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A man has been charged with a number of serious offences in relation to an alleged firearm incident in the Wheatbelt. About 5.30pm, Wednesday 11 June 2025, police responded to a report a person had entered a property on Great Eastern Highway in Ghooli, approximately 15km east of Southern Cross, where it was later discovered the person had allegedly stolen a firearm. WA Police

CRIMEVideoPremiumMan sends WA town into lockdown after allegedly firing gun

Residents were urged to stay indoors as police responded to the incident. 

Caleb Runciman

Narrogin heavy diesel apprentice Darcy Bryant-Smith trackside with the Red Bull Ampol Racing pit crew at the Perth Super 440.

dream come truePremiumNarrogin’s Darcy Bryant-Smith lives out V8 supercar dream

A Narrogin apprentice’s dreams came true at Perth Super 440 at the weekend after his dedication to the industry was rewarded by New Holland, Red Bull Ampol Racing team sponsor.

Melissa Pedelty

Police Minister Reece Whitby.

OPINION PremiumOpinion: Rubber stamp democracy leads to gun laws

After four long years of rubber-stamp democracy in the WA Parliament’s Upper House, last week we got a brief glimpse of what might be possible in the 42nd Parliament.

Steve Martin

Lighting being trialled on a CBH Group train.

FREIGHT NEWSPremiumCBH’s train illumination pledge hits a stumbling block

CBH Group’s plan to install LED beacon lights on all of its locomotives is “taking longer than expected”,  with 11 of 25 now upgraded despite initial plans to have the works completed by early this year. 

Cally Dupe

Darrell Turner and Suzanne Turner with dogs Charlie and Ruby. The Turners have cropped at their Aldersyde home for three generations since 1903.

Family FarmOn farm with Aldersyde’s cropping family, the Turners

Aldersyde crop farmers Darrell and Suzanne Turner are celebrating 100 years of farming at Millbrook Farm which has been handed down over three generations. 

Georgia Campion

Busselton composting business Agricorp has had its $300,000 composting facility knocked back by the State Administrative Tribunal over zoning concerns.

Rejected CompostPremium$300,000 composting facility scrapped by SAT in appeal

A Busselton composting business’ plan to build a $300,000 composting facility has been knocked back after concerns about zoning.

Georgia Campion

Katanning Saleyards. Shannon Verhagen

SHEEP PRICESPremiumAussie sheep prices soar but WA prices more tepid

WA sheep prices are surging but industry analysts say it is unlikely they will reach the highs of more than $400 per head recently achieved in the Eastern States. 

Cally Dupe

Water Corporation chief executive Pat Donovan, Kalgoorlie MLA Ali Kent and Water Minister Don Punch above the Goldfields water pipeline at the Mt Charlotte Reservoir and Lookout in Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Wednesday.

Greater flowPremiumState Govt to pump $543 million into Goldfields pipeline

A ‘once-in-a-generation’ cash injection of $543 million for the Goldfields pipeline will from 2027 double the water storage capacity of the Binduli Reservoir that supplies Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Neil Watkinson

WaterCommentsPremiumWater Dept accused of failing to patrol trillions of litres

The first direct audit of the State’s water regulator in 16 years has found the department is undertrained, understaffed and not doing “anywhere near enough” to protect the State’s most important resource. 

Simone Grogan

Agora Livestock price updates.

BEYOND THE SALEYARDSPremiumBeyond the Saleyards: WA lamb market remains firm

WA lamb markets continue to firm as supply tightens, but local demand for store lambs may begin to ease

Rob Kelly

Gabriele Visentin sees good signs for a security deal between Australia and the EU. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

Politics'Glass half-full' for EU security deal with Australia

EU ambassador Gabriele Visentin has high hopes for a strong security partnership between the bloc and Australia, amid talks for a potential trade deal.

Andrew Brown and Tess Ikonomou

Katanning police are searching for 24-year-old Mario Alesio Porru who has not been seen since he arrived in Queerarrup Lake 11 days ago.

