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The West Australian’s PM briefing: Albany heartache, Liza Harvey’s election chances and COVID vaccine roll-out

The West Australian
Main image: Rescuers bring a 23-year-old man into shore near Albany. Top left: Sydney anglers with the monster tiger shark. Bottom left: Former opposition leader Liza Harvey.
Camera IconMain image: Rescuers bring a 23-year-old man into shore near Albany. Top left: Sydney anglers with the monster tiger shark. Bottom left: Former opposition leader Liza Harvey.

The search for a missing teenage fisherman in Albany has turned into a recovery mission, with police revealing they have lost hope of finding the 18-year-old alive.

Meanwhile, Liza Harvey has opened up about the chances of being out of a job after the State election, WA is lagging behind three states in its COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and a whopping 400kg shark has been caught off the coast of Sydney.

Here are five must-read stories from The West Australian this evening.

Search for missing teen to become recovery mission

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The search for a missing 18-year-old Albany man is set to become a recovery mission with police conceding hope of finding him alive is lost.

Rescue vessels, helicopters and drones were used to scour the ocean near Mermaid Beach over the past three days after the man and his 23-year-old friend were swept off rocks while fishing along the rugged coastline east of Albany on Saturday.

A 23-year-old man is brought back to shore at Cheynes Beach after he was pulled from the water by Albany Sea Rescue.
Camera IconA 23-year-old man is brought back to shore at Cheynes Beach after he was pulled from the water by Albany Sea Rescue. Credit: Taj Stubber / Albany Advertiser

The 23-year-old was plucked from the ocean by Albany Sea Rescue after treading water for at least 90 minutes, but his younger friend was not found.

“We will conclude the emergency response and tomorrow we will move to a recovery mode,” Great Southern Police Supt Ian Clarke said today.

Read the full story here.

Aussie anglers reel in ‘Jaws-dropping’ monster shark

A monster tiger shark tipping the scales at 394.5kg has been caught off the Sydney coast.

It reportedly took Paul Barning and his crew on fishing boat the Dark Horse 45 minutes to reel in the shark, with incredible photographs showing the whopper of a creature being held on the vessel as it was taken to shore.

Amazed onlookers flooded the jetty at Port hacking in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire as the shark was craned off the boat and weighed.

Read the monster story here.

WA lagging behind three other States in vax roll-out

Only half of the planned 60,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered in the first week of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine program.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said last week he expected 60,000 doses to be administered by Sunday night, or in the 24 hours afterwards.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison receives a COVID-19 vaccination.
Camera IconPrime Minister Scott Morrison receives a COVID-19 vaccination. Credit: Mark Evans/Getty Images

But figures released today show just 53 per cent — or 33,702 vaccinations — have taken place.

Read why WA is lagging behind the other states here.

Liza Harvey opens up on prospect of losing job

Former opposition leader Liza Harvey has opened up about the prospect of losing her job at the upcoming State election after holding the seat of Scarborough for 12 years.

The Liberal MP is the underdog in her electoral battle with Labor’s FIFO sparkie Stuart Aubrey, despite being the only politician to represent Scarborough since it was reintroduced as an electorate in 2008.

Former opposition leader and member for Scarborough, Liza Harvey.
Camera IconFormer opposition leader and member for Scarborough, Liza Harvey. Credit: Daniel Wilkins/The West Australian

Ms Harvey, who resigned as opposition leader in November and was replaced in the role by Zak Kirkup, said she supported her successor’s decision last week to effectively concede the election.

Listen to the full interview here.

Aged care experts slam 10-day death notice debacle

A 10-day delay for family to find out about Perth great-grandmother Joyce Savage’s dementia death has been described as “very poor” by leading ageing advocates as a landmark Aged Care Royal Commission report revealed “generational change” is needed in the sector.

The 89-year-old died on Valentine’s Day but it took a phone call on February 23 for her daughter Kaye Davis to find out — when she was contacted to clear out her mother’s possessions from Acacia Living Group’s aged care facility Menora Gardens.

Revealed on The West Australian’s front page today, Ms Davis has called for answers from the nursing home and Office of the Public Advocate, which had legal responsibility for Ms Savage.

Read the full story here.

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