Aquitted man alleges police misconduct

Johnny Montani alleges police misconduct. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

THE brother of Johnny Montani has lodged a complaint with the Corruption and Crime Commission over alleged misconduct by police and prosecutors.

Paul Montani, who established JusticeWA after his brother was found not guilty of murdering former bikie Kevin "Mick" Woodhouse, said he had gone to the CCC over erroneous "glass shard" evidence that was potentially devastating to his brother's defence.

Former security guard Johnny Montani, now 47, was finally acquitted in December 2008. But only after enduring three trials, three years in prison on remand and running up a legal bill of $550,000.

The first trial in 2006 resulted in a hung jury. The re-trial in 2007 ended when Supreme Court Justice John McKechnie threw out the case, even before the defence had made a submission. But the then-Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock appealed and the Court of Criminal Appeal ordered a third trial.

Mr Woodhouse was shot four times outside Bayswater Waves aquatic centre on May 12, 2004. There had been earlier attempts on the life of Mr Woodhouse, who had defected from the Club Deroes bikie gang to the Coffin Cheaters in the 1990s, sparking a feud. He later left the Cheaters.

Johnny Montani, who has never been a bikie but had a falling out with his friend prior to the slaying, believes he would have been acquitted at his first trial if it hadn't been for the prosecutor claiming in the closing address that a piece of plastic caught in the cuff of trousers he had discarded was a shard of glass from the aquatic centre's shattered door, putting him at the scene of the crime.

"In my second trial, the prosecution conceded that what they had called a piece of glass had nothing to do with the crime scene, but was a random item - it was actually a piece of plastic - also conceding police had never forensically tested it,'' he said.

"Not only did the police not have that tested, they did not test cartridges I discarded that day, four of which they said were from the fatal shots. They claimed they were, without doing any tests which would have proved they were not.''
Mr Montani's solicitor for his three trials, Paul Meyer, was also scathing about the "glass" evidence.

"In his closing address, the prosecutor claimed that it was a shard of glass from the smashed aquatic centre door,'' Mr Meyer said. "This was damning to Montani as it put him directly at the scene. The defence felt ambushed.''
His barrister Philip Urquhart also questioned why police had not tested or looked at the piece of plastic.

"It was extremely regrettable that the prosecutor was misinformed, presumably by the police, that this piece of plastic was in fact glass,'' Mr Urquhart said.

"As a result, an irrelevant object suddenly (and incorrectly) became a very relevant and significant feature in the prosecution's circumstantial evidence case against Mr Montani. The potential for a miscarriage of justice was therefore very real.''

Paul Montani recently lodged a complaint with the CCC about the "glass shard" evidence.

The accountant, who sold part of his business to help pay for his brother's defence, said: "If I hadn't personally witnessed what was done to Johnny in court I wouldn't have believed it."

"It's been a life-changing experience,'' he said. ``What the WA justice system was trying to do was an absolute disgrace. It was unbelievable and when I got to the end of it I had to do something about it so I set up a charity (JusticeWA) to help other people.

Paul Montani organised the world-first international justice conference held in Perth in March. It attracted Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton and Rubin "Hurricane'' Carter among the high-profile speakers.

"The marketing people tell me we're not a sexy charity,' he said. "We're not about animals or orphans".

"One of the major challenges we have is that the general community wants to believe in the ideal that justice systems don't make mistakes, let alone there is misconduct involved. We're not anti-police or anti-anything, we're simply pro-justice."

"If the police and the DPP followed their codes of conduct or charters of service there would never be a miscarriage of justice."

Paul Montani said he would like to see the formation of a criminal cases investigation commission, similar to the UK's Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent public body responsible for investigating suspected miscarriages of criminal justice and referring appropriate cases to the appeal courts.

 ``We have to change what we are doing," Paul Montani said. "The community in WA needs to start asking why has WA been given the nickname of the Wild West."

The Office of the DPP, when contacted last month, did not respond to questions about its use of the "glass" as placing Johnny Montani at the scene of the crime in his first trial.

A WA Police spokesman confirmed this week that detectives were not currently working to resolve the Woodhouse case.

"The Montani acquittal occurred in 2008. The investigation into the murder of Kevin Woodhouse is not currently being investigated by WA Police," a spokesman said.

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Frisbee fever grips Perth

Andrew Jennings shows how it's done. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

Andrew Jennings shows how it's done. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

PERTH sporting fanatics are in a spin as Frisbee fever grips the city.

The Australian Mixed-Gender Ultimate Championships kicked off yesterday at UWA Sports Park.

Tournament Director Anna Haynes said Ultimate Frisbee was the world's fastest growing team sport.

``People think it's about throwing a Frisbee at the beach,'' she said.

``First of all, we don't use Frisbees. Those are toys you buy at Kmart.

``It's extremely athletic and the audience can expect some spectacular mid-air grabs. It combines elements of soccer, netball and gridiron.''

Andrew Jennings, who plays for the club Primal and is competing in the championships, said the sport was a great way to socialise.

``Usually we have four guys and three girls on the team,'' he said.

``In fact, there is a long history of relationships sprouting within teams.

``I was introduced to it by my girlfriend who is playing with me in the tournament.''

Ms Haynes said there was increasing interest from schools in the sport, which is safe to play and has low barriers to entry.

``My day job as the association's development officer involves going out and teaching the sport," she said.

"Our bookings to schools have tripled in the last quarter.

"We will have discs on sale at the tournament for $15. We have people of all ages and abilities playing and it's only $4 per game."

THE AMGUC continues today from 9am-5pm.

The final will take place tomorrow at 12.30pm.

Entry is free.

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Tony Greig reveals battle with cancer

Tony Greig and wife Vivian with their children Tom and Beau and Tony's now-adult children Mark Greig and Sam Kennedy at their home in Vaucluse. Picture: Tim Hunter Source: The Daily Telegraph

LEGENDARY cricketing figure Tony Greig has been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer.

He will wait and evaluate a detailed prognosis before deciding on treatment.

"I have had a few scrapes in my life and this is another one," Greig told The Sunday Telegraph from his eastern suburbs home.

"(His wife) Vivian and I are going to put the boxing gloves on and fight this like we've never fought anything before."

Greig will enter hospital this week for surgery to take a sample from his lung, which will allow doctors to properly diagnose the extent of the cancer and chart a course of action.

Greig, 66, first became aware he had a problem during Australia's one-day series against Pakistan in Dubai in August and September, on which he was commentating. Initially diagnosed with bronchitis in May, the condition lingered and, by the time of the ICC World Twenty20 that finished in Sri Lanka earlier this month, Greig had tests that revealed a small lesion at the base of his right lung.

On his return to Australia a fortnight ago, he had "a lot of fluid" removed from the right lung. Testing revealed he had lung cancer.

A former England captain, the South African-born Greig is a household name in Australia after defecting to be one of the spearheads of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in 1977.

His integral role in the formation of WSC, and his strong friendship with Packer, was showcased in Channel Nine's blockbuster mini-series Howzat.

Greig was bestowed the honour of delivering the prestigious Cowdrey Spirit Of Cricket Lecture at Lords in June this year, receiving rave reviews and proving old wounds between he and the MCC had long healed.

