7News Just In

Western Australia is implementing its largest overhaul of residential planning laws in nearly 30 years, reducing the minimum block size for subdivision from 900 to 700 square metres under R20 zoning. The changes could unlock 50,000 new development sites across Perth, allowing homeowners with larger blocks to subdivide and build additional dwellings. The reforms also propose reducing mandatory car bay requirements in new apartment blocks, which currently add approximately $137,000 to apartment costs.

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Western Australia Police have deployed Australia's first facial recognition cameras in a five-month trial across Perth suburbs including Mirabooka, Midland and the city. In the first week of operation, the cameras scanned over 130,000 faces and led to at least 20 arrests of wanted individuals, with only two false alerts. The technology screens passersby against police databases for wanted persons and registered sex offenders, with all other facial data immediately deleted.

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The government's been forced to change how it determines the level of aged care older Australians receive. They're adding more human screening as a new challenger to Anthony Albanese emerges armed with a racquet.

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Adelaide experienced its wettest start to July in 40 years, with 56mm of rain falling in under two days, causing widespread flooding across the city. The Patawalonga River swelled to dangerous levels, threatening to spill over during high tide and putting Glenelg residents at risk.

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A murder-suicide at Hope Island has claimed two lives, with 84-year-old Bob Marsh dying after a trusted family friend set fire to the home, trapping multiple family members inside. The attacker also died in the incident, while three other family members were hospitalised. The family is left devastated, with three generations nearly wiped out by someone they trusted.

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A 15-year-old boy, Darwish Mohamed, was fatally stabbed by a group of up to 14 youths outside a community hospital in Craigieburn, Melbourne's north. Police arrested a 20-year-old and 16-year-old suspect within hours, finding a burnt-out vehicle linked to the murder 13 kilometres from the scene. The attack followed an earlier fight, with the victim's body discovered in a pool of blood alongside a large hunting knife.

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There's chilling new details tonight about the actions of Australian Simon Carman in the hours after he allegedly killed a teenager in Thailand.

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Jemli Williams Mariner, a father of four addicted to methamphetamine, has been jailed for 18 months for firebombing the ATET Dockside bar in Melbourne's Docklands. The New Zealand national was convicted after mobile phone footage of the fire was discovered, though no motive has been established and police believe it was a paid job. The controversial floating nightclub is now suing Melbourne City Council for millions in compensation after the council admitted to unlawfully shutting down the venue three months after the arson attack.

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Police have arrested four teenage boys, all under 17, following a violent home invasion in Green Acre where a young man had his hand severed with a machete during a robbery. Separately, a Chester Hill home was sprayed with more than 30 bullets in a targeted shooting that miraculously left a family of three unharmed.

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A young surfer is sharing a story even he can barely believe, how he kicked away a shark that had just attacked him in northern NSW. He needed two operations on his foot, but he knows the alternative could have been so much worse.

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