Meet the sandwich generation

The extended Spencer family will be moving into their new home in March, which will accomodate the whole extended family. Pictured is (left to right) grandparents Bob and Dawn Wall with mum Michelle, daughters Sheridan (6) and Tianna (8), son Jos and dad Barry Spencer. Picture: Justin Benson-Cooper Source: PerthNow

PERTH homes are being redesigned to suit the needs of the "sandwich generation".

It's a term coined for houses tailored to accommodate three adult generations from the same family under one roof  parents, older children saving for their own property and grandparents.

Designs can include a U-shape layout that ensures bedrooms for each generation are as far apart as possible and put common communal areas, such as the kitchen, outside.

Dale Alcock Homes recently launched seven new multi-generational home designs.

"More and more West Australians are finding themselves 'sandwiched' between supporting their adult offspring and looking after their elderly parents, all while trying to fund their own retirement," Dale Alcock Homes general manager Dean O'Rourke said.

"It makes sense given we're all living longer, our kids are staying at home well into their 20s and our seniors want to release some of their hard-earned dollars for retirement.

"If you add in the rising cost of real estate and Perth's growing population, then it's not surprising that more and more West Australians are moving into a home that can accommodate the whole family."

Curtin University cultural studies professor Jon Stratton said that as the WA population aged and illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer's became more prevalent, more and more people would be living with their extended family.

"The state does not have the resources to support this population so it falls back on families," he said.

Mr O'Rourke said a multi-generational home had to be adaptable as family dynamics changed.

"Rooms are designed for multipurpose, like transforming a theatre room into a games or activity room for the kids," he said.

Privacy and the location of bedrooms were the No.1 considerations when designing a multi-generational home.

"Multi-generational homes, like the Vespa, are commonly designed with the master suite at the front of the home and the bedrooms for adult offspring or grandparents to the rear," he said. "Another important design consideration is ensuring your home layout fosters family interaction, linking the central hub of the home to the bedrooms.

"It's all about balancing privacy and together time."

The first family to build a multi-generational home with Dale Alcock Homes, the Spencers, will move into their Ellenbrook property in March.

Michelle and Barry Spencer created their new home to accommodate their three children and Michelle's parents, Bob and Dawn Wall.

The Spencers chose a design in which the main home is almost entirely separate from their parents' section.

The U-shaped home will have two kitchens, two laundries and separate bathrooms.

Ms Spencer said she thought multi-generational housing was the way of the future.

"In the present, our home will help my ageing parents," she said. "If something happens to one of my parents, the other will have support and assistance if needed.

"Into the far future, if our children can't afford their own home or aren't able to rent, we will be able to offer them somewhere to live without cramping their style."

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'Messy times' but I'm right - Barnett

WA Premier Colin Barnett speaks about his 5th year in charge of the WA government. Picture: Richard Hatherley Source: PerthNow

A DEFIANT Colin Barnett insists he hasn't lost the support of the public despite a "messy" and unlucky few months where "what could go wrong has gone wrong".

In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times to mark his fifth anniversary as Premier, Mr Barnett conceded major election promises such as the airport rail link could now be delayed by up to two years in the wake of the state losing its AAA credit rating this week.

He also voiced concern that there was no obvious replacement for him in Liberal ranks.

And despite more than two decades in the political spotlight he felt misunderstood by the public and the media. He saw himself as a leader who put achievement ahead of popularity.

CREDIT CRISIS

Mr Barnett admitted that Wednesday's decision by Standard & Poor's to downgrade WA's credit rating from AAA to AA+ caught him off guard.

"We were certainly conscious that our level of debt was rising," he said. "(But) I would've expected (that decision) if we hadn't made some significant progress by the end of year, maybe.

"So, I was surprised at the timing of it, to be honest."

Mr Barnett said he was confident he could get the AAA rating back. He promised any Government assets sold to alleviate debt "will not be things that impact on people in their daily life".

But he flagged delays of up to two years in delivering the airport rail link and Perth to Mirrabooka light rail.

Mr Barnett compared the move with his decision to delay the new football stadium by two years during the global financial crisis. He felt the public had enough common sense to understand why he pushed projects back.

He denied he had been reckless with the state's finances and said the debt of $18.5 billion was "manageable".

