Failed builder running addiction retreat; Land Forces Expo; ratepayer revolt over whale removal

0:00Good evening. There are serious concerns tonight about a health and addiction retreat in Margaret River being run by a failed Perth Builder. For the clients, they forked out tens of thousands of dollars for their stays at the facility, but didn't receive the care they were expecting. Some even believe their lives were put at risk. Jeff Perry has this exclusive 7-year investigation. On Danny Cohen and on the founder of Newsensation Homes. Just the mention of Danny Cohen triggers anger and despair among the many victims of his foray into the building industry. They need to be held accountable for their lies and they need to be held accountable for what they've done to our mental health. I have been destroyed. It was brilliant. Everything was brilliant up until we signed on that dotted line. Millions of dollars passed through Cohen's hands, but not much of it went to starting or finishing the homes of people who signed on with news sensation.

1:01When the company went into liquidation in 2022 with debts of around $6 million, more than 50 clients were left with incomplete bills. Danny Cohen avoided his debts when he declared bankruptcy. He was never called to account for his actions by authorities. But he was soon back in business with a slick sales pitch for a new venture, praying on vulnerable people. It's called Six Seasons Recovery, a self-proclaimed wellness and mental health rehab facility. I was in the most vulnerable place in my life. Hard enough like having to come to terms with the fact that your body is addicted to something, then to your family and you know, so I put my trust in him and I expected him to know what he was doing. Lauren spent four weeks and $70,000 at six seasons. I knew it wasn't going to be fun, but I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

2:08This is where Danny Cohen has set up his latest money spinner. Six Seasons Recovery is advertised as a luxury retreat at Margaret River. That's stretching it. It's a bush block at yelling up siding, where residents are often left unsupervised overnight. There's no medical supervision. There's no supervision at all. And Margaret River is 30 minutes away. Lauren was there with five other residents. I was told we could contact people 24 hours. We couldn't even contact Danny. Six Seasons offers clinical treatment for drug, food, sex and social media addictions, OCD, PTSD, childhood trauma, depression and anxiety. In November 2024, Cohen got a spent conviction for passing himself off as a psychologist. These days, he promotes himself as Six Seasons program director. He has no medical qualifications, but that didn't stop the former drug abuser giving medical advice. He was instructing you on dosage of your very strong medication. Correct, yes.

3:17And he was taking you off the medication. He was taking me off and he was reducing it by, it's supposed to be done by five percent at a time. He was doing it by 25, 30%. You have reached the message bank. After days of calls and visits to his church lands, home Danny Cohen finally responded to an email. He says, I cannot discuss a specific guest's experience at Six Seasons recovery due to the confidential nature of a guest's treatment program. He described the claims as false and factually incorrect, saying all staff have relevant qualifications with their relevant governing bodies. But as you'll hear tomorrow in part two of this special investigation, there's real alarm that Six Seasons recovery is operating at all. Having that sort of unregulated space where people claim to be experts is dangerous and can have disastrous results. Jeff Perry, seven news. And you can read Six Seasons full response on our website.

4:2515,000 delegates have landed in Perth for the land forces Expo. It's a money spinner for local businesses, but not everyone is happy. Processors will be making their presence felt, but police are not expecting the violence that erupted when Melbourne hosted the event two years ago. War is big business. And for the next three days Perth is the commercial front line. Hundreds of defence businesses locked and loaded at the convention centre, sproaking their battlefield tech and weapons. One of them is Kaironix, a Perth company that's developed robotics for warfare. Uber for the battlefield. We move supplies forward and we extract the casualties safely to keep them alive. It's the first time the land forces Expo will be held in Perth. Land forces is a great time for industry to come together to discuss what's needed, to support our forces in future conflicts. Sparking WA's biggest police security operation in 15 years. 15,000 delegates are set to attend the three day event with hotels in the city,

5:28booked out. When it was hosted in Victoria, they saw about $100 million flow into the economy, which goes through all the businesses. So hotels, pubs, bars, small businesses and tourism operators. We're expecting to see a similar result here in Western Australia. Police have been granted extra powers to keep the peace after the previous event held in Melbourne saw these violent protests. A protected security zone has been set up around the convention centre, while at least a dozen people have been placed on an exclusion list and barred from coming close. Police say they pose a serious threat to the safety of people or property. One of them was Matilda Lane Rose. I launched proceedings in the WA Supreme Court challenging the commissioner's decision to put me on this excluded person's list. Police have now overturned the ban, allowing the 22-year-old access. This is a designated area for protesters, a section of car park that's been fenced off, but activists say they won't be protesting here, instead on the opposite

6:31side of the convention centre. So people on the exclusion list can join in. City goers are being warned, 1,500 parking bays are off limits and potential disruption from protesters travelling from Jagen Square to the convention centre tomorrow afternoon. Rachel Tassica, 7 News. Residents are kicking up a stink over the removal of a wild carcass at City Beach. The complex operation could cost the town of Cambridge up to $100,000, adding to the problem an unexpected health risk in the water. The whales gone but a whale of a problem remains. A rate payer revolt over who should pay the $100,000 removal cost. It shouldn't be the right payers of the town of Cambridge, not should it be any right payer in any local government jurisdiction. Who puts the bill depends on where it lands. In August, the city of Rockingham paid nothing when a humpback washed up at Port Kennedy Beach,

7:32costs covered by DBCO. In 2014, the state government fronted up half the costs to remove a whale at Scarborough. I think that payers shouldn't be paying the cost. I think the government's got enough money that they can for the bill for this. It was an accident. It wasn't meant to happen. As it's occurred on their beach, then unfortunately the people who live here would have to pay for it. It's just one of the unfortunate things that does occasionally occur, not very often, admittedly. There's $7,1 or $200,000 expense. We'll take things away from rate payers, like putting in shade or playgrounds or a tap at the local park, pop holes in your footpath. The dead whale sparked a great white feeding frenzy. A week on Perth beaches across the area are still closed. The Department of Health collected water samples this morning looking to see if there are any oils from the whales still in the water. The town of Cambridge will use the water quality results to determine when beaches can reopen, a decision expected in the coming days.

