Updated July 20, 2026 — 6:33pm,first published July 20, 2026 — 9:30am6.33pm on Jul 20, 2026Today’s headlinesBy We’re bringing our live blog to a close for the day, thank you for joining us.Here’s a recap of some of the day’s headlines:Bottled water is being brought in for desperate residents at a Beaconsfield social housing complex as contractors race to restore supply.A Perth man has been charged with multiple firearms offences following an incident in Tuart Hill last night.Police are searching for two people who allegedly stabbed a woman in Kalgoorlie in the early hours of this morning.The number of people caught speeding on Perth’s freeways has surged in the past year since new fixed cameras were installed on the Kwinana and Mitchell freeways.WA Education Minister Sabine Winton has defended suggestions of pork barrelling for the seat of Secret Harbour after the state government included Comet Bay Primary School as one of the five new sites for a full-time kindergarten pilot program.WA Premier Roger Cook says anyone who speeds on the state’s freeways “must be a mug” after the number of people caught speeding per month jumped more than 600 per cent over the past 12 months.WA Labor’s candidate for the seat of Secret Harbour has moved into the suburb with her aunt and uncle for the duration of the campaign after questions were raised about her commitment to the electorate.Fremantle ruckman Luke Jackson remains in third place on the AFL Coaches’ Association champion award leaderboard despite not polling any votes for the third game in a row.Thank you again for joining us today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for more news you need to know.5.45pm on Jul 20, 2026The Dockers and Eagles players who polled coaches votes this weekendBy Fremantle ruckman Luke Jackson remains in third place on the AFL Coaches’ Association champion award leaderboard despite not polling any votes for the third game in a row.Luke Jackson.Getty ImagesJackson currently sits behind outright leader Nick Daicos (115 votes) and Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli (98) after the pair were awarded nine and 10 votes respectively this round.Caleb Serong was named the top player during Fremantle’s match against Port Adelaide with eight votes ahead of Power forward Joe Richards with seven.Jye Amiss received six votes followed by tireless Docker midfielder Andrew Brayshaw with five.5.13pm on Jul 20, 2026Labor’s by-election candidate moves in with her aunt and uncle to be ‘local’By Michael PhilippsWA Labor’s candidate for the seat of Secret Harbour has moved into the suburb with her aunt and uncle for the duration of the campaign after questions were raised about her commitment to the electorate.It was recently revealed that Georgia Tree had been living in a home she purchased in Perth’s northern suburbs while working in Perth’s CBD.Warnbro local Georgia Tree has been announced as WA Labor’s candidate for the looming Secret Harbour byelection.9News PerthHowever, at a press conference this morning, Tree revealed she intends to move to the electorate if she wins the seat.“I moved to the city for work, but my partner and I intend, if I’m lucky enough to be elected, to look at houses in the electorate,” she said.2.55pm on Jul 20, 2026Minister denies pork barrelling suggestions over new Secret Harbour kindy By Michael PhilippsWA Education Minister Sabine Winton has defended suggestions of pork barrelling for the seat of Secret Harbour after the state government included Comet Bay Primary School as one of the five new sites for a full-time kindergarten pilot program.The state government announced this morning that Bambara Primary School in Padbury, Comet Bay Primary School in Secret Harbour, Clifton Park Primary School in Australind, One Arm Point Remote Community School on the Dampier Peninsula and Peg’s Creek Primary School in Karratha will welcome kindergarten students five days a week from the start of the 2027 school year.The five schools will offer free, optional full-time kindergarten, building on the pilot program’s start in 2026 at Banksia Grove Primary School, Dalyellup Primary School, Halidon Primary School, Roleystone Community College and South Kalgoorlie Primary School.Asked if Comet Bay Primary School meets all the criteria for the trial, Winton said the five sites that were chosen for the program deliver on a play-based kindy curriculum.1.40pm on Jul 20, 2026Freeway speeders are ‘mugs’, says WA Premier By Michael PhilippsWA Premier Roger Cook says anyone who speeds on the state’s freeways “must be a mug” after the number of people caught speeding per month jumped more than 600 per cent over the past 12 months.New AI safety camera pictures have caught WA drivers up to some strange things while driving, like eating a bowl of cereal. Speaking at a press conference to announce the expansion of a full-time kindergarten program to five more schools, Cook said the increased fines showed the government’s road safety system was working.“It’s our new artificial intelligence-based camera system,” he said.“You must be a mug to speed on a smart freeway where there’s so much road safety infrastructure around it.1.10pm on Jul 20, 2026The stretch of road accounting for 84% of Perth freeway speedersBy The number of people caught speeding on Perth’s freeways has surged in the past year since new fixed cameras were installed on the Kwinana and Mitchell freeways. The Kwinana Freeway.EyeEmFines issued along the Kwinana Freeway by fixed speed cameras jumped from around 1000 a month in 2024-25, to 6500 a month in 2025-26. The road’s two new sets of fixed, smart cameras were turned on in October 2025. The Kwinana Freeway stretch of road accounts for 84 per cent of fines issued along Perth’s freeways. Those caught speeding on the Mitchell Freeway by fixed speed cameras was around 336 a month in 2024-25, but doubled in 2025-26 to 671. The stretch of road installed its two sets of fixed smart cameras in June. 12.02pm on Jul 20, 2026Woman stabbed in targeted attack on Kalgoorlie’s main street By Police are searching for two people who allegedly stabbed a woman in Kalgoorlie in the early hours of this morning. Kalgoorlie detectives responded to reports of a woman aged in her 40s suffering stab wounds at a house on Hannan Street around 3.40am. It’s alleged the woman had been involved in an altercation with two people who were known to her. Police are treating the incident as a targeted attack. The woman suffered critical injuries and was taken to Kalgoorlie Hospital. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers. 11.10am on Jul 20, 2026Man arrested for pointing gun at person during tenancy dispute By A Perth man has been charged with multiple firearms offences following an incident last night. The tactical response group responded to the incident after a 34-year-old man allegedly threatened another person with a handgun during a tenancy dispute. Tyler Street in Tuart Hill was cordoned off as the man was arrested. He was later charged with pointing a handgun at another, and unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.He is due to face court this morning. 9.30am on Jul 20, 2026Residents without water at Beaconsfield complex By Bottled water is being brought in for desperate residents at a Beaconsfield social housing complex as contractors race to restore supply. More than a dozen residents living at the Lefroy Road site have been without running water for days. Water to the Beaconsfield complex has been cut off by a leaking pipe.9 News Perth“It’s stressful, you can’t wash your clothes, you can’t do the dishes, you can’t have a shower, you can’t event flush your toilet,” resident Ian Fegen told 9 News Perth. “Fix this problem, or move us, it’s as simple as that.”9.30am on Jul 20, 2026Across the nation and around the world By Here’s what’s making headlines across the country and around the world: Ferran Torres scored in extra time to deliver Spain a second men’s World Cup trophy and their first since 2010.Torres reacts to scoring Spain’s first goal.Getty ImagesPauline Hanson said she loved the idea of mass deportations for Australia, and suggested Tommy Robinson would be welcome Down Under if she became prime minister in a friendly meeting with the convicted criminal.Big AI firms will be caught in Labor’s tough Digital Duty of Care proposal, the government has pledged, in its latest move to project a sense of control over the AI revolution.1 of 2