes ago
- Business
- West Australian
100 businesses write to NSW Premier Chris Minns over Great Koala National Park
More than 100 businesses on the NSW Mid-North Coast have signed a letter to Premier Chris Minns, urging the Labor government to move forward with long-running plans for a massive koala sanctuary and tourism park. The Great Koala National Park was an election promise for NSW Labor, but delivery of the animal sanctuary and what form it will ultimately take has been marred by setbacks, including continued logging at the proposed site. In the letter, a coalition of businesses including from the adventure tourism and hospitality sectors, have called on the Premier to deliver the full 176,00ha park proposed, which they say will become a 'game-changing tourist destination. Coffs Skydiver owner Steve Hill said his business relied on the sort of tourists the park would attract, saying 'people that are interested in little fluffy koalas are interested in being in the outdoors, adventures'. 'We've had natural disaster after natural disaster so economically, it's been really tough on the Mid North Coast. This region needs this kind of level of tourism,' Mr Hill said. 'If you bring in a park that goes global – something like the Great Barrier Reef – we all know it will give us the boost that we badly need.' Matt Sparrius, owner of kayak and stand-up paddle board company C-Change, also backed the park as being 'great for our business'. 'For us, it's a no-brainer,' he said. 'The more koalas there are in the park, the more chances there are of seeing of them. 'For tourism, we will have more tourists, there will be more jobs, we can expand our business there will be other businesses that can move into that space. It will be wonderful.' 'Getting the full Great Koala National Park is really critical for us. If we don't get the full park, we won't get those corridors between areas. 'Apart from the koalas, having sugar gliders will also get people out in the park, into the environment.' The NSW government committed $80m over four years in the 2023-24 state budget to support development of the park, including independent economic, social and environmental assessments, and industry and community panels. But key questions remain. Chief among them is the final size of the park, which proponents want to span a whopping 176,000ha. The final size is yet to be determined by the state government, with reports of logging still taking place at the proposed site. If delivered as proposed, the park would span from Coffs Harbour to Woolgoolga. Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation and Mid-North Coast resident, Ken Henry, said delivery of the full park would be a boon for businesses and a 'truly special destination that will put the region on the global tourism map'. 'The declaration can't come soon enough,' the former federal bureaucrat said. 'Every moment we hesitate means losing more koalas and missing crucial opportunities for regional tourism operators to create jobs.' WWF Australia president Judy Slatyer said the 'bold and beautiful' park, if fully realised, would conserve and regenerate forests where not only 12,000 endangered koalas live, but also some 36,000 endangered greater gliders. 'Affected timber workers and regional communities need to be well supported to secure jobs, build their communities and create a future as the park is created,' she said. Footage released earlier this year by the WWF showed logging heavily machinery continue to be operated within Sheas Nob State Forest, island from Coffs Harbour. A previous analysis by the North East Forest Alliance claimed logging has already occurred across 7185ha within the assessment area since the state election, with another report by Wilderness Australia and the National Parks Association of NSW stating in March that a further 1924ha within the proposed park was then being logged.
West Australian
31 minutes ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Five protestors arrested for disrupting Gal Gadot movie
Five protesters have been arrested after they targeted the filming of new Gal Gadot movie in central London. Demonstrators have disrupted filming at various locations across London in recent weeks, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday. The force said the film was targeted "solely because an actress involved in the production is Israeli". The 40-year-old, who has been vocal in her support of Israel, is believed to currently be filming action thriller The Runner. Police were deployed to a filming location in Westminster on Wednesday to identify suspects wanted in connection with offences at earlier protests and to deal with any new offences, Scotland Yard said. Five people were arrested for harassment and offences under Section 241 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act, which deals with wrongfully and unlawfully obstructing access to a workplace. They remain in custody. Two of the arrests relate to incidents at previous protests while three relate to offences that took place on Wednesday, the force said. Superintendent Neil Holyoak said: "While we absolutely acknowledge the importance of peaceful protest, we have a duty to intervene where it crosses the line into serious disruption or criminality. "We have been in discussions with the production company to understand the impact of the protests on their work and on any individuals involved. "I hope today's operation shows we will not tolerate the harassment of or unlawful interference with those trying to go about their legitimate professional work in London."
