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Roof repair conmen scamming West Aussies out of thousands
Roof repair conmen scamming West Aussies out of thousands

Perth Now

time6 hours ago

  • Perth Now

Roof repair conmen scamming West Aussies out of thousands

Door-knocking conmen are swindling WA households out of tens of thousands of dollars for minor roof repairs that they don't complete. Consumer protection issued a warning on Wednesday after an elderly Hillman couple were approached at their home by two men who said their roof required cleaning, tile tuckpointing and minor fascia board repairs. Without providing a quote the men began the job and instructed the couple to acquire a cheque for $18,645 and deposit it directly into their bank account. This allowed them to bypass bank surveillance security cameras and cover the money trail. A Parmelia couple suffered a similar ordeal when they were approached at their door by a man driving a white Ute who used sales tactics to convince them to let him clean their roof. Initially quoted $1,950, the couple were coerced into paying $2,145 – allegedly to cover GST. Shortly after the man left the couple noticed he did not complete any of the tasks promised and new water leaks emerged from the roof. The homeowners later discovered their security camera had been deliberately repositioned away from the front of the property, preventing any footage of the man being captured. Consumer Protections commissioner Trish Blake urged WA households to turn away door-knocking tradesmen if approached. Credit: Jackson Flindell / The West Australian Consumer Protections commissioner Trish Blake urged WA households to turn away door-knocking tradesmen if approached. 'These conmen move from town to town using high-pressure tactics to push overpriced roof restoration jobs – often delivering little to no actual work,' Ms Blake said. 'They are in clear breach of the Australian Consumer Law by disregarding the mandatory 10-day cooling-off period for unsolicited approaches. During this time, no payment should be made and no work is legally permitted. 'What's particularly concerning in these latest reports is the group's failure to provide formal quotes or contact details, leaving consumers with no way to follow up. 'Without a written quote – which sets expectations and offers legal protection – victims are further being denied their right to seek a remedy. 'Consumers looking to get this work done should always seek multiple written quotes to compare price and value, and research traders in advance by requesting references and viewing examples of previous work.' Anyone who receives a knock at the door from traders offering roof restoration services should say 'no' and call Consumer Protection on 1300 30 40 54.

WIN a Girl's Night out to see Bride Hard
WIN a Girl's Night out to see Bride Hard

West Australian

time17 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • West Australian

WIN a Girl's Night out to see Bride Hard

Grab one of your besties and the popcorn – it's time for the ultimate girls' night out with the chance to win a double pass to see the hilarious action-comedy Bride Hard . Die Hard meets Bridesmaids, as Australia's very own Rebel Wilson stars as a secret agent forced to play maid of honour for her childhood best friend's wedding. With suspicious bridesmaids watching her every move and the entire wedding party held hostage, it's up to her to do what none of the other bridesmaids can – wage war on anyone who would ruin the most important day of her friend's life. In Cinemas July 31st. Watch the trailer here. For your chance to win, look for the code word in PLAY magazine in The West Australian and enter your details below. Entries close 12:00pm, Friday 4 July 2025 . Terms and Conditions apply .

WA Young Achiever Awards: Noongar Wongi rapper and youth mentor Joshua ‘Flewnt' Eggington named overall winner
WA Young Achiever Awards: Noongar Wongi rapper and youth mentor Joshua ‘Flewnt' Eggington named overall winner

West Australian

time20 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • West Australian

WA Young Achiever Awards: Noongar Wongi rapper and youth mentor Joshua ‘Flewnt' Eggington named overall winner