MISSING PERSONPolice ask for help to find missing man last seen near Wagin

There have been no sightings of Mario Alesio Porru since he went missing and police hold concerns for his welfare. 

Melissa Sheil

Great Southern dog breeder Robert Leslie Lewis has been jailed and fined for neglecting six kelpies in a cage for about 30 hours and driving while under suspension.

CourtPremiumMan jailed for neglecting dogs and serious driving offences

A Great Southern dog breeder who neglected six caged kelpies and drove unlicensed across WA multiple times has been jailed, fined thousands and disqualified from driving for the next decade. 

Hannah Whitehead

Former Royal Agricultural Society of WA president David Thomas said he is humbled by the nomination and award of a Medal of the Order of Australia for his community service.

HonoursFormer RASWA president awarded OAM for community service

Recent Medal of the Order of Australia recipient David Thomas is humble about his recognition, saying he never expected to have been named in the national honours. 

Georgia Campion

Donnybrook orchardist Sam Licciardello.

HORT AWARDDonnybrook’s Sam Licciardello named one of Australia’s best

Donnybrook horticultural legend Sam Licciardello has made the South West proud after being named a winner in the industry’s biggest excellence awards. 

Cally Dupe

Blueberry prices are expected to remain high with recent flooding destroying Australian crops. (Frank Redward/AAP PHOTOS)

AgricultureFarm flood damage trickling through to grocery checkout

Blueberry prices are expected to remain high after flooding devastated crops, but shops are unlikely to run out of milk despite dairy farms being inundated.

Sebastian Tan

A paddock being overtaken by Gazania in Loxton, South Australia.

Pesky FlowerIntroduced flower threatens grain production with resiliency

Invasive African flower Gazania is more resilient than previously thought and is now considered one of Australia’s biggest weed threats to grain production and the native environment.

Georgia Campion

Fitzroy District High School students Faith Little and Harley Green. Timbee Photography

Kununurra ShowKids in the Kitchen returns to Kununurra

The heat is on at this year’s Kununurra Agricultural Show, where the region’s young culinary contenders will trade textbooks for tongs in a sizzling cooking showdown sure to whet the crowd’s appetite

Sarah Crawford

Farmers Across Borders' will make their first convoy into SA in the coming weeks.

helping hayHay from the west sent to farmers in drought

WA farmers now have the ability to lend a helping hand to replenish South Australia’s hay stocks as the state continues to grapple with some of the driest conditions in decades.

Melissa Pedelty

Canola crops near York.

CANOLA PLANTINGS PremiumWA grain farmers pull back GM canola plantings

WA grain farmers are slowing down their plantings of genetically modified canola for the first time, enticed by a price premium of up to $100 per tonne for non-GM canola. 

Cally Dupe

The Federal Court downplayed the impact of the ban on live cattle exports in 2011 on June 6.

LIVE CATTLE BANPremiumFederal Court downplays impact of 2011 live export ban

Northern pastoralists fear their bid for more than $500 million compensation after the 2011 live cattle ban to Indonesia could be in jeopardy after a Federal Court judge downplayed the ban’s long-term impact. 

Georgia Campion and Cally Dupe

The outbreak exercise brought a range of groups together.

Outbreak test runLumpy skin disease outbreak response trialled near WA and NT

Australia’s ability to respond to an emergent animal disease was put to the test in a lumpy skin disease outbreak exercise near the WA and Northern Territory border. 

Georgia Campion

Georgia Campion and Melissa Pedelty have joined the Countryman.

Meet the teamMeet Countryman’s new reporters Melissa and Georgia

There are two new reporters on the farming beat, with Melissa Pedelty and Georgia Campion joining the Countryman team recently. 

Cally Dupe

Portrait of Melissa Pedelty.

MEET THE TEAMMeet Countryman’s new reporter Melissa Pedelty

If you had told my eight year old self I would one day write about agriculture in a newspaper, I doubt she would have been surprised. 

Melissa Pedelty