He has lived in Sydney since the late 1970s and has commentated cricket for Nine for 33 years, with the quartet of he, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell and Richie Benaud becoming the voices of the Australian summer.

He is unsure if he will commentate for Nine during the upcoming summer, which begins with a Test at the Gabba against South Africa on November 9.

"At this stage, the summer is totally up in the air," Greig said. "My priority, 100 per cent, is my family. They will come first."

Greig is expected to take guidance from Nine boss and close friend David Gyngell. He formed a strong bond with Packer and the "first man on Australian television" Bruce Gyngell from the start of World Series Cricket and met their young sons James Packer and David Gyngell, when they were in primary school.

"This is a difficult time for Tony and, knowing him like all the family at Nine knows him, it'll take more than this to stop him," Gyngell said.

"Every fan at the SCG and MCG and cricket stadiums around the world will be rooting for this great man, as are all his Nine colleagues. At a personal level, I've known Tony Greig most of my life . He's a generous, big-hearted, inherently decent bloke. I'm thinking of him and his family."

Greig and his second wife Vivian have two young children - daughter Beau, 12 and son Tom, 10, who is a talented cricketer.

He also has two adult children from a previous marriage - daughter Sam, 39, and son Mark, 37 and is close to his siblings - brother Ian, also a former English Test cricketer who lives in Brisbane, and sisters Sally and Molly. On Saturday night, Greig phoned his 93-year-old mother Joyce in South Africa to inform her.

Greig is the second Nine personality to be diagnosed with cancer in as many weeks after it was revealed Peter Harvey was battling cancer of the pancreas.

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Three trials reveal no smoking-gun evidence

Johnny Montani was accused of murder. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

WHEN Johnny Montani was acquitted of the 2004 murder of bikie Kevin (Mick) Woodhouse, I was stunned.

It seemed clear cut from what I had read in the media: The victim had named his killer as he lay dying from four bullets fired through his body and police surveillance had spotted Montani taking four matching cartridges and dark clothes to the tip - cartridges they said were those from the four fatal bullets.

To make matters worse, he had at first denied dumping them.

I was aware of Woodhouse's violent history and his defection to the rival club Coffin Cheaters after being ditched by the Club Deroes, only to be later ditched by the Coffin Cheaters.

Woodhouse had already survived an attempted murder by drive-by shooting in Beechboro in 1998, while driving to his gym. In other incidents, Woodhouse's cars had been set alight and his business premises had been destroyed by explosives.

I had believed wrongly that Montani was a bikie.

I was surprised when I received an email from Montani asking me to help him tell the story of "injustice'" he had suffered.

I met him and his younger brother Paul, taking a male friend with me for protection.

Paul produced an extensive list of what had been reported in the media, countered by what he said were the facts.

After meeting Montani's solicitor, Paul Meyer, and others, and referring to the trial transcripts, I am convinced Johnny Montani did not kill Mick Woodhouse, that he was wrongfully charged, the result of a flawed police investigation, and the charge was wrongfully pursued through three trials.

I came to this new conclusion when I learnt these facts:

* Bayswater Aquatic Centre security guard Ian Throp did not ask Woodhouse who shot him, but what his name was. The prosecution ran the case as Woodhouse naming his killer when he said "Johnny Montoyo''.

* There was no eyewitness evidence linking Montani to the crime scene. The aquatic centre manager, who saw the shooter's face, was not able to identify the shooter as Montani, who had been a member at the centre for two years.

* Montani's motorbike and helmet did not match witness descriptions of the shooter fleeing the crime scene. They said the shooter wore an open-faced helmet the two owned by Montani were closed, full faced with visors and the attacker was described as "slim to medium build'' and "average build'' when weightlifter Montani weighed 100-plus kilograms at the time.

* Security video footage enhanced for the first time for the third trial showed the running footsteps of another person at the scene of the shooting, contradicting the prosecution's lone-gunman theory.

* Despite police claims that the four cartridges disposed of by Montani were from the shooting, not one forensic test was performed to prove their allegation. Nor was Montani's jacket forensically tested for gunshot residue. Montani did not dump at the tip specifically the objects stated by the police, but eight bags in a total clean-out of the recreational shooter's house, including an assortment of about 30-40 spent cartridges. But the police claimed no other cartridges were found other than the four.

* Witnesses did not mention the killer wearing gloves or having a sports bag, yet much was made of Montani taking such items to the tip among items ``that implicated him in this shooting''.

* No gunshot residue found on any of Montani's items was linked to the bullets that killed Woodhouse. Testing of the items he dumped came up with nothing linking them to Woodhouse's murder.

* A piece of "glass'' that fell out of his discarded trousers was claimed by the prosecution in the first trial to be from the aquatic centre's shattered glass door. But not one forensic test was performed on this "glass''. In the second trial, it was admitted by the prosecution the piece of "glass'' had "no link whatsoever to the crime scene'' and at the third trial, that "it did not come from shattered glass''. It was, in fact, a random piece of plastic.

* Police did not question anyone from the two bikie clubs that had cast out Woodhouse, despite Club Deroes member Andrew Edhouse previously being charged with shooting Woodhouse (and acquitted).

Justice John McKechnie made WA legal history when he threw the case out of court with no case to answer at Montani's second trial by doing so without a defence submission.

The former Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "There is not a skerrick of physical evidence that directly links the accused with the crime.''

When a third trial was in the offing, Montani's barrister Philip Urquhart wrote to then Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock pointing out deficiencies in the prosecution case and stating his opinion that there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.

``The DPP disagreed with me and a six-week trial went ahead which had the outcome I had predicted in my letter, but with all the attendant financial costs to the client and to the community,'' Mr Urquart said.

* Estelle Blackburn is a member of JusticeWA. She spent six years researching and writing Broken Lives, which exposed two major WA miscarriages of justice and prompted two long-standing murder convictions to be overturned.

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Satterly's mansion the scene of wine glory

Grand Cru's Vince Salpietro has been hosting a series of super-premium tastings at Nigel Satterly's Peppermint Grove residence. Source: PerthNow

IT was a swanky setting hard to leave a bad taste and the stars of the show didn't disappoint.

About 20 guests gathered at Nigel Satterly's Peppermint Grove house - which he has converted into a space for seven days of parties, wine tastings and celebrations - for a special vertical tasting of Moss Wood cabernets going back to 1982.
 
The event was hosted by Moss Wood winemaker Keith Mugford and Vince Salpietro of Grand Cru Wineshow & Cellar, who house some of Australia's rarest and most expensive wines in their purpose-built underground cellar at Liquor Barons in Mt Lawley.
 
Satterly is a loyal customer - one of many high-flying West Aussies who place their trust in Salpietro when it comes to stocking their expensive wine cellars.

The property guru invited Grand Cru to co-host at his converted Peppermint Grove house for a week of lavish events, which also included a champagne tasting for 40 of Perth's top executives and a Penfolds Grange dinner tonight co-hosted by Penfolds global ambassador Jamie Sachs and featuring Grange as old as 1960.

 
While Salpietro is thrilled to have hosted events with Satterly this past week, it's his new venture that is his true passion.

Grand Cru's collection of wines is impressive, specialising in iconic Australian brands, which have either been purchased directly from producers or sourced from only the most reputable auctioneers where the condition and storage of the wine is guaranteed.