When he's not under the bright lights on stage, he spends his time with young people in custody at Perth's Banksia Hill and Casuarina prisons. Proud Noongar Wongi man Joshua 'Flewnt' Eggington, 29, was the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Western Australia Young Achiever of the Year Award presented by Minister for Youth Hannah Beazley. Mr Eggington was selected from the nine category winners, who were announced at the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards Gala Presentation Dinner. He founded FN Focus, a First Nations-led music label supporting Indigenous artist development and sustainable careers, in 2023 and is known worldwide for his songs Flip the Shame and Never Forget Since breaking into the Australian hip-hop scene in 2010, the father of five from Palmyra has used his music to pay homage to his family and culture. 'Hip-hop comes from the voiceless and the oppressed,' he told The West Australian in 2024 after being crowned the City of Melville's Auspire Young Citizen of the Year, for dedicating hours at Melville Library helping budding musicians write songs. 'Just by it's nature, hip-hop has this sort of attachment of being able to give people a chance to speak their truth. 'Music has always been one of the great forces behind political change, so I feel like I'm contributing to that through music. 'For me, it's always been about my community and the things I've observed as a young Aboriginal man, like all the rallies and protests I went to when I was a kid with my uncles, marching through the streets and protesting for our rights and Aboriginal equality and change and all these different issues that face my community.' Mr Eggington is a youth worker — mainly in the prison system in Banksia Hill and Casuarina — who teaches songwriting and music therapy. Many of the young people he works with are Indigenous and he previously told The West music is a way for the kids to connect with their culture. 'When you're working with young people who are disconnected from culture, they yearn for it,' he said. 'I am trying to give them a contemporary channel to be able to connect back to their culture and to their people and to be able to speak on their thoughts of what's going on.' In between youth work and music, Mr Eggington has found himself as something of a mentor to young artists across WA, and a vocal advocate for West Coast hip-hop. The award winner's eldest son, Ethan, is also a hip-hop artist, named Inkabee who recorded his first track at seven years old. Their family double act was busy last year touring regional WA as part of the Perth Festival and Mr Eggington appeared on America's Got Talent with his now 13-year-old son. All of the WA Young Achiever Award winners were announced on Friday at Pan Pacific Perth, in front of an audience of almost 400 people, hosted by 7NEWS presenter Jerrie Demasi. Mr Eggington also won the National Indigenous Times Indigenous Community Leadership Award. Each category winner received a free mentoring and strategy session with DMT Coaching, valued at $400, and will feature on a TV ad campaign that will be aired on the Seven Network across Western Australia.

Hollywood star Billy Zane is in Perth for Supanova
Hollywood star Billy Zane is in Perth for Supanova

Perth Now

timea day ago

  • Entertainment
  • Perth Now

Hollywood star Billy Zane is in Perth for Supanova

From playing the dastardly antagonist in Titanic to an unforgettable cameo in Zoolander, Billy Zane enjoys cult status in Hollywood, and has brought that star power to Perth this weekend for Supanova. Zane is one of the headliners of the annual celebration of all things pop culture, and told The West Australian the opportunity to share his many notable characters with West Aussie fans felt like 'a strange dream that has a Rip Van Winkle quality to it'. 'When you think of the Back to the Futures, Memphis Belle, Titanic and The Phantom, you just go, 'Wow', although, mind you, there's 100 turkeys that really are the shoulders that those movies stand upon,' he laughed. Impeccably dressed, the 59-year-old expounded on his disparate interests, from a decades-long career as an abstract expressionist artist, science and, of course, the film industry. The movie "Titanic", written and directed by James Cameron. Seen here from left, Billy Zane as Caledon 'Cal' Hockley and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater. Credit: CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images Weirdly, despite all the attempted murdering, evidence planting and using a random kid to get on a lifeboat, the narrative around Cal has evolved over the years to the point some pundits question if Rose made the wrong choice by hooking up with Jack. 'From my point of view, I always try to find dimension for my most questionable of characters, to bring them beyond just being an entertaining obstacle for our protagonists to overcome,' Zane said. Arguably none of his characters are more memorably questionable than his first major big-screen role, the terrifyingly psychopathic Hughie, in the 1989 Phillip Noyce classic, Dead Calm. Billy Zane and Ben Stiller in Zoolander. Credit: Supplied 'I owe my entire career (to that production) ... it was so significant for me as a 21-year-old actor,' he admitted. 'Nicole was two years younger than me, but had a formidable capacity and grasp on her sense of self as a young woman and actress, and we were both punching above our weight and together really helped reinforce and support each other.' Support was also what Zane offered Derek Zoolander in a 'walk-off' against Owen Wilson's Hansel, when Zane played himself in Ben Stiller's iconic 2001 comedy. Those few minutes of screen time launched a thousand Zane memes, which the actor certainly didn't see coming. 'Never in a million years,' Zane said. Supanova runs today and tomorrow at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

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