A 'MESSY PERIOD'

The past few months have seen public outcry over several Barnett Government decisions, including changes to solar rebates and proposed council mergers. And teachers went on strike against budget cuts on Thursday, keeping 180,000 children away from school for the day.

"It's been what I would describe as just a messy period for Government," Mr Barnett said. "It's almost since the election what could go wrong has gone wrong.

"You always need a bit of good luck in politics."

Mr Barnett admitted part of the problem was his team was distracted by the March poll.

"Elections are a big distraction," he said. "(They) use up an enormous amount of energy and effort."

But he was confident he had the support of West Australians and didn't sense any hostility when out and about in the community.

"Sometimes when I come out of the studios after talkback radio I think everyone must hate me out there," he said. "But I don't hear that in the street. Out there in the community people are very generous and very complimentary and friendly to me."

THE REAL BARNETT

Mr Barnett has been leader or deputy leader of the Liberal Party in every election since 1993. Yet despite so many years of public scrutiny he still feels misunderstood.

"I'm not a natural politician," he said. "I'm not the run-up-kiss-the-baby, know-the-name-of-the-pet-dog, ask-about-the-grandchildren (kind). That's not me.

"In fact, I think I'm not probably well understood by WA media or public."

Mr Barnett said he was not a "publicity-seeking Premier", but felt he deserved more credit for achievements like pouring hundreds of millions extra dollars into charities and his success with native title settlements.

He said criticism that he was "arrogant" pandered to stereotype and too many politicians wasted careers by being afraid to make controversial decisions.

"I get frustrated when people try to find a middle ground simply to defuse an issue," he said. "The issue is either right or wrong.

"The natural politicians ... tend to be the ones, from my experience, that look for the compromise that offends no one. But they don't achieve much.

"They may be very popular, but when you ask the question: What did you achieve? Not a lot. I put achievement ahead of popularity."

THE GST

Mr Barnett said it made no sense for WA to lose its AAA credit rating when it had the country's strongest economy by "virtually every measure".

He said the biggest problem was uneven distribution of GST revenue.

"I know people think I bang on about it too much," he said. "But it's not only our share going down, it's the actual absolute amount of money.

"For this financial year the Northern Territory will get more GST than WA and yet the population of NT is less than the City of Stirling. It is outrageous."

Mr Barnett said dwindling GST revenue made the state increasingly reliant on mining royalties to run services.

"Mining royalties are by their nature volatile," he said. "Yet our expenditure is not volatile  it just trends up."

Mr Barnett said the big influx of migrants from overseas and interstate had also put enormous strain on the economy.

TONY ABBOTT

Mr Barnett, who had repeated slanging matches with the Rudd and Gillard governments, said he would start a "little more gentle" with Liberal counterpart Tony Abbott.

He was hopeful the new Prime Minister would be a circuit breaker in the GST stand-off, despite Mr Abbott making it clear during the election campaign he would not change the tax.

"We've now got the four big states  NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA  (where) the four premiers are all Liberal and we've all signed an agreement that we support a shift to a per capita distribution of the GST," Mr Barnett said.

"Those four states represent 90 per cent of the Australian population and 90 per cent of the Australian economy.

"You've now got the vast majority saying this system is broken. I wouldn't put words in Tony Abbott's mouth, but I think he understands the reality of that."

But, Mr Barnett said, any progress would be gradual: "I'm not expecting this to be corrected overnight, but I do expect it to be corrected."

NO SUCCESSOR

Mr Barnett said he would make up his mind to contest the 2017 election about six months or a year out from the poll.

He said it was "an issue" that there was no clear candidate to replace him.

"There's no obvious immediate successor to me whenever I move on," he said.

Rumours that tension existed between himself and Treasurer Troy Buswell over problems with the recent Budget were wrong.

"There have been a few things from the Budget that we have stepped back from," he said. "But there were some things that were wrong, to be blunt."

HIS LEGACY

"I'm not into legacies, but I think when people look back at that period when this guy was Premier they will say that was the period that Perth changed and grew up as a city," Mr Barnett said.

The Premier said he had been very conscious over the past five years that he was running the state during a unique period when Perth could be transformed thanks to the mining boom.

He was proud to have started projects that previously had only been talked about, such as sinking the Perth rail line, the Perth waterfront development and new football stadium.

"This is a one-in-100 year transition of Perth," he said.

