Curtin University has accused the Cook government of creating “lasting damage” by using misinformation in the “largest and most disruptive” university merger plan “in Australian history”.

More than $7 million has been committed to protecting and restoring the Swan and Canning rivers amid concerns about water quality and habitat loss.

In an extremely rare move, the state government is negotiating a possible increase of the 1.65 per cent alumina royalty rate currently paid by Alcoa.

The Liberals' promise to lift the payroll tax exemption threshold from $1 million to $1.5 million has been welcomed by industry groups but met with cynicism from Premier Roger Cook.

The first One Nation MP elected to the Western Australian parliament's Legislative Assembly, Luke Herdegen, has delivered a stinging critique of conventional politics in his maiden speech.

FROM THE HILL: Premier Roger Cook, political party leaders and officers of parliament will meet on Thursday evening to discuss security arrangements for MPs in Western Australia.

Nationals' leader Shane Love has pleaded for stronger action to be taken against the man behind a Western Australian house relocation business, which he says has cost customers more than $6 million.

State MPs are questioning their own security arrangements after a man carrying a martial arts weapon threatened staff inside the office of Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley.

Police have arrested an armed man who confronted staff inside the electorate office of Victoria Park MP and government minister Hannah Beazley.

FROM THE HILL: You don't need a university degree to know student politics isn't for the faint hearted.

Tertiary Education Minister Tony Buti has again attacked the salaries of university administrators and executives, saying they earn a total of more than $36 million a year.

Gary Adshead and Justin Fris discuss local government reforms in the wake of several controversies.

From the Hill: When you're a politician with the name Punch, you'd expect to become a target from time to time.

Councils behaving badly continue to cost ratepayers.

The lead-up to a triple child homicide put the government under enormous pressure.

Opposition leader Basil Zempilas has taken a swipe at businessman Mark Barnaba, the chair of the state government's university merger steering committee.

Nationals MP Lachlan Hunter has called for an audit of security arrangements at the offices of all 96 state politicians following the attack on Victorian independent Helen Haines.

In Labor Party circles the name Curtin is revered and celebrated, which poses another question about the Cook government's contentious plan to merge the tertiary institution - named after Australia's war-time prime minster - with two other universities.

Nadia Budihardjo is joined by Gary Adshead, Claire Tyrrell, and Tom Zaunmayr to discuss university mergers, prime beachfront sites, Dianella Plaza, Victor Goh, and more.

From the Hill: The WA government wants Deloitte to return some of the money it was paid to produce a cost benefit analysis around university mergers.

After weeks of damaging headlines, the WA government has finally ordered an inquest into the deaths of three children, whose family had multiple interactions with state authorities before being murdered by their mother.

Police Minister Reece Whitby has raised concerns about a Deloitte report into the cost benefits of merging three of Western Australia's universities into one.

FROM THE HILL: A private conversation between Liberal leader Basil Zempilas and Attorney General Tony Buti has lit the fuse on an explosive question time.

Both the Liberal and Labor parties agree about the need for more certainty around the federal gas reservation plan.

The opposition has accused the Cook government of relying on a report containing errors and “AI slop” to prosecute the case for merging three WA universities into one.

The University of Western Australia is the first of three universities earmarked for a merger to speak out in favour of the government plan.

Former defence minister and senior army officer Linda Reynolds has described the federal government's plan to sell-off Leeuwin and Irwin barracks in Perth as a “huge mistake”.

The state government's $250 million pre-sale guarantee funding for apartment and townhouse developers is now open for applications.

The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale has joined the race to attract the defence industry by offering 440 hectares of land for manufacturing and logistics companies.

The High Court of Australia's ruling over a coal mine's life extension has shaken up the resources industry and sets a precedent to consider greenhouse gas emissions both at a local level and overseas.

OPINION: The promise of fast fixes for broken councils has come up short for city ratepayers.

A building recently bought by a Gina Rinehart company will soon become One Nation's headquarters in Queensland.