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Perth Now
2 days ago
- Health
- Perth Now
WA town's only GP to close after four-year search for doctor
Northampton's only general practice clinic will close its doors at the end of the month after failing to secure a new doctor, despite years of recruitment efforts. In a message to patients, Dr Tara Hamilton of Northampton Doctors Surgery said the 'incredibly difficult decision' to shut the clinic followed the July 1 Medicare funding changes, which reduced rebates and made it 'impossible to sustain the practice'. Locals now face a 100km round trip to see a GP in Geraldton. 'I have explored every option, and this is not a decision we've made lightly,' Dr Hamilton said. She said the surgery had been trying to recruit another GP for four years, unsuccessful in their attempts to attract a doctor locally, nationally or internationally to take over the role. Dr Hamilton said Northampton sits in a 'uniquely challenging position', a town that is too remote to attract staff, but not remote enough to qualify for support programs that may have kept the practice open. The loss of the clinic is expected to have a significant impact on the town's ageing population and residents with chronic illness. According to the 2021 census, the Northampton local government area has a population of 3227 people, with more than 40 per cent aged 60 or over, and nearly half living with one or more long-term health conditions. Northampton Doctors Surgery. Credit: Stuart Quinn Geraldton GP and Panaceum Group director Dr Ian Taylor said the situation was 'really quite awful', and another example of the slow but steady demise of WA country towns. 'I'm obviously concerned for the health impact, particularly for the elderly and people with chronic disease, but also for the town itself,' he said. 'It's not just the elderly — it's people with young families and children. If they haven't got access to a doctor up there, then why would you live there? Dr Ian Taylor has served the Geraldton community for more than 40 years. Credit: Matthew Paddick / RegionalHUB 'It's just another nail in the coffin of country towns trying to survive. If it's not bank closures. It's doctors leaving. It's really, really very sad.' While Geraldton clinics will try to fill the gap for Northampton residents, Dr Taylor said they were already stretched. 'Through all practices in town, I'm sure we will support as best as we can, but I'm not certain that the doctors in Geraldton — or practices in Geraldton — have got the capacity to fill in, even on a temporary basis,' he said. 'But it's not ideal. The reason is, a lot of these elderly people would find it difficult to travel — certainly the nursing home residents would find it difficult to travel.' Dr Taylor said it had become almost impossible to attract doctors to regional and remote towns. 'Particularly fully qualified doctors. In other words, vocationally registered, fully qualified specialist GPs are like hen's teeth when it comes to recruiting for country areas,' he said. 'So what they rely on is senior registrars — general practitioners in training. These need supervision, and the big problem we have is the lack of supervisors to assist. It's a Statewide problem, and unfortunately, Northampton is copping it.' Northampton shire President Liz Sudlow said the closure was 'very disappointing' and a blow to the town, despite years of council support for health services. Shire of Northampton President Liz Sudlow. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian 'The Shire of Northampton has worked for many years to assist in the provision of health services for the people of our communities,' she said. 'We have contributed to travel payments to help support doctor travel. We currently support a stay-in-place health program in Kalbarri. Local resident Sam Smith said the closure, believed to be at the end of the month, was 'kick in the guts'. 'I was a chief fire control officer here, my wife was a senior ambulance officer. We've done a lot while we've been here 20 years. It's like a kick in the guts that they'll say oh well we're not gonna supply a doctor,' he said. 'It's going to affect a lot of people. In town we've got the Pioneer Lodge which has got a lot of elderly and retired people in there, if we go to Geraldton we will have to find a doctor that we can go to, I'm sure they're under the hammer . . . we might not even be able to get in, so what do we do when we want a prescription or some advice? 'The farmers and people further out, like at Horrocks, they're going to have a long drive to go to Geraldton, they might be driving well over 150 to 200km to go and get a script or see a doctor, it's ridiculous.' The WA Government announced on Monday that eligible pharmacists will be able to apply for the enhanced access community pharmacy pilot — an initiative set to make it easier for WA residents to access treatment for everyday conditions without having to see a GP. The training program — set to commence in September — would equip pharmacists with the knowledge and skills to diagnose and treat a range of common conditions, with eligible rural and remote pharmacists able to attract a higher subsidy for the program. However, Dr Taylor said the Federal Government was not 'pulling their weight' when it came to GPs in small WA towns. 'To me, it is disgraceful — it's outrageous — that towns throughout WA have to rely on ratepayers and their local government to support general practice, which is a federal responsibility,' he said. 'There needs to be something done to support the single-doctor practices in country towns that must have a doctor to be able to function.' Member for Geraldton Kirrilee Warr MLA said she was working with relevant stakeholders to find a solution. 'It is clear more needs to be done to support rural doctors to ensure they remain situated within their local communities,' she said. 'I'll be raising this urgently at every level of government to advocate for a solution. 'People living in the regions deserve the same access to basic healthcare as the rest of the State.'
