Basil Zempilas: Hakea report shows Labor is fixated on votes over basic needs
2. A scathing report which described conditions within Hakea prison as 'entirely unacceptable' is the latest evidence of a Government fixated on pet projects such as the racetrack at Burswood, instead of the basics. As 7NEWS veteran Geof Parry put it so well, 'there's very few votes in prisons or prisoners — and the Government knows it, but the public should pay more attention. Every time there's a breakout or prison riot, the bill to taxpayers can run into the millions.'
3. Not everything has to be about dollars or votes. In WA we expect a certain standard, even for those who are behind bars. Prisoners being kept in inhumane conditions increases the risk to prison guards and decreases the chances of any meaningful rehabilitation. If there's no chance of prisoners coming out any better than they went in, we've lost our way.
4. Vale Ozzy Osbourne. I never really got into him, Black Sabbath or the family reality show, but the other day I saw a clip of him meeting his lifetime idol Sir Paul McCarthy. The genuine warmth and respect he showed for the legendary Beatle was enough to convince me Ozzy was all right.
5. I was at the West Coast Fever's semi-final demolition of the Sydney Swifts on Sunday — a display I'd rank as one of the most dominant team performances I've seen. The Fever's on-court confidence has carried them to 13 consecutive wins and the grand final. One to go.
6. The other delight of attending with my daughter and niece, was seeing first-hand the phenomenal match day atmosphere and sheer inspiration the Fever players provide the stadium full of impressionable young athletes. I'm not sure any club in WA does it better. What wonderful role models they are.
7. I visited our State's largest food relief provider, Foodbank, this week. It was a reminder of how many people in WA are doing it tough. Each year Foodbank provides more than 9 million meals to West Aussies in need.
8. Can the Dockers win the flag? They can if they sneak into the top four.
9. One of the most remarkable people I have ever met turns 90 tomorrow. Happy birthday Don Cruden, a sparkling gentleman with an insatiable appetite for knowledge, who served his country for 21 years in the 7RAR 'Porky Pig' battalion of the Australian Army.
10. The WA Liberals listening tour is in Harvey on Friday. I'll be with Michelle Boylan MLC at the Curious Cockatoo Café at 9am. Great name. Come and say hi.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
18 hours ago
- West Australian
Super Netball 2025: West Coast Fever fly out to Melbourne for grand final clash against Vixens
The 'Green Machine' has hit the road as they look to win the war that is set to be the Super Netball grand final. It comes as Super Netball announced the decider was officially a sell-out, with more than 14,000 tickets sold in what is set to break the grand final attendance record set in Perth in 2022. West Coast Fever flew out to Melbourne on Thursday morning as they prepare to take on the Melbourne Vixens in this year's decider at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday afternoon. Fever players were all smiles as they left in pursuit of their second premiership in four seasons having won a league-record 13 consecutive games on the way to their fourth decider in club history. But none at the Virgin terminal were happier than Margaret and Jeffrey Byrd — dressed in their Fever merchandise — who were shocked when they walked into Virgin terminal to discover they were on the same flight as the Fever who they were going to watch play in the grand final. Fever players stopped to take photos with the couple with Margaret determined to get a selfie with defender Fran Williams. 'I hoped because I'd seen them before coming to the airport, it's a stroke of luck,' Margaret said. 'We booked tickets when they first came out. We we're going anyway but it's awesome for them to be in the final,' Jeffrey said. One player not on the plane with them is defender Ruth Aryang, who was sidelined for the season with a ruptured Achilles she sustained in April. But she remains firmly in the team's thoughts, with players and coach Dan Ryan taking small laminated bag tags reading 'We Run For Ruth'. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Ryan said they wanted fans to get around the game and enjoy every moment. 'Make as much noise as possible, as much green as we can possibly see around the city,' he said. 'To all those that will be in the stadium there at Rod Laver Arena, we're going to need your voice, we're going to need your energy. So make sure we can see you and make sure we can hear you.'
