Emma Wynne

3 days ago | abc.net.au | Emma Wynne

The Financial Counsellors Association of WA has warned that services that charge fees to lodge complaints with banks and the financial ombudsman on behalf of customers are not necessary. Melanie Hopkinson, the association's chief executive, said services had sprung up that work on a "no win, no fee" basis, taking up to 40 per cent of any payout a complainant might receive. "They offer to take the fight to the ombudsman for you," Ms Hopkinson told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth.

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Emma Wynne

It all started when Perth woman Liesl Benecke took her two young children to the cinema 15 years ago to see the animated film Despicable Me.In the film small, pill-shaped characters called minions play a key role and they have since been featured in numerous sequels. Ms Benecke was immediately charmed by the characters and quickly acquired a number of small plastic minion figurines. "I had about 20 so I made a shadow box [display case], so they're all sitting in the shadow box," she said.

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Emma Wynne

In 1876, a wealthy pastoralist from a prominent colonial family shot and killed his 26-year-old wife at the family property near Geraldton, and was promptly arrested and put on trial in Perth. There was never any doubt that 37-year-old Kenneth Brown had killed his wife Mary Ann, but such was his standing in the community that it took three trials, and three juries, before he was convicted and hanged for murder.

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Emma Wynne

Last year the City of Melville, in Perth's southern suburbs, moved away from annual verge collections to a model where residents can book their own verge collection once a year at a time of their choosing. Other Perth councils have also adopted similar verge valet and skip bin services in favour of scheduled bulk waste collections in recent years.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Emma Wynne

WA residents have reported receiving text messages, purporting to be from energy systems company Solar Gain, urging them to register for a battery rebate scheme and directing them to a form that records their name and contact information. The scheme, announced as a pre-election commitment by Premier Roger Cook, will provide one-off rebates of up to $5,000 for Synergy customers and up to $7,500 for Horizon Power customers in regional WA to purchase a home battery.