source : the age
A compliance blitz across WA’s regional abattoirs has revealed widespread safety issues, with 562 improvement notices and six prohibition notices issued across 19 facilities.
WorkSafe said the most common reason for an improvement notice was guarding of machinery (81), followed by provision of a safe layout (52), maintenance (20), and emergency stops (18).
The watchdog, in a statement, said the most common tool used in the industry and the cause of the most lost time injuries was the knife.
“Common issues relating to knives included workers walking around with knives, knives being left unsecured around the workplace, workers sharpening knives near other workers, and workers using damaged knives,” it said.
“The best practice system seen in workplaces involved asset tracking, where workers received a sharp, sterilised knife at the start of their shift and returned the knife at the end of the shift for resharpening and storage.”
Worksafe said it would continue to monitor the sector.
Japanese companies with gas export interests have met with Australian policymakers at least two dozen times in recent years, as an analysis asserts narratives pushed by both countries do not align with global climate goals.
Japanese firms, including INPEX, JERA and Mitsubishi Corporation, have almost $70 billion ($US50 billion) in equity invested in 13 Australian liquefied natural gas export projects, according to research from climate think tank InfluenceMap.
The report’s author Jack Herring was surprised by the scale of their financial stake.
“This serves to link Japanese corporate interests directly to Australia’s gas export economy,” InfluenceMap’s Australian program manager said.
Australia – and, in particular, WA – is a major supplier of gas to Japan but in recent years, the importer’s practice of reselling it to other markets – namely Southeast Asia – has come under scrutiny, particularly against the backdrop of warnings Australia might not have enough of the fuel to meet domestic needs.
Roughly 600 to 800 petajoules of Australian gas was onsold to other Asian markets by Japanese companies in 2024, according to Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis estimates – comparable to eastern Australia’s annual domestic gas consumption.
InfluenceMap says four tactics are being used to keep expanding the fossil fuel industry: investment, lobbying in Australia, government influence in Japan, and public and political “narrative capture”.
At least 24 meetings between Japanese companies and Australian ministers and officials since Labor came to power in 2022 have been identified via freedom of information requests.
Herring said the two-dozen meetings were “the tip of the iceberg” and it was impossible to know the full extent without mandatory ministerial diary disclosures and other transparency reforms.
The report also contained briefs, revealed for the first time, prepared for Federal Resources Minister and WA MP Madeleine King before an October 2024 visit to Japan that repeatedly emphasised Australia’s commitment to “encouraging targeted investment into new gas projects in Australia”.
Pro-LNG narratives were also tested against scientific guidance for meeting global climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
Common descriptions of gas as a “transition fuel”, as well as its importance for energy affordability and security, were deemed inconsistent with science-based pathways to stay within the 1.5C warming limit.
Herring said continued investment in the LNG industry could delay decarbonisation in both Australia and the broader region by locking in decades of gas production.
He pointed to a Deloitte report commissioned by the WA Labor government and leaked in 2025 that found gas could “crowd out investments in renewable technologies”.
A spokesperson for King said regular meetings with industry stakeholders were part of the role.
“Japan has been a strong and valued investment partner for Australia’s offshore LNG industry,” the spokesperson said.
A JERA spokesperson said like many businesses in Australia, it regularly engaged with state and federal governments and regulators on the operation and management of the LNG projects it is involved in.
“Australian LNG contributes to Japan’s supplies of reliable and affordable gas while generating valuable jobs and revenue in Australia,” the spokesperson said.
INPEX senior vice president corporate Bill Townsend said the company took a “bi-partisan approach to government engagement” and highlighted the jobs created by the Ichthys LNG project it operates, and its tax contributions.
“We are actively working to support Indo-Pacific energy security, while helping the region to achieve net zero by 2050, as detailed in our INPEX Vision 2035 strategic roadmap,” he said.
AAP
A compliance blitz across WA’s regional abattoirs has revealed widespread safety issues, with 562 improvement notices and six prohibition notices issued across 19 facilities.