Perth Now
18 hours ago
- Perth Now
Fantastic Fever hit the road bound for grand final glory
The 'Green Machine' has hit the road as they look to win the war that is set to be the Super Netball grand final. It comes as Super Netball announced the decider was officially a sell-out, with more than 14,000 tickets sold in what is set to break the grand final attendance record set in Perth in 2022. West Coast Fever flew out to Melbourne on Thursday morning as they prepare to take on the Melbourne Vixens in this year's decider at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday afternoon. Fever players were all smiles as they left in pursuit of their second premiership in four seasons having won a league-record 13 consecutive games on the way to their fourth decider in club history. Kadie-Ann Dehaney with a fan. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian But none at the Virgin terminal were happier than Margaret and Jeffrey Byrd — dressed in their Fever merchandise — who were shocked when they walked into Virgin terminal to discover they were on the same flight as the Fever who they were going to watch play in the grand final. Fever players stopped to take photos with the couple with Margaret determined to get a selfie with defender Fran Williams. 'I hoped because I'd seen them before coming to the airport, it's a stroke of luck,' Margaret said. Fran Williams takes a selfie with Margaret Byrd. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian 'We booked tickets when they first came out. We we're going anyway but it's awesome for them to be in the final,' Jeffrey said. One player not on the plane with them is defender Ruth Aryang, who was sidelined for the season with a ruptured Achilles she sustained in April. But she remains firmly in the team's thoughts, with players and coach Dan Ryan taking small laminated bag tags reading 'We Run For Ruth'. A 'Run for Ruth' bag tag on the bag of coach Dan Ryan. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Ryan said they wanted fans to get around the game and enjoy every moment. 'Make as much noise as possible, as much green as we can possibly see around the city,' he said. Jeffrey and Margaret Byrd with West Coast Fever players Caitlyn Brown, Jess Anstiss, Sloan Burton, Sunday Aryang, Jordan Cransberg and Fran Williams. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian 'To all those that will be in the stadium there at Rod Laver Arena, we're going to need your voice, we're going to need your energy. So make sure we can see you and make sure we can hear you.' Jhaneile Fowler-Nembhard. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian
The Advertiser
21 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Fever reveal driving force behind dominant campaign
West Coast Fever coach Dan Ryan has revealed last year's heartbreaking one-goal preliminary final loss to the Melbourne Vixens has been the driving force behind his team's record-breaking 2025 campaign. The Fever and Vixens are the fiercest of rivals, and will face off for Super Netball title glory in Saturday's grand final at Rod Laver Arena. West Coast are on a league-record 13-match winning run, with their 77-45 demolition of the NSW Swifts in the major semi-final their best performance of the season. That display earned the Fever a week off. The Vixens will also enter the decider brimming with confidence after coming from 10 goals down in the last quarter to beat the Swifts 66-65 last week. The Fever and Vixens boast arguably Super Netball's fiercest rivalry. The Vixens beat West Coast 66-64 in the 2020 grand final, before the Fever returned the favour in the 2022 decider with a crushing 70-59 triumph. But the pain of losing last year's preliminary final 73-72 to the Vixens still burns strong for the Fever, and they'll get the chance for revenge on Saturday night. "If we look at the prelim final last year, that's really been the driving force behind this year's campaign - addressing the gaps that we needed to close across the course of the season," Ryan said. "It's a grand final, so it does bring out the best teams. "Whilst we've won by 10 and 11 respectively (this season) we have to anticipate a goal for goal battle that goes right down to the wire." The Fever (12-2) finished on top of the ladder, while the Vixens (8-6) only just scraped into fourth. But under Super Netball's controversial policy of selling the grand final hosting rights before each season, Melbourne will have home-court advantage given the match is being played at Rod Laver Arena. Not that you'll catch the Fever crying foul about it. "I think it poses an even greater challenge that we're all really excited by, to beat the Vixens on their home court," Ryan said. "Every time we've had an away game in the home-and-away season, we've acknowledged that if we're going to win the competition, we have to do it away from home. "I've got great confidence in our group that we can stay really tight in that Fever bubble and stay really locked in and laser-focused about what we need to do