Video shows trees and shrubs along Western Australia's south-west coastline turning brown after Perth recorded it hottest and driest six months since records began. There were similar scenes in the state's south-west eucalypt forests in 2010 and 2011 – a major die-back event that prompted more than a dozen studies. Drought-hit forests were hit by fire years later ..read more

A fierce storm and flash flooding struck parts of Perth on Friday after a six-month dry spell, stranding people in submerged cars, and causing part of a shopping centre roof to collapse. Western Australia's emergency services said State Emergency Service volunteers had been going 'flat out' to help fire crews with rescues. There had been about 50 calls for help over the afternoon Cars submerged and shopping centre roof collapses as severe storm hits Perth ..read more

The lauded burns pioneer and plastic surgeon on a ‘paradigm shifting’ project, coping with tragedy and the patients she will never forget Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Read the rest of Guardian Australia’s Walk with … interview series here When Fiona Wood moved to Perth from the UK in 1987, she was drawn to its wildlife. “Intrinsically, it’s the most beautiful place,” she says, as we wander along Matilda Bay beneath a canopy of foliage, the gnarled trunks of moreton bay figs and cape lilacs with their bursts of yellow berries. “When I first came here, I thought, ‘I can see myse ..read more

Reynolds said she proposed a fortnight’s pause in the defamation case after ‘a tiring and difficult day’ of discussions on Tuesday Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Mediation between Linda Reynolds, Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz is due to resume in coming weeks after initial talks failed, the supreme court of Western Australia has said. Reynolds said she had proposed a fortnight’s pause in her defamation case after what she called a “a tiring and difficult day” of discussions on Tuesday. Higgin ..read more

Picture yourself on the streets, seeking to stay safe. We need to get serious about saving lives Out in the cold: read more from Guardian Australia’s 12-month investigation into homelessness deaths If you are reading this in Australia, your odds of living to the ripe old age of 81 are good, as that is now the average age of death in the country. Australia now has the third highest life expectancy globally. But this average masks a sobering three-decade gap in life expectancy for people who have experienced homelessness. This is a disturbing but largely invisible national crisis, with Guardia ..read more

Exclusive: Guardian Australia investigation lifts the veil on shocking life expectancy gap and the system failures fuelling deaths Roger Davies died with nine broken ribs. Police deemed his death non-suspicious and sent him to a pauper’s grave Out in the cold: read more from Guardian Australia’s 12-month investigation into homelessness deaths Hundreds of Australians experiencing homelessness are dying more than 30 years prematurely in a nationwide crisis fuelled by despair, critical housing shortages, a breakdown in health provision, violence on the streets and failures of the justice system ..read more

Exclusive: The 42-year-old army veteran’s treatment – in life and death – lays bare the shocking indifference driving Australia’s homelessness life expectancy crisis Homeless Australians are dying at age 44 on average in hidden crisis Out in the cold: read more from Guardian Australia’s 12-month investigation into homelessness deaths In the shell of an abandoned house, beneath cobwebs spun across blackened walls, the skeleton of Roger Davies lay forgotten amid the rubbish. Davies had come to this burnt-out home in Granville, western Sydney, seeking shelter, a place to squat alongside other r ..read more

The financial, privacy and access implications of adopting this technology must be fully assessed Parking, and the enormous amount of space we cede to it, is undergoing two revolutions. The first is the rise of parking apps. The second is a reckoning with whether we really need so much parking and what else we could do with all that space. In the middle of both revolutions sit drivers. Apps like EasyPark, CellOPark and PayStay promise efficiency through pay-as-you-go parking, adjusted to the minute and location via a smartphone app ..read more

Oliver Jordan Schulz, who is accused of murder over the shooting of a young Afghan, applied for his bail conditions to be loosened Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A former SAS soldier and accused war criminal requires assessment by police checking in on him while on bail because his military training presents a physical danger, a court has heard. Oliver Jordan Schulz, 42, is expected to be able to fly to Perth to visit his lawyers after a bail variation hearing at Sydney’s Downing Centre local co ..read more

The lord mayor, sports commentator and newspaper columnist confirms he will run for parliament, but his potential tilt has already sparked controversy Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Perth’s freshly re-elected lord mayor Basil Zempilas has confirmed the worst kept secret in West Australian politics – that he is bidding to be elected as a state Liberal MP. The announcement was made in an exclusive interview given to the newspaper owned by his Channel Seven paymasters. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for yo ..read more