Snapshot of tasting notes from the Moss Wood vertical:

2009 Moss Wood Cabernet
Sweet fruit, loads of tar and berry upfront. The mint and choc-berry flavours exceptional and refined (96pts)

2005 Moss Wood Cabernet
Perfect growing season, picked early due to rain. Leafy, tarry, complex, elegant and vibrant with more pronounced chocolate (97pts)
 
2001 Moss Wood Cabernet
Fruit density hits you like Mr T. Texture, intensity and power beggars belief for a 10yo wine. Like Tom Jones, it just keeps on giving. (98pts)
 
1993 Moss Wood Cabernet
Fruity nose. Cooler vintage means the freshness is not there - but still shows good balance and handling. A touch green. (94pts)
 
1991 Moss Wood Special Reserve Cabernet
Hot vintage. Red-brick beauty, the still fruit holding up well. Meaty with sweet mulberry on the fresh palate. (96pts)
 
1991 Moss Wood Cabernet
Hot vintage. Lashings of soft old leather and oak influence still impressive (96pts)
 
1990 Moss Wood Special Reserve Cabernet
Like the vortex in Donnie Darko, except your travelling through a tight waterfall of ripe cherry and leather. Meaty, luscious, tad green (96pts)
 
1990 Moss Wood Cabernet
The fruit density and tannin sets it apart. Like getting hit with a garden hose but it's worth it. Ripe, rambunctious, ready (97pts)
 
1983 Moss Wood Special Reserve Cabernet
Like fine ancient chocolate from another land. Just full-on coffee, mocha and dark chocolate ... Seriously classy, long and seductive (98pts)

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Rayney verdict due November 1

NOT LIKELY: Defence lawyer David Edwardson says the prosecution has not come "within cooee'' of proving Lloyd Rayney guilty of murdering his estranged wife Corryn. Source: PerthNow

CLOSING ADDRESS: Prosecutor John Agius, SC, said it was irrational to believe anyone other than Lloyd Rayney killed his estranged wife Corryn. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

VICTIM: Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney, whose body was found in a bush grave in Kings Park in August 2007.  Source: PerthNow

THE judge at barrister Lloyd Rayney's wilful murder trial has retired to consider his verdict.

Justice Brian Martin, who has heard the evidence without a jury, said he would hand down his decision on November 1.

He will also release written reasons for his decision the same day.

Mr Rayney's bail was extended pending the decision.

It follows a day of summing up by defence lawyers in which they told the court that Mr Rayney was an innocent man who should be acquitted.

Mr Rayney, a former State prosecutor, has been on trial in the Supreme Court in Perth since July 16 charged with wilfully murdering his estranged wife Corryn Rayney on or about August 7, 2007. He also faces an alternative charge of manslaughter.

The charges carry respective jail terms of life imprisonment and 20 years jail.

Mr Rayney has pleaded not guilty to both.

In his summing up today, Mr Rayney's lawyer David Edwardson said it defied belief that Mr Rayney would have "executed" Mrs Rayney, a Supreme Court registrar, at the family home while their youngest daughter was in the house.

He also claimed elements of the prosecution case against Mr Rayney were pure "fantasy" and took aim at police who had investigated the case alleging it could be concluded that seed pods in Mrs Rayney's hair may have been planted.

"If this was to be the perfect murder it beggars belief that he (Mr Rayney) would consider murdering his wife in the house he shared with his two children," Mr Edwardson said.

Mr Edwardson also questioned how Mr Rayney, who weighed 67kgs at the time, would have overpowered his bigger wife, who weighed 78kgs.

"She was a physically larger person," he said. "You might ask yourself - how was he going to kill her?"

Mr Edwardson said the evidence showed Mr Rayney was a "placid man" who was "not prone to violent or extravagant responses."

He said if there was a confrontation between the two, Mr Rayney "would have come off worse".

In other submissions to the court, he:

- Claimed the State hadn't "come within cooee" of proving its case against Mr Rayney beyond a reasonable doubt.

- Said the State had presented the court with theories, but there was no direct evidence, or even proper circumstantial evidence, to support its major assertions.

- Questioned the integrity of key police evidence, including two seed pods from Mrs Rayney's hair and a third from her body bag which the State alleges link her body back to the family home in Como.

- Said a dinner place card found near Mrs Rayney's grave bearing Mr Rayney's name was a "red herring" and that a handkerchief found in the grave below Mrs Rayney's head took the case nowhere.

Mr Edwardson said the State had failed to prove that Mrs Rayney had returned home after a boot scooting class on the night of August 7, 2007.

"Unless that's proved beyond a reasonable doubt, it's all over," he said.

His argument received a boost when the trial judge Justice Brian Martin told the court that he was "far from satisfied" that Mrs Rayney had been wearing a coat when she went to boot scooting that night.

(The State has claimed that Mrs Rayney had been wearing a black coat - the same one that Mr Rayney's lawyers tendered to the court during the course of the trial -- and that it was part of the evidence which showed she had returned home).

"The evidence is incapable of proving she was wearing a jacket that night," Justice Martin said.

Mr Edwardson was critical of the police investigation into Mrs Rayney's death.

He said comments made by one officer on August 16, 2007 that police knew Mr Rayney had killed his wife and may have been helped by a male lover were "outrageous".

When Mr Rayney was identified as the prime and only suspect in his wife's death at a police press conference on September 20, 2007, he became a "condemned man", he said.

"From everybody's perspective in this State he was a condemned man…, " Mr Edwardson said. "The public are all then on notice about the State's potential case."

Mr Edwardson said despite all the publicity the case still lacked critical evidence such as DNA, fingerprints, sightings or even physical evidence.

He said saliva detected on Mrs Rayney's neck and genitals indicated that Mrs Rayney could have been the victim of a sexual attack.

Justice Martin pointed out that experts had indicated the saliva could have come from Mrs Rayney and that no male DNA was present.

On the final day, Justice Martin also gave an insight into how he viewed some of the evidence he had heard.

He said he found it difficult to accept that Mr Rayney had not known that a phone tap placed on the telephone at the family home was illegal.

He said the electronics expert Tim Pearson, who told the court he installed the phone tap for Mr Rayney, had been one of the "vaguest witnesses I've ever heard", but Mr Pearson "fell over himself" to agree with defence lawyers when he was cross examined.

The judge heard from more than 100 witnesses, received statements from more than 200 more and received more than 700 exhibits during evidence at the trial, which ran for over three months.

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Crown: 'Rayney murdered to stay in control'

CLOSING ADDRESS: Prosecutor John Agius, SC, says it is irrational to believe anyone other than Lloyd Rayney killed his estranged wife Corryn. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

ON TRIAL: Barrister Lloyd Rayney arrives at court with youngest daughter Sarah. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

VICTIM: Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney, whose body was found in a bush grave in Kings Park in August 2007.  Source: PerthNow

FORMER State prosecutor Lloyd Rayney was a calculating killer who murdered his wife because she was a threat.

That was the picture painted of the former second-in-charge of the WA Director of Public Prosecutions office by prosecutor John Agius, QC, who today delivered his closing address at Mr Rayney's wilful murder trail in the Supreme Court in Perth.