FOR SALE? Political Editor Joe Spagnolo looks at some possible scenarios:

GoldCorp (including the Perth Mint): Likely to be sold.
Sale of GoldCorp would not generate riots in the streets. The public would not object.

LotteryWest: Unlikely to be sold.
The community feels an ownership of LotteryWest. To sell off Lotterywest would ignite passionate debate in the community - something the government can ill afford.

TAB: Likely to be sold.
Just a few weeks ago, South Perth Liberal John McGrath called for the TAB to be privatised to fund urgent infrastructure upgrades in the state's racing industry.
A real possibility.

Synergy-Verve: Likely to be sold.
Premier Colin Barnett is merging power utilities Synergy and Verve. This week, Energy Minister Mike Nahan said the long term plan was to sell WA's power utilities.

Western Power: Unlikely to be sold.
Premier Colin Barnett likes to control key energy infrastructure. Hard to see him wanting to sell off Western Power.

Water Corporation: Unlikely to be sold.
Premier Colin Barnett ruled out the sale of the Water Corporation this week.
But don't be surprised if the government considers selling off a desalination plant.

Insurance Commission of WA: Unlikely to be sold.
Treasurer Troy Buswell has previously ruled out opening compulsory third party insurance to to private competition.

Fremantle Port: Unlikely to be sold.
Both Premier Colin Barnett and Treasurer Troy Buswell say there will be no quick sales of our ports. But they admit, facilities within ports could be sold off, such as the Kwinana Bulk Terminal.

Land holdings: Likely to be sold.
Sites such as the old power station site in East Perth, Subiaco Oval, Princess Margaret Hospital will all come under consideration as the Premier looks to sell off land to pay off mounting debt.

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Internet boss pretends to trip models

Make up your own mind as to whether this gentleman was intentionally trying to trip models during last week's Perth Fashion Festival.

Michael Malone pretends to trip a model during the Perth Fashion Festival's An Evening with Camilla and Marc at the WA Museum. Picture: Alf Sorbello Source: PerthNow

HIS deft moves earned him big bucks on the stock exchange, but they weren't such a big hit at the Perth Fashion Festival.

iiNet boss Michael Malone was pretending to trip models parading in last Sunday night's Camilla and Marc fashion show at the WA Museum by repeatedly extending his leg across the catwalk.

But the mischievous multi-millionaire waited until the models had just made it past him before he stuck his leg out.

The schoolboy-type prank was broadcast live on big screens in front of bemused guests at the $270-a head soiree, which included a decadent three-course dinner.

Oblivious to yells from photographers for him to stop obstructing their shots, Mr Malone continued his antics.

One onlooker described his behaviour as "foolish".

"All of a sudden the show started and out comes his foot," he said. "He kept doing it. It was foolish, it was childish."

Mr Malone was later spotted waving wads of cash in the air during the charity auction at which he bid $7500 for a private dinner cooked by retired AFL star Andrew Embley and Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan.

Funds went to breast cancer charity The McGrath Foundation.

Other guests at the event included former cricketers Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, pop singer Samantha Jade, Hollywood fashion icon Cameron Silver, Singaporean socialite Marie Choo and Sydney fashion blogger Kate Waterhouse.

Mr Malone founded Perth-based internet company iiNet from his parents' suburban garage in 1993. It's now Australia's biggest independent internet service provider, worth $1 billion.

The Perth Fashion Festival, a six-day whirlwind of fashion, champagne and parties, ended on Monday night.

Mr Malone declined to comment.

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Gales, heavy rain looms for Perth, S-W

A storm is set to bring heavy showers and strong winds to Perth tomorrow morning. Source: PerthNow

GALES and heavy rain are set to batter Perth and the South-West with severe weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning this afternoon as a deep low and cold front closes in on the south-west of WA this evening.

The warning covers people south-west of a line from Jurien Bay to Merredin to Hyden to Israelite Bay, which includes the Perth metro area, Mandurah and Busselton regions.

The Bureau warns that widespread damaging winds to 100km/h, which could result in damage to homes and property, with isolated gusts up to 125km/h possible.

"Damaging winds and dangerous gusts are likely to develop southwest of a line Jurien Bay to Merredin to Bremer Bay after 11pm tonight, and then southwest of a line Walpole to Narrogin to Hyden to Israelite Bay after 8am Sunday," the Bureau states.

