Good morning and welcome to another edition of our live blog, covering all things Perth and Western Australia on this chilly Monday.
First up, WA small business owners caught in the chaos of a shipping shortage are pleading with consumers to spread out their Christmas shopping this year.
The call comes after warnings US tariffs on Chinese imports would soon impact the availability of containers and ships, and increase congestion in major ports like Fremantle.
Containers ready to be shipped from the Port of Taicang, just north of Shanghai during similar delays in August 2023.Credit: Bloomberg
While delays at the docks in China may seem far away, Joondalup’s Trojan Fitness equipment store owner Luis Bastos said small businesses in Perth were seeing the impacts first hand.
And Perth’s housing crisis is so bad that those on priority accommodation lists are waiting an average of 1½ years, while crisis services send more people to hotels or motels as shelters burst at the seams.
The state government is spending more than ever on funding homelessness services due to an unprecedented growth in demand.
Finally, Chinese Premier Li Qiang capped his visit to Australia last Tuesday at a lithium processing plant in our resource-rich state, marking China’s push to retain control of the world’s critical minerals and rare earths.
Around the same time, the boss of Perth-based $2.7 billion ASX-listed Iluka Resources, Tom O’Leary, was warning participants at a global mining conference in Japan about the “uncomfortable reality” behind China’s superiority.
Stay with us as we bring you the news that matters to you throughout the day.