In his summing up, Mr Agius said it "beggared belief" that anyone other than Mr Rayney could have killed Corryn Rayney at the family home on the night of August 7, 2007.

He also rebutted suggestions that police had been out to get Mr Rayney from the start of their investigation or that they had planted evidence.

"This is a man who operates in a very considered and careful way," Mr Agius said. "Who plans things, who is not emotional, is not given to outbursts of temper, who is always in control of his emotions.

"One of the reasons he committed the murder was because he wanted to stay in control."

Mr Agius said Mr Rayney would have seen his estranged wife, who was demanding he disclose his finances to her as they headed towards divorce, as an "impediment to his life" and his practise as a barrister.

He said the assault on Mrs Rayney gave her no opportunity to fight back and was intended to not just wound, but kill.

"The position he was in before the assault, in our case, is that he felt under threat, that he wanted to take control of the circumstances, he didn't want the situation to continue, he wanted to bring it to an end," Mr Agius said.

Mr Rayney, 50, is on trial charged with wilfully murdering Mrs Rayney on or about the night of August 7, 2007. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

He also faces an alternative charge of manslaughter, which carries a penalty of 20 years jail.

He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Mr Agius told the court that the evidence showed Mrs Rayney had arrived home from her boot scooting class on the night of August 7, 2007, a night when she was to meet with Mr Rayney, who was to provide her with his financial records. 

He said that evidence included the particles of soil and other material found on her body, clothing and in seedpods found in her hair.

He said there was also evidence that Mrs Rayney had worn a black coat to the boot scooting class -- a coat which had been identified as one tendered to the court by Mr Rayney's lawyers during the trial.

On top of that, Mr Agius said Mrs Rayney's purse was in her car when it was found parked in Kershaw Street in Subiaco on August 15, 2007, and there had been evidence that she never took it to boot scooting with her.

"These two items of evidence are significant because the only explanation for them is that the deceased came home after boot scooting," he said.

Mr Agius said it was the State's case that Mr Rayney had planted the purse in his wife's car as part of his "subterfuge" to support a suggestion that she had come home but gone out again.

"It is our case that once it is accepted the deceased returned home after boot scooting, all the evidence indicates the person who killed her was the accused," he said.

Mr Agius said a dinner place card bearing Mr Rayney's name which was found close to where Mrs Rayney was buried in a clandestine grave in Kings Park, along with a handkerchief which was found in the grave and the way in which Mrs Rayney was buried - upside down in the foetal position - were also among other pieces of evidence which pointed to Mr Rayney as the killer.

He said after killing his wife, Mr Rayney told lies to cover his tracks.

Mr Agius said it was irrational to think someone else had planned to kill Mrs Rayney, a Supreme Court registrar, and had been lying in wait for her at the family home.

He said the lack of defensive wounds on Mrs Rayney's body indicted either she knew her attacker or was taken by surprise.

LLOYD RAYNEY 'TOOK A CALCULATED RISK'

Mr Agius said fate intervened twice after Mr Rayney had buried his wife at Kings Park.

He said the first time was when Mr Rayney drove his wife's car over a bollard at Kings Park as he was leaving the grave site and left an oil trail for police to follow.

The second time was when he dropped a dinner place card near the grave site. It was found four days after Mrs Rayney disappeared and four days before her car and body were discovered.

Mr Agius said the lengths to which Mr Rayney was prepared to go were evident by a phone tap he had an electronics expert, Tim Pearson, install on the family phone.

"He was prepared to risk his practise and that, in our submission, shows his capacity to think through what is happening, to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages to himself," Mr Agius said.

"He took a calculated risk. He is a man who spent a great deal of his time gambling. Weighing up risks was something that was in his nature. Taking long shots was in his nature. He took a risk that it was worth the trouble by having Mr Pearson intercept his wife's phone calls."

Mr Agius also told the court that a press conference by Det Sen Sgt Jack Lee in September 2007 in which Mr Rayney was identified as the prime and only suspect in Mrs Rayney's death, was countered by the evidence of the investigating officer Carlos Correia who testified that they had not had a narrow focus during their investigations.

He said a comment by a police officer on the day Mrs Rayney's body was taken from the grave that police knew Mr Rayney was the killer and he may have had help from a male lover was inappropriate but flippant.

Mr Agius also questioned how or why police would plant seed pods in Mrs Rayney's hair or body bag before they knew the results of the post mortem examination.

"Why would any police officer do that at that time given that at that time no one knew what would be found at the post mortem?" he asked.

Mr Agius said when forensic pathologist Gerard Cadden had been examining Mrs Rayney's body on the day before the post mortem on August 16, 2007 - a day when he did not find the pods - he had been looking for injury to her scalp, not raking through her hair.

Prosecutors have given the trial judge Justice Brian Martin lengthy written submissions as part of their closing.

The written submissions have not yet been made public.

Mr Rayney's lawyers will sum up tomorrow before Justice Martin, who is hearing the case without a jury, retires to consider his verdict.

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Teenage driver jailed for woman's death

A TEENAGER who had been on a three-day drug binge has been sentenced to six years and nine months in jail after causing a crash that killed a mother of three.

Zachary Dexter Travis Smith, 18, in July pleaded guilty to charges including dangerous driving causing death and stealing a motor vehicle.

On June 15 he was driving a stolen Defence Force car that hit a cement truck, which hit another car, killing Abigail Kennedy, 46.

The sentence in Perth's District Court on Friday was backdated to June 16.

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Pluto behind record Woodside production

RECORD EFFORT: The Pluto LNG plant, which has performed better than expected during the third quarter. Picture: Woodside Energy Ltd Source: PerthNow

A tanker receives commissioning cargo at the Pluto LNG onshore gas plant.
Source: PerthNow

WOODSIDE Petroleum has lifted its full year targets and unveiled record production results, thanks to a better than expected performance at its Pluto operation.

The oil and gas producer upgraded its full year production target to between 83 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) and 86 mmboe, up from the previous range of 77 mmboe to 83 mmboe.

"The increase in the range is due to better than expected performance from Pluto LNG (liquefied natural gas project) and the number of contingent shutdown days being reduced from 20 to three days for the remainder of 2012,'' the company said in a statement.

Woodside said third quarter production and revenue were at record levels, boosted by the continued reliability of its Pluto LNG project in Western Australia that started up in March.

The company produced 26.5 million mmboe in the three months to September 30, up 32 per cent from the second quarter.

The company's third quarter performance was helped by a greater availability of plant at the North West Shelf following planned maintenance and shutdowns in the second quarter.

Woodside said it was continuing discussions with gas owners about expanding its Pluto operations.

Revenue rose 28 per cent to $US1.83 billion ($A1.77 billion), production was up 65 per cent, while sales increased 39 per cent compared to the third quarter in Woodside's 2012 financial year.

Chief executive Peter Coleman said the company had strong cash flows following the completion of the $US2 billion ($A1.94 billion) sale of a minority portion of Woodside's interest in the proposed Browse LNG development.

"Woodside's balance sheet continues to strengthen,'' Mr Coleman said.

Woodside expects to reduce its capital and exploration expenditure in 2013 to about $US1.4 billion ($A1.36 billion), 27 per cent lower than the estimate of $US1.9 billion ($A1.84 billion) for 2012.