Conditions are expected to ease for a period on Sunday but the Bureau warns that damaging winds and dangerous gusts are likely to redevelop south-west of a line Perth to Walpole by 11pm.

People are advised that higher than normal tides may cause flooding in low lying coastal areas between Perth and Albany, while dangerous surf conditions are likely which could cause beach erosion.

Heavy rainfall associated with the system could cause flash flooding in isolated areas.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should:
- Store or weigh down loose objects such as outdoor furniture.
- Have an emergency kit with a battery operated radio, torch, spare batteries and first aid kit.
- Ensure pets and animals are in a safe area.
- Move vehicles under cover.
- Boat owners should securely moor their boats.
- Campers should find shelter away from trees, power lines, storm water drains and streams.

Residents whose property is badly damaged or flooded should contact the State Emergency Service on 132 500.

Wet slog for footy finals

Ahead of tonight's AFL preliminary final between Fremantle and Sydney, the Bureau is predicting: "Isolated showers developing during the afternoon. Winds northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h turning northerly in the late evening."

Storms will develop tomorrow morning, accompanied by strong winds, but they may have cleared by bouncedown for the WAFL grand final between West Perth and East Perth.

According to the Bureau, Sunday will bring: "Heavy showers developing early in the morning, easing to isolated showers by later in the morning. Isolated thunderstorms early in the morning.

"Damaging winds possible in the morning. Winds northerly 25 to 35 km/h turning west to northwesterly 35 to 50 km/h early in the morning."

Perth forecast - Sunday 22 September
Min 13 Max 19. Showers, easing. Morning storm.

Monday 23 September
Min 13 Max 21. Shower or two. Windy.

Tuesday 24 September
Min 15 Max 20. Shower or two. Wind easing.

Wednesday 25 September
Min 14 Max 21. Morning shower or two.

Thursday 26 September
Min 11 Max 20. Shower or two. Windy.

Friday 27 September
Min 11 Max 19. Cloudy.

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Chicago shooting: 3-year-old critical

Chicago police say two gunmen attacked a crowd on a park basketball court, with at least 13 people injured in the shooting, including three-year-old, their conditions from serious to critical. The gunmen haven't been taken into custody yet.

Shooting scene in Chicago. Picture from Twitter Source: Supplied

AMERICA has been rocked by another mass shooting incident, this time in Chicago.

Thirteen people were shot at a basketball court, including a three-year-old boy and two 15 year olds.

Chicago Fire Department officials said the child was in critical condition.

CNN quoted Chicago Police officer Ron Gaines as saying the child was shot in the ear with the bullett exiting through his mouth.

The 15 year olds are in a stable condition, Gaines said, while four other victims were in a serious condition.

The incident took place on Chicago's south side, in the Back of the Yards neighbourhood.

The Chicago Tribune reported that up to 60 police arrived on the scene after the incident.

Deputy District Fire Chief James Mungovan updates the media at the scene in Cornell Square Park. Picture: Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP

All the victims were transported to hospitals but are alive, deputy fire chief James Mungovan said. Police do not yet have anyone in custody.

A Chicago police spokesman did not confirm how many were shot in the park. He added it wasn't known if there were fatalities.

A total of 10 ambulances responded to the scene near Cornell Square Park around 10:15 p.m. local time and transported 11 of the victims to various hospitals, fire officials said.

A police dispatcher told AFP: "Basically, there have been no fatalities reported and there is no one in custody at this time."

Shooting scene in Chicago. Picture: Twitter Source: Supplied

The Chicago Sun Times quoted 22-year-old local resident Julian Harris as saying that "dreadlocked gunmen in a gray sedan" fired at him at the corner of Wood and 51st street.

"They've been coming round here looking for people to shoot every night - just gang-banging stuff. It's what they do," the paper quoted Harris saying.

Another witness told the paper that he heard "at least 20 shots" and police arrived on the scene "real quick".

A third witness at the scene said three police officers carried the child to an ambulance.

"I didn't hear no sounds,'' from the child, he told the Chicago Tribune.

Residents from the Back of the Yards neighbourhood respond to the shooting. Picture: Twitter Source: Supplied

Francis John, 70, said she was in her apartment when the shooting occurred. She told Associated Press she went down to see what was going on and "a lot of youngsters were running scared.'' She said she was surprised by what had happened, saying she has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years.