8:38Results from sampling taken late last week today revealing another problem. High levels of the bacteria e. coli are in the water linked to the whale carcass. The town of Cambridge saying they didn't expect these unusual results. My grandchildren normally come to the beach to swim and they've been asking why is the saying there to see that why we can't swim. For now beach plans on hold are given seven news. At a time when economic struggles are stacking out, the Albanese government is under fresh fire for spending big on a climate conference in the Pacific. The Fiji summit is already being called a flop and back home one nation is on the wallpath. Promising to help protect the Pacific and on heart as pre-cop 31 opens in Fiji calling for harmony. A home increasingly worried about its own future considering itself at the front line of climate change.

9:42For many of the nations represented by leaders here, it is literally a threat to their very existence. A curtain razor to the main meeting in Turkey next month. This a leaders meeting with few leaders. Pre-clops are flopped. The world's major powers were all invited, none accepted. The whole thing is a joke but the sad reality is it's a joke on the Australian taxpayer during a cost of living crisis. Australian taxpayers footing the $20 million plus bill. Certainly it is a good spend of Australian taxpayers. This is our most important diplomatic engagement in the Pacific. Among the first speakers former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, her subjects protecting pregnant women from global heating. Former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern speaking on Wednesday, New Zealand's current Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, among those not turning up. World leaders don't generally come to pre-cops. As pre-cop chair announcing Australia will provide another $7.3 million towards renewable

10:43programs in the Pacific. Funding one nation would axe today promising to end all renewable energy programs and use some of the money to buy new coal fired power stations designed by another nation. China. The first thing the climate change department gone gone. How much would you have known like the solar wind power that would all go under you? Yes. Instead public funding for cheap Chinese designed coal fired power stations. They just roll them basically off the plant. Barnaby's answer. Look for cutting the gun. You're going to build a Chinese coal fired power station. Not just cheap, he says. It's mad brother. And Mark Rottie joins us now. Mark, you have exclusive details about the coalition's migration policy. Yeah, Tim, I can reveal the coalitions long awaited migration policy will be released tomorrow following one nation's and labours in recent weeks. A very detailed plan I'm told with deep cuts in the initial years as a sharp reset, which one source tells me could drop the coalitions net overseas

11:47migration number close to or even below one nation's 130,000 initially before rising in line with previous promises to match new housing completions at around 170,000 a year. The biggest expected cuts to international student numbers, but working backpackers to be protected. Tim. Thank you, Mark. There's more fallout from Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's arrest earlier this year with the disgraced former Prince now suing UK police. Live to Europe correspondent Isabel Mullen in London. Isabel, he's launched legal action. He has Tim. Good evening. The former Duke is taking the TEMS Valley police to court. Following those raids on his properties at Sandringham and Royal Lodge back in February, raids that ultimately led to his arrest on his 66th birthday. The King's brother was then questioned by police for 12 hours over suspicion of misconduct in public office over his alleged

12:50relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his work as UK trade envoy. The telegraph here in the UK is now reporting that former Prince Andrew is questioning the legality of those search warrants that police held and the raids that they consequently carried out. He is the first royal to question the legality of criminal proceedings against him since Charles I back in 1649. We understand a high court will decide whether it will release those court documents later in the week. Isabel Mullen in London. Thank you. A five-year-old girl remains in a serious condition and three others are listed as stable following Saturday's horror crash where a car plowed into fans turning out for the Newcastle Knights. The coach and captain say they had plans for the victims. I would definitely do something for them. That went out towards over the last couple of days.

13:51Six of the victims have been discharged from hospital. The accused driver remains behind bars. The flight to buy co-pilot who attempted to bring down a passenger plane allegedly wanted to crash the aircraft into Teliviv's main airport. Passengers came to the rescue when the pilot was attacked in the cockpit by his colleague, Alhamami. It's also been revealed Alhamami spent time in Australia as a university student and is under investigation by federal police. Brisbane's Olympics boss admits the 2032 logo launch didn't go to plan. We learnt more about the desire today's official announcement, which was also derailed by protesters. It's the emblem that has some in a flap and others flying. This one was by far resonated because it tells a story. The world had known for days. A coca-2 is now the face of Brisbane 2032. The coca-2 is a globally recognised Australian icon. An accidental leak spoiled today's

14:56big reveal that had some out of their seats shaped like a map of Queensland, the crest, an Olympic torch, colourful, creative, charismatic. Chosen out of a short list of three viewed 38 million times on social media. My reaction was that initial gut feeling you're just like, wow, that's exactly what it needed to be. I think what we've got is actually incredible. Like those videos, the coca-2's dancing online, I think it's pretty cool. The reaction from the International Olympic Committee. Wow, wow, loved it, loved it. But the coca-2 won't be Brisbane's mascot. That decision still years away, at least one option already ruled out. I can guarantee you, I'm sorry, it won't be the binge-eating egg. Now we have the emblem. Games chiefs are focused on the next big reveal from the IOC. The sport's making the cut for the 2032 programme. We're still very hopeful that year end could be real. 2,118 days to go. Gough Burley 7 News.