The estimate includes forecast expenditure for the proposed Browse development in WA up until a final investment decision is made.

The estimate would be updated once a decision is made.

Investors were happy with the production report, sending Woodside's shares 81 cents, or 2.3 per cent, higher to $35.20.

For 2013, Woodside is targeting production of 88 mmboe to 94 mmboe, with 41 per cent from the Pluto LNG project.

The company is planning for eight exploration wells in 2013 and is assessing several regional and international growth opportunities.

It has also agreed to a timetable with the East Timor government for a series of technical workshops about the Sunrise LNG project.

Macquarie Securities analyst Adrian Wood said the production report showed a strong operational performance but that Woodside was giving nothing away on the cost or viability of its Browse project.

"The rising production and falling gearing levels clearly demonstrate Woodside's collapsing risk profile, with the possible exception of M&A or a further Shell selldown,'' Mr Wood said.

He said the capital expenditure outlook for next year was broadly inline with forecasts while the production outlook appeared "conservative but highly achievable''.

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'No value for growers' in wheat export body

PUSH FOR CHANGE: A WA farmers body is supporting a push to deregulate the wheat export market. Source: The Australian

THE Western Australian Farmers Federation has reiterated its support for the proposed winding up of the wheat industry's regulatory body after a similar organisation asked it to reconsider.

WAFarmers said another state farmer group had recently asked it to rethink its support for the federal government's planned Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Bill 2012, but it stood firm.

Labor has a bill before the lower house to wind up Wheat Exports Australia and fully deregulate the market, but the opposition wants the move postponed.

The bill has caused a coalition split, with WA coalition MPs Tony Crook and Alby Schulz both signalling their intentions to side with the government in the belief that full deregulation will have the greatest benefit for local farmers, who enjoy the country's biggest share of wheat exports.

"We do not see value for growers in WEA and, hence, agree with the proposed wind up,'' WAFarmers grain section president Kim Simpson said today.

"This will save growers not only the cost of the levy, but also fees associated with accreditation and port access.''

The statement follows reports that the 2500 members of WA's Pastoralists and Graziers Association have offered to pay a levy to fly WA Liberal MP Barry Haase home from the United States, where he is on a three-month placement with the United Nations, to help support the deregulation push.

The PGA was not immediately available for comment.

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Former child soldier jailed over fatal crash

A learner driver has been jailed for six years over a fatal head-on crash near Perth Airport.

JAILED: Guelor Lutumba has been jailed for six years after a crash crash near Perth Airport. Source: PerthNow

A LEARNER driver has been jailed for six years over a head-on crash near Perth Airport that killed a passenger and seriously injured five others.

Guelor Lutumba, 29, was sentenced in Perth's District Court today for one count of dangerous driving causing death, three counts of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm, two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, one count of unauthorised driving as a learner driver, and one count of driving a vehicle contrary to a compliance notice.

His mother needed assistance from ambulance officers after collapsing outside the court.

The Thornlie man pleaded guilty to all charges relating to the two-car collision on Dunreath Drive, Redcliffe, on the night of New Year's Day this year.

He had attempted to overtake a truck along a curve in the road and collided head-on with another vehicle.

The crash claimed the life of a 40-year-old Queensland woman in his car and injured the four others, including the woman's six-year-old son.

The couple travelling in the other car were also taken to hospital with serious injuries.

During a sentencing hearing in Perth's District Court today, Judge Christopher Stevenson said Lutumba, a former child soldier from the Democratic Republic of Congo who migrated to Australia, was a learner driver but had not displayed his L-plates nor did he have an instructor in the car with him on the night of the crash.

His car was also subject to a compliance notice.

"Your crime was the direct and only cause of the tragic events which occurred," Judge Stevenson said.

"If you had driven normally with reasonable care and skill and with due regard to other members of thepublic, including your own passengers, the deceased person would not have died and the victims would not have suffered the calamitous injuries, both physical and emotional, which they will now bear for the rest of their lives."

Lutumba will be eligible for parole after serving four years of his sentence.

He was also fined $850 for unauthorised driving by a learner driving and contravening a compliance notice. 

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Prosecution: Rayney 'committed murder to stay in control'

CLOSING ADDRESS: Prosecutor John Agius, SC, says it is irrational to believe anyone other than Lloyd Rayney killed his estranged wife Corryn. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

ON TRIAL: Barrister Lloyd Rayney arrives at court with youngest daughter Sarah. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

VICTIM: Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney, whose body was found in a bush grave in Kings Park in August 2007.  Source: PerthNow

FORMER State prosecutor Lloyd Rayney was a calculating killer who murdered his wife because she was a threat.

That was the picture painted of the former second-in-charge of the WA Director of Public Prosecutions office by prosecutor John Agius, QC, who today delivered his closing address at Mr Rayney's wilful murder trail in the Supreme Court in Perth.

In his summing up, Mr Agius said it "beggared belief" that anyone other than Mr Rayney could have killed Corryn Rayney at the family home on the night of August 7, 2007.

He also rebutted suggestions that police had been out to get Mr Rayney from the start of their investigation or that they had planted evidence.

"This is a man who operates in a very considered and careful way," Mr Agius said. "Who plans things, who is not emotional, is not given to outbursts of temper, who is always in control of his emotions.

"One of the reasons he committed the murder was because he wanted to stay in control."

Mr Agius said Mr Rayney would have seen his estranged wife, who was demanding he disclose his finances to her as they headed towards divorce, as an "impediment to his life" and his practise as a barrister.

He said the assault on Mrs Rayney gave her no opportunity to fight back and was intended to not just wound, but kill.

"The position he was in before the assault, in our case, is that he felt under threat, that he wanted to take control of the circumstances, he didn't want the situation to continue, he wanted to bring it to an end," Mr Agius said.

Mr Rayney, 50, is on trial charged with wilfully murdering Mrs Rayney on or about the night of August 7, 2007. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

He also faces an alternative charge of manslaughter, which carries a penalty of 20 years jail.

He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Mr Agius told the court that the evidence showed Mrs Rayney had arrived home from her boot scooting class on the night of August 7, 2007, a night when she was to meet with Mr Rayney, who was to provide her with his financial records. 

He said that evidence included the particles of soil and other material found on her body, clothing and in seedpods found in her hair.

He said there was also evidence that Mrs Rayney had worn a black coat to the boot scooting class -- a coat which had been identified as one tendered to the court by Mr Rayney's lawyers during the trial.

On top of that, Mr Agius said Mrs Rayney's purse was in her car when it was found parked in Kershaw Street in Subiaco on August 15, 2007, and there had been evidence that she never took it to boot scooting with her.

"These two items of evidence are significant because the only explanation for them is that the deceased came home after boot scooting," he said.

Mr Agius said it was the State's case that Mr Rayney had planted the purse in his wife's car as part of his "subterfuge" to support a suggestion that she had come home but gone out again.

"It is our case that once it is accepted the deceased returned home after boot scooting, all the evidence indicates the person who killed her was the accused," he said.

Mr Agius said a dinner place card bearing Mr Rayney's name which was found close to where Mrs Rayney was buried in a clandestine grave in Kings Park, along with a handkerchief which was found in the grave and the way in which Mrs Rayney was buried - upside down in the foetal position - were also among other pieces of evidence which pointed to Mr Rayney as the killer.