The shooting comes as Chicago struggles to stem an epidemic of gang violence that helped push the city's murder rate up 16 percent to 506 people last year.

The Chicago Tribune reported that a total of eighteen people, including the 13 in the Cornell Park incident, were shot in the space of four hours in Chicago on Thursday night.

Despite this shocking figure, there has only been one fatality so far, that of a 36-year-old man who was shot near 77th Street and Sangamon Avenue.

A Chicago police officer picks through debris at the crime scene. Picture: AP Photo / Paul Beaty Source: AP

Back of the Yards is an industrial and residential neighborhood on Chicago's South Side and gets its name from the former Union Stock Yards, which employed thousands of European immigrants in the early 20th century.

It is still considered to be a working-class area, though now with a strong Mexican-American ethnic base, and suffers from a relatively high crime rate.

The incident comes four days after 12 people were killed in a mass shooting at Washington Navy Yard.

President Barack Obama returned to his adopted hometown earlier this year to appeal for an end to the 'senseless' gun violence ravaging Chicago as he pressed for ambitious gun control measures, which so far have been stalled in the US Congress.

Shooting scene in Chicago. Picture: Twitter Source: Supplied

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Three elite Aussie troops wounded

Australian Special Forces soldiers have been injured in Oruzgan Province in Afghanistan. Source: News Limited

A GROUP of elite Australian soldiers have been wounded during a successful mission that killed an insurgent commander.

Defence said three Australian Special Forces soldiers sustained "minor fragmentation wounds" during the operation in Oruzgan province last week.

In an operation led by the Afghan National Security Forces, enabled by the Special Operations Task Group, the soldiers were providing reinforcement to three ANSF security checkpoints in the Char Chineh region of the Shahid-e Hasas District that were under heavy, prolonged insurgent attack.

Defence said a number of insurgents were killed during the operation, including a mid-level commander responsible for supplying insurgents in the district with weapons and ammunition.

Local security forces successfully maintained security and regained control of the area.

Commanding Officer SOTG, Lieutenant Colonel M, praised the Australian soldiers for continuing the successful mission, despite their wounds.

"Coming under insurgent fire, with three of their Australian partners wounded, the ANSF demonstrated their effective capability and continued the mission," he said.

"As a result a number of insurgent fighters, including a mid-level commander, were killed, significantly reducing the capability of the insurgent fighting force attacking the ANSF checkpoints."

"The ANSF have proven themselves in a variety of combat situations. This mission was important as it reinforced ANSF checkpoints that have been under recent pressure from insurgent attacks. It has also disrupted the insurgent networks that are operating in this area, reducing their capability to target ANSF.

"At the time the entire force element was receiving heavy small arms fire, it was a situation that could have easily escalated."

Defence said the three wounded soldiers received immediate treatment from medical personnel at the incident site.

They returned to Multinational Base - Tarin Kot for follow up medical treatment when the mission was completed.

One of the soldiers was subsequently transferred to the International Security Assistance Force Role 3 Medical Facility in Kandahar for follow up treatment as an outpatient.

All soldiers were expected to return to full duties in the near future.

To date, 14 ADF personnel have been wounded in Afghanistan in 2013.

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No show: 180,000 kids take day off

STRIKE ACTION: Thousands of teachers rally at a stop-work meeting yesterday. Picture: Stewart Allen Source: PerthNow

COOL: A third of WA public school students took the day off. Source: PerthNow

TWO thirds of WA's public school students missed the whole day of school yesterday when thousands of teachers walked off the job.

New data, released by the Education Department, shows 201,000 pupils did not attend public schools yesterday morning when a stop-work rally protesting education cuts was staged at Gloucester Park.

But 180,000 students - some 65 per cent - stayed away from school for the entire day, authorities say. There are 276,000 students in the public education system.

A spokeswoman for the department said "not all of these students would have been absent because of the industrial action".

But on a normal school day, the Education Department records about 16,000 absences from school, with 11,000 of those justified. The remaining 5000 are unexplained or not warranted.

The data also shows that more than 11,300 teachers and other staff did not turn up for work on Thursday morning because of the industrial action.

Their pays will be docked by half a day, as warned by the Barnett Government.