Perth Now
03-07-2025
- General
- Perth Now
‘Crazy bushman' reveals hidden population in western suburbs
A crazy bushman is revealing the hidden population in Perth's western suburbs. The area is regarded as the city's famed and charmed 'golden triangle' — where facial spas are more frequent than petrol stations, income is generational, and long-necked turtles live in backyards. Well, not literally in backyards. But closer than one may think, according to self-titled 'Crazy Bushman' Ian Barlow. 'When I show people just how many turtles are actually just living in the parks and waterways they've been visiting every week for years, they are definitely surprised to say the least,' he said. For the past seven years, whenever possible outside his 9-5 workday, Mr Barlow has been photographing Perth's expansive wildlife — keeping a digital scrapbook of some of the city's rarest and at times forgotten species. 'I soon got the name 'the crazy bushman' from my mates because I would just get into the most horrendous and hilarious spots when I'm out bush. And from then on, it just kind of stuck,' he said. Aside from embracing the brand, Mr Barlow's passion for wildlife has also led him to become one of Perth's leading unofficial experts on the long-necked 'oblong' turtle. Snake Neck Turtles inhabit Bunbury's Big Swamp marshlands. Credit: Anthony Santoro / RegionalHUB 'I started photographing them because no one knew about them. No one was photographing them. And that was such a mysterious creature,' he said. 'Coming from a background in lake management, and seeing so little turtles actually in lakes, I felt the need to raise the awareness about our turtle populations and actually reveal the secret lives that they actually have.' The turtles can be found at and around waterways throughout Perth, where they breed, nest and live up to 100 years. Mr Barlow hosts free turtle tours through winter, where he shows small groups of people how and where to spot them, as well as raise awareness about the secretive species. 'It helps raise awareness about how important these species are for our entire ecosystem,' he said. 'Because turtles create magic, and that's what they're really good at doing.' Characterised by their long necks, oblong turtles or southwestern snake-necked turtles are one of two turtle species native to Perth. Relatively large in size, an adult oblong shell can grow up to 40cm long and an adult can live up to 80 years or more. 'Crazy bushman' Ian Barlow at Galup. Credit: Harriet Flinn They are considered vital contributors to wetland and river health, helping regulate populations of smaller aquatic animals and nuisance insects such as mosquitos and midges. Mr Barlow took PerthNow on a recent evening turtle tour and within a couple minutes of walking around Galup with his flashlight and makeshift GoPro tripod, he had already spotted his first subject swimming in the murky water. 'This one is a boy, he's been here for some time,' he declared. Moments later, the turtle's little head popped up out of the water, looking like it had a smile on its face. 'It looks so happy to see you, but it's just the way its face is. But you can't help but smile back,' the turtle tracker said. Despite their cute appearance, Mr Barlow said the swimming creatures remained under threat and faced serious dangers. 'Localised extinction is a very real thing. I have watched it with my very own eyes,' he said. 'The very first lake that I started with was in Hyde Park. I counted 17 turtles that were present, and that was about seven years ago. It was very heart-warming when people are willing to put themselves on the line to actually make a stand for our little guys. 'Researchers at the time said there were 300. But I was there every day for two years, and I could only find the exact same 17 turtles every day for two years. And that number is now actually down to nine.' A recent count at Bibra Lake showed more than 430 turtles had died in a 12-month period. Much of the blame was attributed to foxes but Mr Barlow believes a combination of factors is responsible, including continued development through wetlands. 'When it comes to development near or on wetlands, a lot of people don't actually realise that turtles are actually living there,' he said. 'It takes a very keen eye to actually find turtles and how to look for their signs. Aboriginals have been doing it for tens of thousands of years. 'Their whole existence is about being an ambush predator ... if they feel threatened, they will run away. So you won't even know that they're there unless you know what you're looking for.' In April, the State Government faced backlash from environmentalists over clearing a small suburban wetland to make way for a road extension between Hertha Road and the Mitchell Freeway. Locals were backed by Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas, who claimed dozens of long-necked turtles living within the wetland were at risk. Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said an independent ecologist who monitored the wetland before the clearing had confirmed 'no sightings and presence of turtles', but Mr Barlow's research found otherwise. 'I counted about six turtles at the Hertha Wetland and sent footage of them to Main Roads,' he told PerthNow. 'But they said my footage that I collected was not adequate. And it all kind of went quiet once they started the works and fenced off the area.' Although the community failed to put a stop to the development, Mr Barlow said it was good thing more people were paying attention to the plight of Perth turtles. 'There were a lot of communities jumping up and willing to actually make a change for their local wetland,' he said. 'It was very heart-warming when people are willing to put themselves on the line to actually make a stand for our little guys, our saviours of the wetlands. Because they need our help.' Looking ahead, Mr Barlow said he was excited to embark on his second year of tours and hoped to maintain the momentum around the secret swimmers. 'There's a lot that's actually going on that's just flying under the radar when it comes to our natural environment, and these turtles are just one of them,' he said. 'But once you start looking, you'll actually start to see how beautiful it truly is. And then it just makes you appreciate the entire ecosystem just that little bit more.'
