Following the shooting of a health insurance CEO, a mysterious assassin has been winning hearts and minds, at least online. What accounts for his popularity? How does the assassination work as a direct action protest? And how to weigh it all morally?

The Last Place on Earth is a new media project. Visit www.lastplaceonearth.com.au for news, opinion, analysis, podcasts, and more.

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Gerard Mazza and Jesse Noakes bring you the latest on power and politics in the west:

• There were reports of a snake on a plane flight between Broome and Perth – but did anyone actually see it?
• The US election has proved the world is getting weirder and everyone wants a purpose.
• Basil Zempilas is gliding up the ladder – will he be Western Australia's next premier?

Read more from Gerard and Jesse on lessons from the US election.

The Last Place on Earth is a new media project. Visit www.lastplaceonearth.com.au for news, opinion, analysis, podcasts, and more. Become a paid subscriber to keep us going.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this edition of The West Weekly:

• Student protesters chase WA's favourite ex-premier.
• Bazil Zempilas's diabolical R U OK burn.
• Does shipping our gas offshore really help with our energy security?
• Will the Greens and Canberra lobbyists have Western Australians living in caves?

Head to www.lastplaceonearth.com.au for reportage, opinion, analysis and more.

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Send us a tip if you liked this episode.

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In this first installment of The West Weekly:

• We're all obsessed with Basil Zempilas.
• No one knows who our premier is – will free zoo tickets help?
• Man the battle stations! Seven West's cold war against nature laws has turned hot.

Head to www.lastplaceonearth.com.au for reportage, opinion, analysis and more.

Email subscribers to The Last Place On Earth will be the first to know when a new podcast episode drops.

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Newly independent Senator Fatima Payman is currently travelling through regional Western Australia on a 'listening tour' to meet with voters and hear their concerns.

The Last Place on Earth sat down with Senator Payman last week in the Pilbara town of Karratha, where she spoke about:

• Feeling constrained in the Labor party
• Meeting with angry students from the Curtin Uni pro-Palestine encampment
• Labor's Future Gas Strategy
• How genocide in Gaza will shape the next Australian federal election
• What she's hearing from voters in the regions

For more on power and politics in the west, and what it means for the rest of the country, visit www.lastplaceonearth.com.au

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A storm of controversy is swirling over offshore wind in the Western Australian town of Bunbury.

As the world attempts to transitions to renewable energy, grassroots groups are voicing their opposition to wind developments.

In South West WA, community group Save Our Beloved Geographe Bay has formed to oppose the federal government's proposed Bunbury offshore wind zone.

But are there nefarious forces at play?

How legitimate are environmental concerns about wind turbines?

Where's the money coming from to support local anti-wind groups like Save Our Beloved Geographe Bay?

Why do anti-wind activists hate environmental groups like Greenpeace so much?

And how does anti-wind sentiment fit into the murky worldviews of anti-vax, sovereign citizen, freedom-loving conspiracy theorists?

In this episode, you'll hear interviews with:

• Bunbury resident Rodney Peterson
• Curtin University marine scientist Professor Christine Erbe
• Save Our Beloved Geographe Bay campaign co-coordinator Martine Shepherd
• Busselton resident Darren Glover
• Independent MLC Sophia Moermond

Since this episode was recorded, a coalition of environmental orgs, including WWF and Greenpeace, released a statement on renewables and nature:

"Of course, every renewable energy project must be assessed for its environmental impact, which will mean avoiding some locations.

"Stronger and clearer laws would guide all projects, give the community and industry certainty, set limits of acceptability, be designed to protect species and prevent extinction and in doing so create momentum for the necessary big renewables build. Moreover, any development in the oceans must consider the impacts on marine life and follow strict regulatory controls."

Read more about opposition to offshore wind in the South West from The Last Place on Earth: 'The anger is blowin' in the wind'.

Subscribe and support our work for $5 a month.

Links:

'Reviewing the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms' - Scientific paper

Greenpeace statement on proposed Bunbury offshore wind zone

'Against the Wind: A Map of the Anti-Offshore Wind Network in the Eastern United States' - report by Brown University Climate and Development Lab

'The network of conservative think-tanks out to kill the switch to renewables' - Renew Economy

Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

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Both state and federal governments have handed down budgets in the past fortnight that include big surpluses and electricity credits for all.

Is federal Labor taking its cues from WA, and how will that work out for them? And what does WA really have to show for all those iron ore royalties?

In this episode, hear Shire of Ashburton President Audra Smith talk about her Pilbara community's disappointment with the state budget. They've been waiting for a new hospital at Tom Price since it was promised back in 2021, and the budget papers suggests they'll be waiting a while longer.

This episode was recorded on Wednesday 15 May.

Read more on the WA state budget from The Last Place on Earth:

• 'Forgotten' Pilbara town waits for promised hospital as another budget passes by
• Someone, please invade Perth
• WA banks another $3.2 billion in surplus - but would it be better off spent?

Subscribe to The Last Place on Earth: www.lastplaceonearth.com.au

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Pro-Palestinian protests around the world are escalating, and Western Australia is no exception.

From Columbia to Curtin University, students are pitching tents to demand their administrations cut ties with Israel.

Meanwhile, hundreds continue to join picket lines at Fremantle Port in an attempt to disrupt Israeli shipping line ZIM.

Are these tactics working? And when it comes to global issues like Palestine, can what happens in a place like Perth really make a difference?

In this episode, you'll hear from Western Australian organisers and protesters on why they're willing to get disruptive for Palestine.

Subscribe to The Last Place on Earth to stay up to date with our new and articles, as well as the podcast.

Support independent media in Western Australia by becoming a paid subscriber.

For more on recent pro-Palestine protests, see our news coverage:

• Pro-Palestinian activists arrested at Fremantle Port picket
• Curtin students set up encampment to demand uni divest from Israel

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