He said after killing his wife, Mr Rayney told lies to cover his tracks.

Mr Agius said it was irrational to think someone else had planned to kill Mrs Rayney, a Supreme Court registrar, and had been lying in wait for her at the family home.

He said the lack of defensive wounds on Mrs Rayney's body indicted either she knew her attacker or was taken by surprise.

LLOYD RAYNEY 'TOOK A CALCULATED RISK'

Mr Agius said fate intervened twice after Mr Rayney had buried his wife at Kings Park.

He said the first time was when Mr Rayney drove his wife's car over a bollard at Kings Park as he was leaving the grave site and left an oil trail for police to follow.

The second time was when he dropped a dinner place card near the grave site. It was found four days after Mrs Rayney disappeared and four days before her car and body were discovered.

Mr Agius said the lengths to which Mr Rayney was prepared to go were evident by a phone tap he had an electronics expert, Tim Pearson, install on the family phone.

"He was prepared to risk his practise and that, in our submission, shows his capacity to think through what is happening, to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages to himself," Mr Agius said.

"He took a calculated risk. He is a man who spent a great deal of his time gambling. Weighing up risks was something that was in his nature. Taking long shots was in his nature. He took a risk that it was worth the trouble by having Mr Pearson intercept his wife's phone calls."

Mr Agius also told the court that a press conference by Det Sen Sgt Jack Lee in September 2007 in which Mr Rayney was identified as the prime and only suspect in Mrs Rayney's death, was countered by the evidence of the investigating officer Carlos Correia who testified that they had not had a narrow focus during their investigations.

He said a comment by a police officer on the day Mrs Rayney's body was taken from the grave that police knew Mr Rayney was the killer and he may have had help from a male lover was inappropriate but flippant.

Mr Agius also questioned how or why police would plant seed pods in Mrs Rayney's hair or body bag before they knew the results of the post mortem examination.

"Why would any police officer do that at that time given that at that time no one knew what would be found at the post mortem?" he asked.

Mr Agius said when forensic pathologist Gerard Cadden had been examining Mrs Rayney's body on the day before the post mortem on August 16, 2007 - a day when he did not find the pods - he had been looking for injury to her scalp, not raking through her hair.

Prosecutors have given the trial judge Justice Brian Martin lengthy written submissions as part of their closing.

The written submissions have not yet been made public.

Mr Rayney's lawyers will sum up tomorrow before Justice Martin, who is hearing the case without a jury, retires to consider his verdict.

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Dangerous sex offenders to wear GPS tracker

MONITORED: Sex offenders could be fitted with GPS tracking devices under proposed new legislation. Source: The Courier-Mail

DANGEROUS WA sex offenders will face mandatory jail terms if they interfere with their high tech GPS tracking devices under proposed new laws to be introduced to State Parliament today.

The Dangerous Sexual Offenders Amendment Bill 2012 will also make electronic monitoring a compulsory condition as part of a dangerous sex offender's release.

New state of the art GPS tracking devices will be rolled out as part of the proposed changes.

Corrective Services Minister Murray Cowper said the changes will provide an "additional tool" in the protection of the community from serious and repeat sex offenders.

A dedicated Department of Corrective Services staff member, to be based at the Midland Police Operations Centre, will monitor all sex offenders with the tracking devices 24 hours a day, seven days a week, under the new laws.

Mr Cowper said the changes would work well alongside the online WA sex offender register, which went live this week.

"This is another compliment to that notion that this government is serious about protecting our community," he said.

"The Bill ensures those offenders can be monitored, in real-time 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"While that does not mean they are under constant visual surveillance it does mean there is the capacity to know where they are at any given point in time."

Mr Cowper said the rollout of the new electronic monitoring devices will also apply to the 18 dangerous sex offenders who have already been released into the community and are currently on supervision orders in WA.

He said the State Government had put out a tender for various GPS tracking devices, adding they should not hinder an offender's rehabilitation in any way.

"The devices are somewhat inconspicuous and there is no reason to believe it will cause them any problems," he said.

Funding to the tune of $6 million has been set aside in the State budget for the proposed changes.

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Crash kills driver near Karratha

THE driver of a ute has been killed in a collision with a truck near Karratha this afternoon.

A truck and a ute collided on an access road about 180km south of Karratha at about 3.30pm.

Police believe the male driver of the ute was killed in the crash.
 

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Traps set for Tassie Devil escapees

Three Tasmanian Devils have escaped from a Peel Zoo after their enclosure was damaged.

ON THE LOOSE: Three male Tassie Devils are on the loose after a tree crashed onto their Peel Zoo enclosure. Source: PerthNow

ON THE LOOSE: Three male Tassie Devils are on the loose after a tree crashed onto their Peel Zoo enclosure. Source: PerthNow

HOPES are rising for the recovery of three Tasmanian Devils after paw prints were found behind a zoo they busted out of in rural Western Australia.

A large eucalypt tree fell on the devils' newly-built enclosure at Peel Zoo, on the outskirts of Pinjarra south of Perth, allowing the three fugitives to scarper overnight.

However, a member of the public phoned owner David Cobbold around 3.15pm today to say he'd seen paw prints at the rear of the zoo.

They definitely belonged to one of the missing devils, Mr Cobbold said.

There had also been an unverified sighting of a devil at a nearby golf club, he said.

While they were capable of travelling up to 20km a night in the wild, Mr Cobbold said he didn't believe the runaways had gotten too far as the zoo gave off enough food smells to keep them in the area.

"It's extremely embarrassing for us even though there's not a lot you can do about a tree falling down,'' Mr Cobbold said.

"On the other hand, (my partner) Narelle and I are really quite obsessive-compulsive so even with freaks of nature like this, you still think 'what could I have done?'

"The most important thing is that the public are aware, not only for their own safety but also eyes on the street - let's get the power of the public on board.

"They're out there somewhere. I'm sure we'll find them.''

Mr Cobbold said a torchlight search would be conducted tonight and traps would also be set.

Including the three escapees named Itchy, Scratchy and Genghis, the zoo has 19 Tasmanian Devils as well as other carnivores, ostriches and quolls.

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'Swan, Emu will disappear', says publican

The Swan Brewery will close its doors next year, placing 80 staff out of work as production is transferred interstate.

END OF AN ERA: Swan Draught will now be brewed in South Australia after the closure of the Swan Brewery. Source: PerthNow

BIG brewers like Lion and Fosters hardly bother marketing smaller brands like Swan, which has led to the beer's fall in popularity, a Perth publican says.

The hotelier, who doesn't want to be named, commented after Lion announcing the closure of the Swan Brewery in favour of making Swan and Emu beer in South Australia and Tasmania.

The publican of 18 years said today Emu in particular had plunged in popularity in recent years but there was a hard core of Swan Draught drinkers who would taste the difference in the water from other states.

"Water dissolves minerals in different regions around the world and makes it taste different,'' he said.

"It's all to do with the water quality.''

He said he expected Swan and Emu would eventually disappear as the big brewers pushed top sellers like Tooheys New and Carlton Draught.

The publican said it was a shame WA was losing a manufacturer just when it needed to diversify beyond the resources sector but the state was at least leading the nation in microbrewing.

