Good morning readers, and thanks for joining us today.

Last night, in case you missed it, there was a late update to the Andre Rebelo murder trial reporting.

Our crime and courts journalist Rebecca Peppiatt reported that Rebelo, the Perth man accused of murdering his mother Colleen Rebelo days after setting up several life insurance policies in her name, told the jury his mother wanted $1.5 million of cover in the event of her death and asked him to “shop around” on her behalf less than a month before she died.

This morning, the state government has unveiled 2140 free TAFE places for housing and construction trades, including up to 540 pre-apprenticeship places, to address the skills shortage underlying WA’s housing squeeze. The federal government has chipped in $9.4 million to help the state fund the scheme, part of a broader program of fee-free places that aim to relieve skills shortages in other areas. The skills include bricklaying, cabinetmaking, carpentry, electrical and plumbing. Those who enrol will save up to $1425 in tuition fees for their places, available from January.

And detectives from the Gang Crime Squad have charged a second man over a home invasion in Silver Sands on Saturday, November 2 in which four men allegedly broke in to a home on Seawind Drive armed with a rubber mallet and a knife, assaulted the 50-year-old occupant and threatened him, demanding he open his safe, then fled. On November 6, a 38-year-old Naala Moort street gang member was arrested in Dudley Park and
charged, and a 34-year-old man from Broome has now been charged and will appear before the Perth Magistrates Court today. The investigation continues; anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers, and can remain anonymous.

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This morning we’re also running an op-ed from Perth “grey area drinking” coach and author Sarah Rusbatch, who always brings clear-eyed and highly readable contributions to this masthead on the drinking culture we live in and how to negotiate major occasions if you’re struggling with the role drinking plays ion your life. Today she’s writing about how parents can talk to their teens about alcohol, as Leavers Week is once again upon us. You can read that in the related article.

Check back in soon – there’s more on the way.