together." The Fever, led by superstar goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, will enter the decider as hot favourites - a mantle Ryan is embracing. West Coast Fever coach Dan Ryan has revealed last year's heartbreaking one-goal preliminary final loss to the Melbourne Vixens has been the driving force behind his team's record-breaking 2025 campaign. The Fever and Vixens are the fiercest of rivals, and will face off for Super Netball title glory in Saturday's grand final at Rod Laver Arena. West Coast are on a league-record 13-match winning run, with their 77-45 demolition of the NSW Swifts in the major semi-final their best performance of the season. That display earned the Fever a week off. The Vixens will also enter the decider brimming with confidence after coming from 10 goals down in the last quarter to beat the Swifts 66-65 last week. The Fever and Vixens boast arguably Super Netball's fiercest rivalry. The Vixens beat West Coast 66-64 in the 2020 grand final, before the Fever returned the favour in the 2022 decider with a crushing 70-59 triumph. But the pain of losing last year's preliminary final 73-72 to the Vixens still burns strong for the Fever, and they'll get the chance for revenge on Saturday night. "If we look at the prelim final last year, that's really been the driving force behind this year's campaign - addressing the gaps that we needed to close across the course of the season," Ryan said. "It's a grand final, so it does bring out the best teams. "Whilst we've won by 10 and 11 respectively (this season) we have to anticipate a goal for goal battle that goes right down to the wire." The Fever (12-2) finished on top of the ladder, while the Vixens (8-6) only just scraped into fourth. But under Super Netball's controversial policy of selling the grand final hosting rights before each season, Melbourne will have home-court advantage given the match is being played at Rod Laver Arena. Not that you'll catch the Fever crying foul about it. "I think it poses an even greater challenge that we're all really excited by, to beat the Vixens on their home court," Ryan said. "Every time we've had an away game in the home-and-away season, we've acknowledged that if we're going to win the competition, we have to do it away from home. "I've got great confidence in our group that we can stay really tight in that Fever bubble and stay really locked in and laser-focused about what we need to do together." The Fever, led by superstar goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, will enter the decider as hot favourites - a mantle Ryan is embracing. West Coast Fever coach Dan Ryan has revealed last year's heartbreaking one-goal preliminary final loss to the Melbourne Vixens has been the driving force behind his team's record-breaking 2025 campaign. The Fever and Vixens are the fiercest of rivals, and will face off for Super Netball title glory in Saturday's grand final at Rod Laver Arena. West Coast are on a league-record 13-match winning run, with their 77-45 demolition of the NSW Swifts in the major semi-final their best performance of the season. That display earned the Fever a week off. The Vixens will also enter the decider brimming with confidence after coming from 10 goals down in the last quarter to beat the Swifts 66-65 last week. The Fever and Vixens boast arguably Super Netball's fiercest rivalry. The Vixens beat West Coast 66-64 in the 2020 grand final, before the Fever returned the favour in the 2022 decider with a crushing 70-59 triumph. But the pain of losing last year's preliminary final 73-72 to the Vixens still burns strong for the Fever, and they'll get the chance for revenge on Saturday night. "If we look at the prelim final last year, that's really been the driving force behind this year's campaign - addressing the gaps that we needed to close across the course of the season," Ryan said. "It's a grand final, so it does bring out the best teams. "Whilst we've won by 10 and 11 respectively (this season) we have to anticipate a goal for goal battle that goes right down to the wire." The Fever (12-2) finished on top of the ladder, while the Vixens (8-6) only just scraped into fourth. But under Super Netball's controversial policy of selling the grand final hosting rights before each season, Melbourne will have home-court advantage given the match is being played at Rod Laver Arena. Not that you'll catch the Fever crying foul about it. "I think it poses an even greater challenge that we're all really excited by, to beat the Vixens on their home court," Ryan said. "Every time we've had an away game in the home-and-away season, we've acknowledged that if we're going to win the competition, we have to do it away from home. "I've got great confidence in our group that we can stay really tight in that Fever bubble and stay really locked in and laser-focused about what we need to do together." The Fever, led by superstar goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, will enter the decider as hot favourites - a mantle Ryan is embracing.
