Good morning, here are your headlines from around regional Australia and beyond. Scroll down and refresh for weather, news and more.
MANDURAH: Dawesville resident Maria Gawor is worried that the nature corridor near her house could go up in flames in summer and emergency services wouldn’t be able to access the site, after the City of Mandurah erected a fence around the reserve with no vehicle access.
Ms Gawor said a fire in the reserve could be catastrophic, since the caravan park, where there’s tens of gas bottles, is only a few metres away. Read more.
BUNBURY: The state government have moved quickly to deliver a key election commitment by introducing a maximum life imprisonment penalty for the trafficking of methamphetamine.
The Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill 2017 was one of the first bills introduced to the new state parliament and will see the maximum sentence for meth trafficking increased from 25 years to life imprisonment.
The new penalties are part of the government’s methamphetamine action plan which aims to reduce the supply of meth in WA and break the cycle of drug-related crime. Read more.
ESPERANCE: An Esperance-based high school driving program has received two national road safety awards for giving students a jump start on the road to getting their licences.
Keys for Life is running in all Esperance secondary schools and gives staff the ability to run learners permit tests and educate year 10-12 students about safer road use. Read more.
MARGARET RIVER: Voyager Estate has announced the appointment of their new Head Chef who commences at the restaurant this month.
Spanish-born Santiago Fernandez arrives in the region following a five year stint at Sault in Victoria’s Daylesford region and according to Voyager owner Alexandra Burt, has a genuine understanding of local and seasonal produce and sourcing from local growers. Read more.
BUSSELTON: The team from the Busselton Jetty jumped onboard Australia’s biggest morning tea to help raise money for the Cancer Council on Sunday.
According to the Cancer Council, there are more than 1.1 million Australians who are living with cancer or have survived a diagnosis. The funds raised help save lives through the prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer. Read more.
COLLIE: We look back at familiar faces and fond memories of Collie's Riding Develops Abilities over the past few years. Recognise anyone you know in these photos.
YORK: Main Roads is working with the Shire of York and the Wheatbelt Development Commission to identify a heavy haulage bypass route in York.
The study aims to plan road infrastructure well in advance to meet future residential and industrial development needs and investigate options that can improve safety by removing heavy vehicles from the York town site and heritage sites. Read more.
Regional news
►VICTORIA: Five gold mining projects north of Bendigo – including one bankrolled by mining magnate Gina Rinehart – have received state government grants totalling $1.2 million. Read more
►BALLARAT: Victoria Police is investigating if an off-duty police officer was involved in a Ballarat neighbourhood dispute that led to a woman sustaining serious injuries. Read more
►NSW: A stranger accused of whipping an eight-year-old child with a dog leash in a Figtree park has left an unmistakable mark on the boy, prompting an angry outcry. Read more
►TASMANIA: Tasmanian wildlife rescuers are calling for help from the public to identify those responsible for the death of a Wedge-tailed eagle. Read more
►ACT: You've probably watched The Simpsons intro 18 million times but this is the version that tops them all.
Canberra has been officially Simpson-ised in a clever two-minute animation developed by ANU students for this year's ANU Med Revue. Watch the video
►WAGGA WAGGA: The history of unique coins and stamps were rediscovered by hundreds of collectors across the country in Wagga at the weekend.
More than 400 people headed to the fair, held at Sturt Public School, buying or selling items from their precious collections. Read more
►WARRNAMBOOL: A single mother with two boys is devastated after her Commodore station wagon was torched early Monday morning. Read more
►NSW: All people receiving the Parenting Payment with children five years or under will be eligible for the Federal government’s new work training scheme, which is compulsory for some parents. Read more
National news
►For Andrew Forrest and his wife, Nicola - as for so many people - the fight against cancer is personal.
Both sides of their family have been afflicted, dating all the way back to Mr Forrest's great-great-uncle John - the first premier of Western Australia - who was killed by melanoma 99 years ago. More recently, both have watched close family members struggle against the "emperor of all maladies".Read more
►Former Prime Minister John Howard has thrown cold water on the idea that Tony Abbott might soon return as Coalition leader and prime minister, saying there is "no appetite for change" within the party. Read more
National weather radar:
World news:
►BANGKOK: A bomb exploded in the reception room of a military-owned hospital in the Thai capital on Monday, the third anniversary of a 2014 coup.
Twenty-five people were wounded in the blast at the Phramongkutklao Hospital near Bangkok's historic Victory Monument, which is popular with retired military officers. Read more
►LONDON: Rolf Harris has attended his trial on groping allegations for the first time since leaving prison on Friday and heard as one of his accusers testified that she would never seek compensation and was motivated only by the quest for "justice" and "vindication." Read more
On this day
FACES OF AUSTRALIA
EMMA BANKS
Emma Banks is missing a big chunk of her brain. A stroke she suffered before she was born left a large fluid-filled cyst where part of her brain was supposed to be.
Not that you’d know it to look at her.
The gregarious two-year-old has hit all her milestones except one – she’s yet to walk unaided, but is almost there. Read more