It also didn't make sense that Swan and Emu would, from April, be transported thousands of kilometres to WA, a market of nearly two million people, despite a society-wide push to reduce carbon emissions.

LAST DRINKS AT SWAN BREWERY

Brewing giant Lion made the decision to shut the plant today, saying the facility had been "operating substantially below full capacity for some time and will require significant ongoing capital investment to maintain its current operations, which is no longer sustainable."

The decision ends the Swan Brewery's 155-year association with WA.

James Brindley, Managing Director Lion Beer, Spirits and Wine Australia said the company was committed to Emu and Swan brands and its decision to close the Canning Vale plant was not done "lightly".

"This is not something we have taken lightly and is no reflection on the dedication and capability of our people at The Swan Brewery or the importance of the WA market to our business," he said.

Mr Brindley said 80 staff would be made redundant, and contracted workers would also be affected by the closure, expected by the end of March 2013.

An additional 55 roles in sales and support functions would be relocated to a new office in WA.

The company intends to transfer its WA keg production and the brewing of Swan and Emu to its West End Brewery in South Australia and its WA pack production to its James Boag and Son Brewery in Tasmania.

Mr Brindley said Lion would invest $70 million into West End Brewery to increase cider and international brand capability and to accommodate the brewing of WA keg production.

At James Boag and Son Lion will invest $12m to increase the Brewery's capability to brew national brands and to accommodate WA pack production.

"New roles created in both SA and TAS will be made available to people at The Swan Brewery as a first priority," he added.

UnionsWA president Meredith Hammat said the closure of the Swan Brewery was more than just the loss of a WA icon.

"For working people and their families the loss of employment is a crisis and is always very distressing," she said.

"To allow those affected to recover from this blow to their livelihood, unions are working with the owners of Swan Brewery, Lion, to secure fair notice, terms and conditions.

"The fortunes of companies, industries and economies change and it is often working people and their families who are the first and hardest hit.

"Sometimes such change cannot be avoided.

"Strong education and training systems can help people and businesses adapt.

"For this, governments, employers and the community need to be committed to achieve broadly based and high levels of workforce skills."

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Police identify three killed in SW crash

Organised crime detectives are investigating a horror crash in the South-West after drug-making equipment was found in the car.

TRIPLE TRAGEDY: Three men perished when their car ran off a road near Mumballup, about 230km south of Perth. Source: PerthNow

POLICE know the identity of the three men killed in yesterday's horror crash in the South West and have released their ages.

The driver was aged 30 and his two passengers were aged 35 and 37.

Two of the men have been formally identified but the names of all three have not yet been released.

The crash occurred on the Donnybrook-Boyup Brook Road near Mumballup, about 235km south of Perth, on Monday morning.

Major crash officers examining the crash site yesterday found items consistent with drug-making in the Volkswagen Passat.

Organised crime detectives were later called in to investigate the equipment found in the car.

A ranger found the vehicle down an embankment about 8.40am, but police believe the accident may have happened earlier.

Police media spokesman Samuel Dinnison today said the items found in the car were still being assessed.

"In this particular incident the officers have done the right thing they've come across a crash scene…they would have seen items used consistent with drug manufacturing," Mr Dinnison said.

"The organised crime squad have to assess the type of items and the amount of items before they can safely say this is drug related.

"We are just waiting on the outcome of that (assessment)."

Mumballup is a tiny settlement about 18km south of Collie, between Donnybrook and Boyup Brook.

Locals say the road, a relatively narrow sealed road, is often thick with woodchip trucks and grain trucks during summer.

Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service fire-fighters from Donnybrook and Collie as well as St John Ambulance spent most of yesterday morning at the scene.

The Major Crash Squad is continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.

The three deaths bring the state's road toll for the year so far to 146.
 

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Chaplain claims child porn a set-up

ON TRIAL: Former school chaplain Matthew David O'Meara, who is defending child pornography charges. Source: PerthNow

A FORMER school chaplain on trial for child pornography offences has told a court he believes someone set him up but denied he was trying to implicate three men connected to the school.

Matthew David O'Meara, 42, is on trial in the WA District Court on four child pornography charges related to explicit images and video files on two thumb drives.

The married father of two had been working as a chaplain at Perth College for nearly eight months in 2010 before he was charged and fired from the school.

The court has heard that one thumb drive was found by a teacher on her desk in August 2010 and the other was seized by police from O'Meara's trouser pocket during a search of his office.

Asked by his lawyer Laurie Levy on Tuesday whether he had ever downloaded child pornography, O'Meara shook his head at the jury and replied: "No, I have not.''

O'Meara mentioned two former colleagues and a former colleague's husband, but he denied he was implying that they may have had something to do with the pornography.

Under cross-examination, O'Meara said he asked a man from the school's IT department to set up an internet connection at his home and left him alone for five to 10 minutes.

That man later examined the first thumb drive found and handed it in to the school principal, which led to charges being laid.

O'Meara also testified that when he got the chaplain's job and moved into the house across the road from the school, the deputy principal and her husband had to move out.

Despite tension over the matter, O'Meara said the husband had still sought his advice about suspicions his wife was having an affair.

Following several heated exchanges during cross-examination in which prosecutor Linda Keane accused O'Meara of lying, he replied: "I put my hand on the Bible. It's a far bigger authority than you.''

O'Meara told the court he continued using an Optus internet account at home without realising until some time later that it was the former deputy principal's husband's user name because he never noticed the information on the bill and did not use the email address provided by Optus.

O'Meara also testified that he had a confrontation with an associate chaplain at the school for using his log-in details on the school computer.

Asked why he did not change his password or report the matter, O'Meara replied: "I thought it would be paranoid to do so.''

"There was no reason to suspect that there was an issue going on at that time.''

Ms Keane suggested O'Meara was concocting a conspiracy theory about the three men, but O'Meara said he was simply stating facts that others had access to his computers and was not trying to blame anyone specifically.

"I'm an incredibly trusting person, obviously to my detriment,'' he said.

Two of O'Meara's friends, a schoolmate who has known him since 1985 and a former nun, gave evidence about his "impeccable character'' and said he had always been held in the highest regard.

The trial before Judge Allan Fenbury and a jury continues.

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Bikie denied appeal over rival shooting

Benjamin Sipkes (pictured on CCTV) was denied leave to appeal his conviction. Source: PerthNow

A PERTH bikie sentenced to more than six years in prison over the shooting of a rival gang's boss has been rebuffed in his bid to appeal the conviction.

Rock Machine member Benjamin Sipkes was convicted in April after a trial in the WA Supreme Court of unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

However, he was found not guilty of attempting to murder WA Rebels gang president Nick Martin.

Mr Martin was shot in the arm as he arrived at his home in suburban Balcatta on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in March last year.

Sipkes was sentenced to six years and four months in prison.

Justice Carmel McLure said in the Court of Appeal today that it was suggested in the closing arguments of the trial that Sipkes had intentionally lied to his partner to lay a false trail.

Justice McLure said the trial judge had directed the jury that any hypothesis on the evidence must be supported by evidence in the case.

"There was nothing in the conduct of the defence case that even hinted at the suggestion made in closing that the appellant had deliberately laid a false trail,'' she said.

Justice McLure said the defence case was "fully and fairly'' put to the jury by the trial judge.

