DEPUCH is a ‘punishment’ island covered in extraordinary rock art and Aboriginal legend. Described as WA’s ‘Uluru at sea’, Depuch Island is located just 3km off the historic ghost town of Balla Balla between Karratha and Port Hedland. You can…
EXCLUSIVE: Westport Taskforce chair Nicole Lockwood engineered the appointment of a close friend as CEO when she was a councillor and shire president at the City of Karratha from 2007 to 2011. Ignoring legal advice condemning the selection process, Cr…
KIM North is Pilbara’s ‘sand king’. Old school, Tonka tough, the father of two a giant in construction and earthmoving with a passion for precious metals, Harleys and choc milk. ‘Northie’ says it straight, the outspoken miner of more than…
THE WA Corruption and Crime Commission in 2012 found the Pilbara cities of Karratha and Port Hedland were exposed to the highest risk of misconduct. Not only because of their strategic importance to WA, “engine room of the Australian economy”,…
EXCLUSIVE: CLAIMS of serious misconduct at the City of Karratha are detailed in a 30,000-word submission to the WA parliamentary select committee into local government. The private submission by Pilbara-based Norwest Sand & Gravel alleges executive staff and elected members,…
THE McGowan Government has spent not one cent of the $425 million promised in 2017 to boost tourism at heritage-listed Cossack, 50km east of Karratha. And it shows. The rundown coastal town is among four tourist destinations singled out for…
A MOTION to stop vehicles parking ‘unlawfully’ on historic Wilson Park was defeated tonight while a motion was passed to join a global network of cities battling climate change, including the Chinese city of Wuhan. Both motions raise serious questions…
AIR-conditioning will not be installed at Roebourne Prison where inmates sleep, often on mattresses on the floor, in 35C-plus temperatures and eat meals in unhygienic conditions. WA Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan found though improvements were made since his…
“I DON’T think my heart is in it anymore,” Geoff Van Waardenberg says before starting his night shift surveying rail lines out of Perth. “I find it hard to talk about Cossack, I’m so disappointed. It’s killed us.” The 49-year-old…
