WA being left behind by east coast-centric Labor Government

Article by Matt O’Sullivan, courtesy of The West Australian

If WA’s current situation were a character in a film, we’d be the unsung hero, the reliable sidekick, the supporting character who does the heavy lifting but never gets the credit- at least not from Canberra under the Albanese Government.

We’ve been the economic backbone, the steady hand that has kept the nation’s growth trajectory from faltering.

Yet, recent policy decisions by the Albanese Government make it clear that WA is being side lined.

This isn’t just an oversight; it’s a recurring pattern of neglect that threatens our industries, our jobs and our future.

The Albanese Government has walked away from WA to appease their inner-city base on the east coast.

The alarming fact is only one member in Mr Albanese’s Cabinet is from WA.

Madeleine King, tasked with the resources portfolio, has done an excellent job of siding with the unions and leaving the resources sector to fend for itself.

What a way to repay an industry that has kept the wider Australian economy out of a full-blown recession.

Adding insult to injury, there are no West Australians in the Labor leadership or within the influential Expenditure Review Committee and National Security Committee of Cabinet.

This lack of representation means WA’s voice is absent from the most critical conversations.

It’s this voiceless void that allows Mr Albanese, and his Eastern States-dominated Cabinet feel free to so blatantly target WA jobs and projects. 

Their live export ban will devastate WA farming families and rural communities. The consequences will be felt far and wide, from truckies, to stock agents, shearers and sporting clubs.

Their Nature Positive legislation will threaten critical minerals and energy projects across WA.

And if the Greens had their way, the inbuilt “climate trigger” they are championing would only compound that harm to industry.

Sure, the Prime Minister has ruled it out – for now. But we know Adam Bandt and the Greens have made it a condition of their support in the event of forming a Labor/Green minority government.

Let’s not forget the unions.

Labor’s problematic IR legislation means unions can now collectively bargain without majority workforce support and across multiple employers.

The current forceful unionisation push happening in the Pilbara, spearheaded by the Australian Workers Union, bears more than an uncanny resemblance to early stages of the 1980s Robe River dispute.

Labor is bending over backwards trying to return to the “good old days” of union supremacy. Forgetting these were extremely dark days, of high unemployment, record level of industrial strikes, a full-blown recession and slumping productivity.

In stark contrast, the former Coalition government had many WA Cabinet ministers who advocated for a better deal for our State.

We have WA Coalition Cabinet ministers to thank for our GST share, repealing Labor’s disastrous mining tax, and securing billions in infrastructure grants for State-shaping projects including the new ECU and WAAPA campuses in Perth CBD.

WA deserves to be recognised as more than just the reliable supporting character.

We have earned a seat at the table and a role in the decisions that shape our future.

It’s the job of WA Labor members to hold Prime Minister Albanese accountable and ensure WA is not sidelined.

If they can’t achieve this, they need to be upfront with the public about their inability or unwillingness to do their core job.

We need members of Parliament that fight for WA and are not merely subservient to the Eastern States.

 

Matt O’Sullivan is a Liberal senator for WA