THE population of Carnaby’s black cockatoos is declining by 10 percent each year, warns BirdLife WA’s Adam Peck. Data from the annual great cocky count suggests there’s only around 1600 Carnaby’s left in the coastal plains between Mandurah and Gingin and their population continues to decline as their habitat is cleared to make way for…

NORTH Perth’s Alex Hickling is one of two Western Australians involved in an “unprecedented”  expedition around Antarctica. Carrying scientific teams from all over the world, the Russian research vessel Akademik Treshnikov is hopping around the craggy ring of islands which surround Antarctica to collect data for 22 different projects in a wide range of interrelated…

A FREE one-of-a-kind legal clinic for WA asylum seekers could face closure unless emergency funds are raised, says Humanitarian Group CEO Helen Pearce. The Abbott government axed legal funding for ‘irregular maritime arrivals’ in 2014, leaving asylum seekers in WA to muddle through complex visa application forms on their own. Relying heavily on volunteers and…

IT was a full-house at RenewWA’s forum on climate change and renewable energies at ECU Mt Lawley on Thursday, with another 120 people on the waiting list. However, no Liberal party politicians accepted the invitation to attend and Labor’s shadow energy minister Bill Johnston cancelled at the 11th hour. What happened behind the scenes at…

The jugglers, tumblers, actors and clowns of Canning Vale College have organised a day of circus entertainment at City Farm tomorrow, Sunday, February 19. CVC is one of the only schools in WA to offer circus as a subject, and its accomplished troupe normally does a Fringe show. It got turned down this year because…

PERTH lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi lobbied to be put up in five-star accommodation by the hosts of an event because she didn’t want to “stay in trash”. Mrs Scaffidi’s top-shelf dossing habits were aired at this week’s State Administrative Tribunal hearing into her failure to declare gifts and free travel, including a $35,000 trip to…

HIGHGATE and Leederville have been lavished with upgrades, but dowdy North Perth is still in need of a little love, and Labor’s candidate for Perth John Carey is now pledging $250,000 for a new town square if his party’s elected. Labor would match $250,000 with Vincent council to create a public town square. Mr Carey…

BAYSWATER council has been given the thumbs-up by seniors for asking what they want, but reduced membership at its two gyms should be a top priority, they reckon. The council recently started working on its first Age Friendly Strategy and will be holding workshops on February 13, 15, 16 and 17 to hear what seniors…

OPPONENTS of plans to widen Guildford Road say it will lead to an unacceptable loss of mature trees, including many native species. Jonathan Messer from the Sixth Avenue Residents Action Group measured three big gum trees closest to the road around the Maylands town centre and says their girths were between 3.4 and 5.2 metres.…

PERTH’S CBD hasn’t had a cinema since the old Piccadilly closed in 2013, but at the height of movie madness it boasted 15 screens. Heritage Perth’s Richard Offen will relive some of those glory days while hosting free walk-and-talks visiting the sites of Perth’s lost cinema history. It starts where His Majesty’s Theatre now stands:…