WorkSafe said the most common reason for an improvement notice was guarding of machinery (81), followed by provision of a safe layout (52), maintenance (20), and emergency stops (18).
The watchdog, in a statement, said the most common tool used in the industry and the cause of the most lost time injuries was the knife.
“Common issues relating to knives included workers walking around with knives, knives being left unsecured around the workplace, workers sharpening knives near other workers, and workers using damaged knives,” it said.
“The best practice system seen in workplaces involved asset tracking, where workers received a sharp, sterilised knife at the start of their shift and returned the knife at the end of the shift for resharpening and storage.”
Worksafe said it would continue to monitor the sector.
Detectives are investigating an arson attack on a convenience store in Kelmscott that was ram raided and set on fire during the early hours of this morning.
Firefighters were called to Free Choice Mart around 3.30am to discover the shopfront destroyed, and the store ablaze.
A jerry can of fuel was found nearby.
Taskforce Maverick, which was established to tackle Perth’s growing tobacco wars, is investigating the incident.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch told Radio 6PR he was confident new laws about to be introduced into parliament would help police take more enforcement action against stores selling illicit tobacco products.
“It gets very tiring,” he said.
“This type of arson attack has a high risk of hurting or killing people.”
To overnight news now, and a family-run jewellery store in the city has been targeted in a smash and grab.
Allgem Jewellers in London Court had its front window smashed around 11.30pm, with the culprit fleeing with $600 worth of items.
Owner Brendan Gryg told 9News Perth the biggest cost would be the damage the accused person caused to the heritage-listed shopfront.
“We got a phone call about 11.30pm last night from the alarm company saying there’s a glass break,” he said.
“I jumped on the cameras and thought, ‘Wow, the front window’s beautifully spotless’, then I realised all of the glass was gone, someone had removed the whole front window and taken what they could from inside.”
A 36-year-old man from Seville Grove was arrested a few streets away and is due to appear in court later today.
Ex-tropical cyclone Mitchell weakened to a tropical low overnight after crossing the coast near Shark Bay around 4pm on Monday.
The system lingered off the North West coast as it tracked south, reaching a category 3 storm at its peak on Saturday as it passed Dampier.
Most seem unscathed by the cyclone, with some damage to trees caused by wind gusts up to 107km/h.
Much of the state will continue to feel the effects of the system over the coming days as it tracks south-east, bringing with it wind, rain and flood warnings.
Here’s what’s making news across the nation and around the world today:
- Dozens of protesters have been arrested in violent clashes with police as thousands demonstrated against visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog, hours after a court rejected a bid to strip police of enhanced powers granted during his time in Sydney.
- Communications Minister Anika Wells has written to controversial video game giant Roblox seeking an urgent meeting following reports that children on the popular platform have been exposed to sexually explicit and suicide-related material.
- On the eve of the rollout of new scam laws, scammers are finding new ways to hit Australians. Consumer and industry groups are warning delays and gaps will allow mass fraud to persist.
- Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has refused to answer questions before the US Congress, as her lawyer says she will clear President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing in exchange for clemency from her 20-year prison sentence.
Good morning readers and welcome to our live news blog for Tuesday, February 10.
Making headlines today, Premier Roger Cook has again floated the idea of completing the circle route rail line – but this time raised the possibility of bringing in the help of light rail or trackless trams.
Cook made the comments at a Property Council of WA lunch on Friday, when he was asked about the next evolution of Labor’s Metronet public transport network.
And the section of Mitchell Freeway in Butler where two people died in a crash after a ute travelled the wrong way on Sunday night is near where a beloved Perth grandfather died in a similar crash in October.
An Izuzu ute was travelling southbound in the northbound lanes near Lukin Drive in Butler about 11.25pm on Sunday when it crashed into a Toyota Yaris hatchback and MG MG4 hatchback.
Stay with us as we bring you the news of the day, as it happens.