West Australian
31 minutes ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Swiatek fuelled by 'positive energy' to oust Raducanu
"This place inspires me," said Iga Swiatek - and that pronouncement alone in her Roland Garros stronghold should have been enough to terrify the resurgent French Open champion's challengers. The 'Queen of Clay' hasn't won a single tournament - indeed, she hasn't even reached any final - since she won her fourth title here last year. She's sounded and looked riddled with doubt. Yet on Wednesday, back at 2 Avenue Gordon Bennett, she was somehow infused with what she felt was "positive energy". What a performance she delivered to hammer another grand slam winner, Emma Raducanu, who's been in resurgent mood herself of late, but who just couldn't live with the peerless Pole in a 6-1 6-2 rout. "It was so one-way and so one-sided," Raducanu sighed, doubtless recalling how she only took one game off Swiatek in their Australian Open joust in January. "I guess when Iga is playing well on a court that she's very familiar with, the difference is huge." It was and it always is against the luckless Briton. Swiatek shrugged that it was just a match-up that works well for her as she improved their head-to-head to 5-0 without a set dropped. It's now 23 match wins in a row for Swiatek at her favourite slam, but she's not about to pretend everything is fixed after such a rocky year by her imperious standards. Two wins did not a grand slam triumph make, she gently chided her interrogators. "You always need to be on your toes and ready for what life brings you. And sometimes, it's going to be good, and one day it's not going to be so easy." Aryna Sabalenka is making it look easy, though. Swiss leftie Jil Teichmann was excellent early on, leading 3-1, but ended up getting pounded into the red dirt 6-3 6-1 for her impertinence. There's be a terrific third round clash in prospect between China's Zheng Qinwen, who won the Paris 2024 Olympic title on these courts, and Canada's exciting 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko after they both made comfortable progress. Eighth seed Zheng is looking hugely impressive, her power overwhelming Colombia's Emiliana Arango 6-2 6-3, while Mboko's maiden slam adventure will continue into a sixth match after beating Germany's Eva Lys 6-4 6-4 . Elina Svitolina was up late, cheering on husband Gael Monfils in his three-and-a-half hour, five-set comeback triumph over Hugo Dellien in Tuesday's night match, but the 13th seed showed no ill-effects as she beat Anna Bondar 7-6 (7-4) 7-5. "I'm very happy with his performance, the way that he fought yesterday," she said, adding with a smile: "Of course, I cannot allow myself to be frustrated for him to make his match long! "I just fully support him. Doesn't matter what time he plays."
West Australian
an hour ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Maroons face all-time salvage mission to regain shield
The West Australian exclusive The West Australian exclusive SONNY WALTERS: My three word analysis of every Freo teammate
West Australian
an hour ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Trump again criticises Putin as Ukraine war heats up
US President Donald Trump has again expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the intensifying Ukraine conflict, a day after warning that Putin was "playing with fire" by resisting ceasefire talks while escalating drone and missile attacks. But Trump also told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he was not yet prepared to impose new sanctions on Russia because he did not want the penalties to scuttle a potential peace deal. Russia has proposed holding the next round of direct talks with Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, also on Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Kyiv. The public squabble between the US and Russia unfolded as the three-year-old war heats up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front. Delegates from Russia and Ukraine met earlier this month in Istanbul under pressure from Trump to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War Two, but the talks failed to yield the ceasefire that Kyiv and its Western allies have pushed for. Moscow said certain conditions needed to be met before a ceasefire agreement. Asked whether the Russian leader might be intentionally delaying negotiations, Trump said, "We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not, and if he is, we'll respond a little differently." After speaking to Trump on May 19, Putin said he had agreed to work with Ukraine on a memorandum which would set out the contours of a peace accord including the timing of a ceasefire. Putin's demands for ending the war include a written pledge from Western leaders that NATO will not expand eastward to former Soviet republics such as Ukraine and Georgia and the lifting of some sanctions on Russia, according to Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations. In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump had warned Putin that he was "playing with fire" and that "really bad" things would have happened to Russia already if not for Trump himself. Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told a state TV reporter that Trump's remark suggested he is not well-briefed on the realities of the war. Russia said on Wednesday it had downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions overnight, while Ukraine's military said it had struck several Russian weapon production sites. Ukraine said Russia had launched 88 drones and five ballistic missiles. After Russia said in late April it had ejected Ukrainian forces from the western Kursk region, Moscow's forces have pushed over the border into the neighbouring Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine and taken several villages there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia has gathered 50,000 troops near the northern Sumy region, but added that Kyiv had taken steps to prevent Moscow from conducting a large-scale offensive there. Speaking in Berlin during a visit by Zelenskiy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany and Ukraine will develop the joint production of long-range missiles, a move the Kremlin said was irresponsible and amounted to stoking the war. Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said that the US-led NATO military alliance was using the Ukrainian crisis to build up its presence across eastern Europe and the Baltic but that Russia was advancing along the entire front in Ukraine.