Premier braces for more school strikes

Across WA, up to 20,000 teachers, other staff, parents and students took part in 23 stop-work meetings yesterday. The biggest was at Gloucester Park, where about 15,000 protested the cuts.

The action, which unions have warned is "just the first step", closed 62 schools yesterday.

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'Near miss' for Perth-bound plane

Two Qantas passenger aircraft have been forced to take action after flying too close to each other over SA.

Two Qantas planes fly in close proximity to each other over Sydney. Picture: Brett Costello Source: AAP

AIRSERVICES Australia has stood down a traffic controller involved in Qantas's mid-air near collision earlier today.

It is understood that at about midday, QF581, the Sydney to Perth flight was flying at 38,000ft and the Perth to Sydney flight was at 39,000ft when the Perth-bound flight requested to climb to 40,000ft.

Air traffic control gave permission for the ascension when the on board warning system went off and the pilots sought evasive action.

As the plane ascended, it came into the pathway of QF 576 from Perth to Sydney, which was travelling at 39,000 ft.

After warning notifications went off, the planes involved swerved and narrowly missed each other.

Passengers disembark at Perth Domestic Terminal after the flight from Sydney. Picture: Richard Polden Source: PerthNow

"Our pilots followed standard operating procedures in re-establishing the required separation distance following the alert from the onboard notification system,'' Qantas said in a statement.
"There was no impact to passengers.''

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was earlier notified that two planes came too close to each other west of Adelaide this afternoon.

Qantas said the two Airbus A330 aircraft had a "loss of separation'', when one flying from Sydney to Perth was granted permission by air traffic control to climb.

The other flight, coming in the opposite direction, was travelling from Perth to Sydney.

FRIGHTENED: Walter T Bird, 76, talks to the media at Perth Airport about the flight. Picture: Richard Polden Source: PerthNow

Qantas confirmed the two planes involved were a Sydney-to-Perth flight, QF581, which landed at Perth Airport about  1.30pm. The other, flying from Perth to Sydney, was QF576.

Passenger 'saw other plane'

Passenger Gary Martin, who was on the Sydney-to-Perth flight, said he saw the other Qantas plane fly beneath his plane, but was not worried.
 
"I just happened to look out the window somewhere over South Australia and happened to see a plane fly underneath," Mr Martin said after landing at Perth Airport.

NOT WORRIED: Passenger Gary Martin saw the other plane fly beneath the aircraft he was on but remained calm. Picture: Richard Polden Source: PerthNow

"I was not worried at all."

Another Perth passenger, Leanne, said nobody on board was told about the incident.

"I'm a bit concerned that nothing was said, you still want to know what's going on and now I'm shaking," she said.

Former United Airlines maintenance technician Walter Bird said passengers noticed nothing at all during the flight.

"I didn't notice any violent manoeuvres or anything," he said.

"It's not uncommon actually, near misses and that sort of thing. It's just a matter of clear communications."

Safe ground: Passenger Leanne tells of her ordeal on arrival at Perth Airport. Picture: Richard Polden Source: PerthNow

Most of the passengers coming off the flight said they did not know about the near-miss until asked by news crews  at Perth Airport.

An ATSB spokesman said the authority knew of a "loss of separation" incident involving the two aircraft.

Qantas confirmed two of its aircraft had a "loss of separation" over Adelaide, but it denied there was any near-miss or immediate danger to the planes.

In a statement, Qantas said: "Indications are that the loss of separation occurred when one of the Qantas aircraft received clearance to climb from Air Traffic Control," the statement read.

"Our pilots followed standard operating procedures in re-establishing the required separation distance following the alert from the onboard notification system. There was no impact to passengers."

Airservices Australia, which has responsibility for air traffic management, said it had reported the incident to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and had notified the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

It said updates would be provided to the ATSB and Airservices Australia would cooperate fully with any investigation.

An ATSB spokesman said it was gathering more information to determine if it was necessary to investigate the incident.

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Pilot, airport staffer flown to RPH

Emergency services have been called to a plane crash in Geraldton this afternoon.

Emergency services have been sent to a plane crash in Geraldton. Source: PerthNow

Emergency services personnel help a pilot out of a plane which crashed in Geraldton today. Source: Supplied

A photo of the area where a plane crashed in Geraldton earlier today. Picture: Everything Geraldton (everythinggeraldton.com.au) Source: Supplied

EMERGENCY services have been called to a plane crash in Geraldton this afternoon.