Perth Now
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Epic $8.9M BMX track opens in Perth after two years
The multimillion-dollar redevelopment of Cockburn's Malabar Park BMX track is complete and set to open this weekend for a public unveiling that will include a chance to watch some high energy racing. Eager riders got to drop the gates on the new track earlier this month and those who have been around the circuit appear as proud of the finished product as they are of the local BMX officials and volunteers who have spent five years campaigning, fundraising and waiting for the $8.9 million rebuild. The floodlit facility now also includes a public pump track and playground, barbecue facilities, a rebuilt clubroom, public toilets and car parking. Your local paper, whenever you want it. Cockburn BMX club chairman Kirk Taylor is expecting an immediate increase in local uptake of the two-wheel sport. 'It will be a popular destination for BMX racing and training, community BMX riding, birthday parties and family gatherings,' Mr Taylor said. But the path back to racing at Malabar proved as bumpy as the high-paced circuit that riders are now enjoying. COVID, cost blowouts and tough choices for the City of Cockburn, which has borne the brunt of the $8.9 million financial outlay for the rebuild, would end up leaving the small club without a home track for more than five years. The Cockburn BMX club has been vying for a functional track since 2020. Credit: Gabby Jameson/supplied / RegionalHUB The ageing facility was struggling with drainage and general maintenance when Cockburn BMX made the decision to walk away from its weekly racing in 2020 in the belief that construction would start in 2021. In fact, it wasn't until 2023 that Cockburn council formally committed the money required, after a couple of false starts where the club had first pushed for a more expensive, international standard track and cost-overruns had threatened the project altogether. While this weekend is all about showing off the new circuit and surrounds to the local community, in the future Malabar Park could play host to interstate riders and national level events with its Union Cyclist Internationale accredited track including a 5m start ramp. Saya Sakakibara celebrates after winning gold in the women's BMX racing final in Paris. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP Australia's reigning Olympic gold medallist Saya Sakakibara and French bronze medallist Romain Mahieu have already tested the track and told Mr Taylor 'it was perfect for all skill levels'. 'Whether riders participate for fun and fitness or are on elite development pathways, the improvements to Malabar Park will now provide riders with modern, world-class infrastructure in which to train and compete,' Mr Taylor said. 'The facility will attract national BMX events and draw competitors from across Australia, potentially injecting millions of dollars into the local community. 'Increased community interest in BMX will help the club expand, as new participants experience what our members have enjoyed for over 30 years.' It continues a boom period for local BMX racing. In the past 12 months since Sakakibara did the nation proud at Paris, the Wanneroo track in Perth's north reopened its rebuilt track and now Cockburn has followed suit. Saya Sakakibara (L) has won gold in BMX racing at the Paris Olympics. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP Wanneroo BMX Club secretary Melanie Cox said their redevelopment was already raising the bar for BMX in WA and led to the club having 'lots of new member inquiries coming through'. Saturday's community event at Malabar Park, from 10am to 2pm, will include entertainment, an exclusive riders showcase and food trucks. City of Cockburn mayor Logan Howlett said the revitalised facility now offered something for everyone. 'Whether you are a BMX enthusiast or a family looking for a fun day out, these fantastic facilities are here for the benefit of all Cockburn residents,' Mr Howlett said. 'The UCI accreditation means the track can be used for larger competitions, which will bring people from around Australia to Cockburn all year round. 'These welcome visitors will contribute to the local economy by spending on goods and services, with this significant investment also yielding economic benefits for the city, its businesses and residents.'
