What's happening in Perth

If Professor Jonathan Zimmerman writes a column and no one is offended, “it was a bad column”. So what does he think about the state of free speech in WA?

Meanwhile, the state’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for public hearings in WA to help counter concerns of an east coast bias in the debate.

Luke James Henry was allegedly drunk when he called triple-zero operators on Friday.

Fremantle have now secured their second minor premiership with a strong performance against the Crows, as a West Coast defender reinvents himself to make the most of new opportunities in the forward line.

Follow our live coverage here.

New data, compiled by Buyers Advocate Perth, shows a trend in property prices over the past 30 years in the catchments of some of WA’s most in demand schools.

The $27 million project will deliver 54 homes for seniors across the Wheatbelt, using off-site construction to speed up delivery.

Lacey and Max Ditchfield were asleep in their campervan at Mullewa Waterfalls when a single gunshot tore through the side of their camper.

The people of Alice Springs experienced a collective trauma, says Mayor Asta Hill, and it is time for healing.

Rising violent threats drive sharp increase in emergency procedures, but government points to stricter reporting protocols.

A new restaurant from Bangkok chef Pichaya Soontornyanakij, better known as Chef Pam, opens at Crown Perth next year. It’ll be called Khao San Sek.

Chef Pam was named The World’s Best Female Chef 2025 and Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024. Her Bangkok restaurant Potong took a Michelin star in its first year of trading and reached number 13 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025. Perth and Sydney will be her first restaurants in Australia. Here’s what we know so far.

“Chef Pam is one of the most acclaimed chefs in the world, and we are proud to welcome her to a city so connected to Asia and that has such a strong affection for Thai flavours,” said Crown Perth CEO Brian Pereira.

The Perth venue borrows its name and its thinking from Chef Pam’s restaurant on Song Wat Road in Bangkok’s Chinatown, where the menu is organised around five ingredients she treats as sacred: rice, chilli, coconut, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Dishes are grouped by those building blocks rather than the curry-and-stir-fry categories most Thai menus fall into. The name refers to the stray grains that fall to the floor during rice milling, which are then blessed by monks.

“Opening my first Australian restaurants is incredibly meaningful,” she said. “My current venues are about respecting the foundations of Thai cuisine and expressing them in a modern and personal way. Australia’s beautiful local produce makes it the perfect destination for this next chapter.”

The Sydney restaurant, SEK, is taking a different approach: a chef-led degustation with the kitchen in full view, wine matched to each course, and a Thai dessert trolley to finish.

When Björn Frantzén’s two Australian restaurants were announced in July, Sydney got Én, a fine-dining room above the harbour, and Perth got Brasserie Astoria, the group’s more casual à la carte format.

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Fremantle kicked five straight goals in the last quarter to beat Adelaide 16.16 (112) to 13.10 (88) at Optus Stadium on Friday night, taking the minor premiership for only the second time in the club’s history and the first since 2015.

Jye Amiss kicked five, Isaiah Dudley three, and Caleb Serong had 29 disposals, 12 clearances, and two goals. Josh Treacy pulled down 11 marks. A crowd of 55,010 watched Fremantle close out a perfect 12-0 home season, and the win was the club’s 19th of the home-and-away year, equalling the West Australian record West Coast set in 1991.

Adelaide didn’t hand it over. The Crows led early, and Izak Rankine finished with a game-high 39 disposals, ten clearances, and 717 metres gained. “When it was in the balance, we just made some crucial errors. Some of it was execution, just skill, handballs, missed handballs,” Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said.

Longmuir keeps the lid on

“We’ve set our season up. That’s the way I look at it. It’s a good achievement. I’m really proud of the players of how they bounced back after last week. We’ve put ourselves in a good position,” Justin Longmuir said.

Last week was a four-point loss to Melbourne at the MCG, only Fremantle’s third of the year and a reminder that the gap between this side and the rest of the top six is narrower than the ladder makes it look. Captain Alex Pearce played out Friday night after hyper-extending an already heavily strapped left knee, which Fremantle fans will be watching closely over the next fortnight.

What top spot means for the Dockers

Under the new finals system, the top six sit out the wildcard round while seventh plays tenth and eighth plays ninth. Fremantle then host a qualifying final at Optus Stadium, and winning it earns a home preliminary final. Two finals at their own ground with a double chance underneath them is the best September position the club has ever held.

It needs to count for something this time. Fremantle have never won a premiership. They have played in one grand final, in 2013, losing to Hawthorn by 15 points, and the last time they finished on top, in 2015, the season ended with a preliminary final loss at home to the same club. Finishing first has not been the missing piece, but this time around they have never had more star power and a much better balanced team. 

We think it’s time to officially pop the lid off; it’s Fremantle’s to lose in 2026.

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