WA news LIVE: Cook holds line on gas; Man hospitalised after road rage incident in Perth’s north

Gas is more than an insurance policy for reliable power, the industry insists, as executives prepare to ship the resource from coast to coast for homes and industry.

Shortfalls are getting closer, particularly for Australia’s southern states, Origin Energy boss Frank Calabria told reporters at an industry conference in Perth.

“If there’s no further supply into those markets, you’ve got two choices – you’ve got to transport gas from Queensland, or you’re going to have an import terminal,” he said.

LNG import terminals in NSW or Victoria could store and supply homes and industry – taking gas from Western Australia, Queensland or foreign markets – instead of sending it through eastern pipelines.

Woodside Energy boss Meg O’Neill said she was keen to work on a proposed LNG re-gasification terminal at the Geelong refinery to support the national electricity market’s transition to lower-carbon energy.

“Since we concluded the merger with BHP Petroleum we now have a significant position in the east coast gas market. We can see that is a market that needs more gas,” she said.

But the idea of permanent price intervention by governments “is a sure way to drive gas out of the system and make the problem worse,” she warned.

The Australian Energy Producers Conference and Exhibition is being held from May 20 to 23 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

AAP

Property owners are selling up in greater numbers than this time last year as higher interest rates and cost-of-living pressures take their toll, prompting some to reduce debt or downsize.

In Perth, owners are also selling to take advantage of rising prices, with new listings up 4 per cent from a year ago.

“Vendor activity really started to pick up through the middle of last year and in some ways that’s continued,” CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.

“There probably is an element of derisking for households to reduce their level of debt, maybe downsize, cash out of the market ahead of any chance they might be falling behind on their mortgage repayments.”

He said another reason for the rise in listings was that owners who delayed selling during the downturn two years ago might now be moving ahead with plans.

“We’re still seeing some catch-up from that long period where vendors were very much inactive,” Lawless said.

You can read more about the state of the national property market here. 

A Perth man is in hospital with broken bones after an alleged road rage incident in Dianella on Tuesday night.

Mirrabooka detectives say the incident occurred around 5.55pm after a minor crash involving a white ute and silver Holden Commodore sedan at the intersection of Alexander Drive and Woodrow Avenue.

The 55-year-old driver of the Holden Commodore was approached by the driver of the ute who assaulted and then stole from him.

The man was taken to hospital via ambulance for treatment of his injuries sustained during the assault, including broken bones.

The driver of the white utility is described as male with an olive complexion and was wearing a surgical mask.

Mirrabooka detectives are seeking assistance from the public to identify the white utility vehicle and driver.

Anyone with any information relating to this incident are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestopperswa.com.au.

Here’s what’s making headlines today.

Ye gods! Is that rain finally on the horizon for Friday? We’ll believe it when we see it.

Good morning – Holly Thompson here, WAtoday’s education reporter, taking over the blog this morning as Heather McNeill has a well-deserved day off.

Making news locally: our state’s premier is walking a challenging line, taking our politics journo Hamish Hastie through the issues of wanting to sell WA’s gas to the world, and yet wanting to keep tabs on whether these international buyers are still doing something to transition away from fossil fuels.

The principal of one of this city’s most respected schools shares why she doesn’t let her students have phones at school – and thinks it’s time we went further and legislated a minimum age for smartphones.

Here is what she had to say:

While West Australian Premier Roger Cook has joined other states’ calls for an enforced age limit on social media – a welcomed announcement – there is no doubt society has left it quite late to decide if, in care of our youth, we should regulate social media.

And finally, you won’t want to miss this one: Perth’s “Banh Mi King and Queen” share their Saturday “food adventures” in our fair northern suburbs.

We guarantee this article will have you making plans for your own food adventure.

Stick with me today; I’ll bring you more news as it happens.