Perth Now
22-06-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Margaret River winery scores top honours at wine awards
WA's Xanadu Wines is one of four Australian wineries to score a best-in-show trophy at this year's Decanter World Wine Awards, held in London on June 18. Established by Dr John Lagan in 1977 and owned by the Rathbone family since 2005, the Margaret River mainstay earned the honour with its 2022 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Made using grapes sourced from Timber Creek in Wilyabrup and Victory Point in Treeton, as well as a small amount of malbec from Xanadu's Stevens Road vineyard in Wallcliffe, the winning drop sells from the winery's website for $140 per bottle. Xanadu's big win capped a successful awards night for Margaret River, with the standout Australian subregion asserting its global reputation for premium cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. Decanter judges commended the WA wine region, saying: 'We've known it since back in the 1960s, when (revered agricultural scientist) Dr John Gladstones first suggested that cabernet sauvignon and Margaret River might make a fruitful partnership'. Deep Woods Estate chief winemaker Julian Langworthy. Credit: Tim Campbell / RegionalHUB Xanadu's best-in-show win is the fifth by a Margaret River cabernet in the 22-year history of the wine gongs. The region also snared four platinum medals, including wins for Deep Woods Estate's 2023 Reserve Chardonnay and Gralyn Estate's Museum Rare Muscat NV, plus 18 golds. Australia boasts 80 top-scoring wines in its overall haul of 643 medals, including four best-in-show, 11 platinum and 65 gold medals. Scott and Annette Baxter owners and winemakers Gralyn Estate. Credit: Supplied / RegionalHUB The four best-in-shows is down on recent results. Australia claimed eight in 2024, and 10 in 2023 — the most for any country. The Decanter World Wine Awards are regarded as one of the world's largest and most influential wine competitions, renowned for its rigorous judging process. At this year's awards, 248 international wine experts from 35 countries judged wines from 57 countries. South Australia was the best performing region, claiming 309 medals in total, including best-in-show awards for Wirra Wirra's The 12th Man Chardonnay 2024 from the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Old Vine Company's 2022 Shiraz. Australia's other best-in-show recipient was Heathcote winery Trentham Estate's 2023 Reserve Shiraz.
Perth Now
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
New SBS series follows Agatha Christie's footsteps
I've spent the past weekend steaming through the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Empress of Australia, a passenger liner at the centre of WA author and actor Toby Schmitz's grizzly-but-great debut novel, The Empress Murders. His book, which I inhaled over the course of a weekend, is set in 1925, and is a fantastically dark rumination on the end of the British Empire, the legacy of World War I and a close-up look at colonialism and the murky confusion the world found itself in at the start of last century — it's also a ripping murder mystery. Having spent so much time in that world, I decided to stay in similar terrain and dive into this fabulous travel series, which sees Sir David Suchet, the man who inhabited Agatha Christie's best-known creation, Inspector Hercule Poirot, for 25 years on TV — as he follows her footsteps, retracing early trips the crime novelist took with her then-husband Archie before she became famous (and famously reclusive) in later life. In 1922, Christie, along with her husband, found herself crossing the world on a passenger ship much like the one that's central to Schmitz's book, tasked with visiting various countries to help promote an upcoming British Empire exhibition. The Empress Murders by Toby Schmitz. Credit: Supplied Suchet's first stop is South Africa; in 1924, Christie published a detective novel set there, and in episode one Suchet, armed with his old Leica camera, is off to Cape Town. Later episodes see him travel to Australia, New Zealand and Canada — even Hawaii. It's a delight to traverse the globe in his gentle presence. And — praise be! — there are no murderers along for the ride, though there is plenty of discussion of the devastating violence wrought in the name of king and country. Seek this series out, and give Schmitz's book a read, too. Though be warned: his is a much choppier crossing. Marta Dusseldorp is back for a second season of the delightfully oddball crime drama, Bay Of Fires. Credit: Supplied There's much to like about this Tasmanian crime series, which sees the always-watchable Marta Dusseldorp starring as Stella, a mum-on-the-run in witness protection — it's so delightfully odd! Season two sees her still stranded in off-kilter Mystery Bay with her kids, making the best of things by running the town's criminal enterprises. Mystery Bay's wacky inhabitants have got used to the spoils of their ill-gotten gains, but their harmonious anonymity is about to be tested as Stella finds herself in the sights of an 'unhinged apiarist drug lord' and 'maniacal doomsday cult'. It can't end well. Worth a second look, and a satisfying continuation of the story. Nicolas Cage in The Surfer. Credit: Supplied / RegionalHUB Remember when Nicolas Cage spent a few weeks living down south, shopping at the Asian grocery store in Busselton? He was there shooting this psychedelic surf thriller for Stan. Worth a look for the curious. This year's competitors on Dancing With The Stars. Credit: Nicholas Wilson Rebecca Gibney, Susie O'Neill, Felicity Ward, Osher Gunsberg and Shaun Micallef are just some of the stars making their dance floor debut this Sunday. You KNOW I'll be tuning in to see how they fare. America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is back for a second series. Credit: Supplied Sorry, not sorry, but I loved the first season of this doco. This one follows the 2024-25 cheerleading squad from auditions right through to the season, and it won't be smooth sailing. Cannot wait to feel woefully inadequate as I check back in with these impossibly glamorous gals.
