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Latest posts yesterday 8.04pm
Today’s headlines And that’s all from our first live blog for 2025, thanks for joining us today folks.
Among our headlines covered today was the news that thousands of WA households remained in the dark after extreme weather sparked a spate of pole-top fires and bushfires.
It was a crisis seized on by our politicians (there’s an election coming up in March, after all), with Opposition Leader Shane Love saying the outages represented a systematic failure of investment in critical power infrastructure.
For his part, Premier Roger Cook said occasional power outages were regrettable but not always avoidable.
He blamed the “strange set of weather patterns” over the past week for the 130 pole-top fires.
We also started the working week with a celebration of sorts, as the latest CommSec State of the States report once again crowned WA the nation’s best-performing economy.
A former Perth man was arrested and extradited from Brisbane over numerous alleged child sex offences dating back decades.
An escalating marine heatwave has been identified as the likely cause of more than 30,000 fish washing up dead in the Pilbara earlier this month.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be trained west on federal election night, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told a press conference in Kalamunda.
And finally, the chief of executive of the new Perth Film Studios has been revealed, with 20-year veteran of the UK film industry Tom Avison to fly south to take on the role.
Thanks again for joining us today, come back tomorrow as we bring you more news you need to know.
yesterday 7.49pm
Perth Film Studios chief executive revealed By Cameron Myles To culture news now, and the chief executive of the new Perth Film Studios has been revealed, with current Sky Studios Elstree director of operations Tom Avison tapped to fly south for the role.
Avison’s background in film production has seen him involved in recent blockbusters including Wicked, Paddington 3, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and Jurassic World: Rebirth.
New Perth Film Studios chief executive Tom Avison. Credit: Home Fire
He previously led 3 Mills Studios in East London, as well as Twickenham Studios in West London.
Avison said he had always been attracted to opportunities that were “full of creative energy”, which drew him to Perth and the emerging studio, driven by local company Home Fire.
“Not only did I see a world-class studio facility emerging, but also an experienced and successful screen sector growing at pace – I saw a chance that was too good to resist,” he said.
“I am very excited and honoured to be joining this team.”
Home Fire director Howard Cearns said Avison was a proven leader in the screen industry.
“Sky Studios Elstree, owned and operated by Sky (part of Comcast), is one of the UK’s largest studios, a 35-acre facility with 12 stages covering 260,000 square feet,” he said.
“To successfully host the production of Wicked and Wicked: For Good as its opening client, followed by a significant number of productions from NBCU and other major US studios and streamers, across multiple stages, highlights Tom’s expertise, experience, and reputation.”
Meanwhile, James Grandison has been brought on board as the business and industry development director. Grandison had been working as a consultant for Home Fire but is now with the company full-time.
Screenwest chief executive Rikki Lea Bestall said the new hired added to the confidence and momentum building behind the state’s screen indu
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