"The appellant has no reasonable prospect of establishing that the deliberate false trail explanation is a reasonable hypothesis on the evidence,'' he said.

"I would refuse leave to appeal and dismiss the appeal.''

Justices Michael Buss and Robert Mazza agreed.

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Frasers already considering second hotel

SWANKY: Bernard Teo, general manager of Frasers Suites, inside Perth's newest hotel. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

The new Frasers Suites, which offically opened its doors this week. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

PERTH'S first new hotel to be built in six years has opened its doors this week with an 80 per cent occupancy rate, amid a critical shortage of CBD accommodation.

The finishing touches were made to the five-star Frasers Suites over the weekend, before the 19-level development was opened to the public this week.

Comprising 236 serviced apartments, Frasers will market itself to executive business travellers.

General manager Bernard Teo said the company, which has properties in 70 countries around the world, targeted Perth because of its high occupancy rates.

He said Frasers was now considering building a second serviced apartment development in the Queens Riverside precinct on the back of the strong growth.

"Perth is enjoying the highest occupancy in the whole world because of the shortage of accommodation,'' Mr Teo said.

"We are entering a market where we are able to provide Perth with a new dimension.''

The rooms are fully self-contained, with a kitchens, laundry facilities, king-sized beds, iPod stations, dishwashers and cutlery.

But the building has all the perks of a hotel, including a gym, indoor swimming pool, restaurant and meeting rooms.

Despite being open only a week, Frasers Suites was fully booked for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Perth's hotel shortage has prompted the State Government to introduce incentives to promote development, including the release of CBD land at discounted rates.

Email: ashlee.mullany@news.com.au

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Broome prison to be closed early

CLOSING DOWN: Broome Regional Prison, which will only house six remand inmates from 2014. Source: PerthNow

THE West Australian government has confirmed it will close Broome Regional Prison earlier than expected, but says there will be no forced redundancies.

In August, Corrective Services Minister Murray Cowper pledged to keep the ageing facility fully operational until 2015 to allow for a smooth transition to the new 150-bed West Kimberley Regional Prison in Derby.

The Derby prison will become the Kimberley region's main jail when it opens in November.

In the meantime, Broome Prison will mainly house Indonesian people smugglers and also provide a short-term remand capacity to service the local court.

That remains the plan for the period from mid-2013 to the end of next year, but from 2014, the prison will operate only a remand section and house just six prisoners who will maintain the grounds, Mr Cowper says.

The plan had been revised because "projected numbers of Indonesian prisoners will be lower than originally anticipated''.

"Therefore the facility will now be managed to coincide with the fill plan for West Kimberley Regional Prison,'' Mr Cowper said.

About 50 per cent of staff would be cut, he said, but there would be no forced redundancies.

"All staff will be consulted and provided with redeployment or other suitable options,'' he said.

WA Prison Officers' Union acting secretary John Walker said the news was a massive blow.

"Understandably, the workers are angry to hear the state government has reneged on the promise to keep the facility open for the next three years,'' Mr Walker said.

"Some of these workers have recently been transferred to Broome to deal with the current overcrowding at the facility only to now be facing the chop or to be sent back despite moving their family and lives to the region.''

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Charges laid over Police HQ armed hold-up

BIZARRE: Police had to Taser a man who allegedly threatened them with a knife at Curtin House, police headquarters. Source: PerthNow

BIZARRE: Police had to Taser a man who allegedly threatened them with a knife at Curtin House, police headquarters. Source: PerthNow

BIZARRE: Police had to Taser a man who allegedly threatened them with a knife at Curtin House, police headquarters. Source: PerthNow

A MAN has been charged after WA's city detective headquarters were allegedly held up at knifepoint early today.

PerthNow understands a man entered the foyer of Curtin House in Beaufort Street at 2.50am then allegedly threatened a security guard with a 10cm blade, believed to be a fishing knife.

The man allegedly demanded cash and drugs from police before officers tried to negotiate with him. Police used a gun to keep the man at bay and later subdued him with a Taser stun gun.

A 26-year-old man has been charged with attempted armed robbery and stealing.

The attempted armed robbery comes after The Sunday Times revealed in August that WA Police had hired a private security firm for $1.7 million to protect the building and officers.

Accord Security was contracted by WA Police to provide security, foot patrols and CCTV monitoring at Curtin House for two years.

At the time, Assistant Commissioner Nick Anticich said police had beefed up security after a specific threat was made against the building.

Mr Anticich was determined also to ensure there was no repeat of the security lapse in which an 18-year-old impostor, dressed as a policeman, got inside the Beaufort St complex and other police facilities earlier this year.

He said dozens of tradespeople also had access to the building as it underwent refurbishment.

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Maguire artworks light up grand old house

ART LOVERS: Denise and Nigel Satterley, who hosted the Tim Maguire art show. Source: PerthNow

STAR OF THE SHOW: Tim Maguire, whose artworks were on display at the Satterley's home tonight. Picture: Alf Sorbello Source: PerthNow

DOZENS of guests filed through the Peppermint Grove home of Perth property developer Nigel Satterley for an exhibition from artist Tim Maguire.

This evening's show was Mr Maguire's first exhibit in Perth since 2001 and the guest list included Premier Colin Barnett and prominent Perth businessman Michael Chaney, who opened the show.

The show is part of a farewell to the century-old Peppermint Grove mansion, which is soon to be demolished.

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Suspected mobile drug lab involved in South-West crash

Organised crime detectives are investigating a horror crash in the South-West after drug-making equipment was found in the car.

TRIPLE TRAGEDY: Three men are feared dead in a horror crash near Mumballup, about 230km south of Perth. Source: PerthNow

TRAGEDY: The RAC helicopter was on standby to attend the fatality near Collie, but was later stood down. Source: PerthNow

ORGANISED crime detectives are investigating a horror crash in the South-West after drug-making equipment was found in the car.

Three men died in the crash, which occurred on the Donnybrook-Boyup Brook Road near Mumballup, about 235km south of Perth, this morning.

Major crash officers examining the crash site today found suspicious items consistent with drug-making in the car.

Organised crime detectives were then called in to investigate what they believe could have been a mobile drug lab.

A ranger found the vehicle down an embankment at 8.40am, but police believe the accident may have happened earlier. It is believed the driver lost control of the car at a bend, left the road and hit a tree.

The names of the victims have not been released and police said it was too early to determine how old the men were or where they were from.

Mumballup is a tiny settlement about 18km south of Collie, between Donnybrook and Boyup Brook. Muja Power Station, one of the region's major employers, is about 20km away.

It is understood the car involved in the crash is a Mitsubishi Magna and that it left the Donnybrook-Boyup Brook Road near the corner of Hearle Road, about two or three hundred metres from the small town.

Local businesses in the area reported hearing emergency sirens this morning but say they cannot see the crash site as a large section of the road has been blocked off.

It was initially believed that two cars were involved in a collision but police now say only one car was involved in the crash.

Locals say the road, a relatively narrow sealed road, is often thick with woodchip trucks and grain trucks during summer. 

Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service fire-fighters from Donnybrook and Collie as well as St John Ambulance spent most of the morning at the scene.

Police Major Crash will continue to investigate the cause of the crash.

The deaths bring the state's road toll to 146.

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