Police and St John Ambulance were called just before 4pm after the small plane crashed and caught fire at the Geraldton Aerodrome.

Fire fighters extinguished the blaze and rescued the 50-year-old pilot, who was trapped in the plane.

Emergency services personnel help a pilot out of a plane which crashed in Geraldton today. Source: Supplied

He was taken to Geraldton Hospital with serious injuries, including burns and has now been transferred to Royal Perth Hospital along with an airport staff member who was burnt while trying to pull the pilot from the wreck.

Air Transport Safety Bureau has been advised.

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Wallabies star in trouble again

The Courier Mail's rugby writer Jim Tucker joins Fox Sports News after it was revealed Wallabies star James O'Connor was escorted out of Perth airport last weekend.

JAMES O'Connor's future in Australian rugby has been thrown into jeopardy after the allegedly intoxicated winger was escorted out of Perth airport by federal police.

The AFP confirmed a 23-year-old man was removed from the airport after being denied entry to a flight in the early hours of Sunday morning.

O'Connor was travelling to Bali with his girlfriend on a 5am flight and has admitted to the ARU he was involved in a heated dispute with airline staff over seating arrangements.

"The AFP can confirm it spoke to a 23-year-old man at Perth International Airport in the early hours of the 15th of September (Sunday)," an AFP spokesman said.

"It is alleged the man was intoxicated. The airline the man was booked to travel with made a decision not to allow him to board the aircraft. The AFP subsequently escorted the man from the terminal."

Witnesses have told Rugby Gold they saw O'Connor being escorted from the Perth terminal, affected by alcohol, in the wee hours after the Wallabies beat Argentina at Patersons Stadium.

The ARU launched an investigation on Sunday but were satisfied with O'Connor's version of events relayed from Bali, which stated a dispute over seating arrangements at the gate led to O'Connor and his girlfriend being taken back through customs to re-book seats on a later flight. He denied being drunk and there was no mention of the AFP.

The Wallabies have had the week off before leaving on of a tour South Africa and South America next Monday.

O'Connor has a storied history of off-field incidents.

O'Connor's presence on the two-week trip to South Africa and Argentina will now come under scrutiny in major doubt following a string of off-field incidents, and the airport matter could also threaten an impending deal with the Western Force, which was due to be finalised this week.

O'Connor was let go by the Melbourne Rebels in July – with attitude cited as one of the reasons – and a return to his first club the Force is understood to be conditional on the 23-year-old agreeing to strict behavioural standards.

If the deal with the Force collapses, O'Connor is likely to be left without an Australian Super Rugby club for next season, with all others not interested. He may have to take up an offer overseas or in rugby league.

O'Connor's airport incident comes just weeks after he pledged to clean up his act following a series of off-field disciplinary issues.

In 2011, O'Connor was suspended for a Test after sleeping through the World Cup squad announcement and a few months later was involved in a fight in Paris with Wallaby teammates Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper.

Recently, O'Connor was again in hot water during the British and Irish Lions tour in June when he and Beale were photographed at Hungry Jacks at 4am, just a few days out from the second Test in Melbourne.

Along with missing a bus to training and a final Wallaby team meeting, O'Connor's behaviour infuriated senior Wallabies, some of whom spoke out against him.

After new Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie laid down the law about team standards, O'Connor said just over a month ago he was working to make changes.

"There's definitely things that I already have changed and am in the process of doing, personal things," O'Connor said.

"I don't play rugby to be talked about off the field.

"I'm playing rugby because I love it and that's what I want to be doing, playing for my country.

"At the moment I'm doing the hard yards and I'm trying to get involved and earn myself into the team."

"It's not hard to do, (team standards) is just putting the team first. I can't express everything, but it's something I'm pretty excited about.

"It's something I know I can be part of."

Wallabies captain James Horwill, who missed the Perth Test with injury, last month foreshadowed problems for O'Connor should he misbehave again.

"I think they (O'Connor and Beale) understand that's not what's acceptable being a part of the Australian team and we've got to make sure that that's clear and as long as we make that clear everyone understands where they stand, not just for those individuals but for everyone," Horwill said in August.

"Once you know where you stand and if you go away from that then that brings you into a place that you probably don't want to be, so that's something that we will make pretty clear – and have made pretty clear."

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