The Nationals WA came together in Perth this weekend for our 2026 State Conference, bringing members, supporters, volunteers and our Parliamentary team together to discuss the future of our Party and, most importantly, the future of regional Western Australia.
We were pleased to welcome Federal Nationals Leader Senator Matt Canavan and Leader of The Nationals in the Senate Senator Bridget McKenzie, who joined our State Parliamentary team and members from across Western Australia for a weekend of policy discussion, debate and planning.
Conference remains one of the most important events on our Party calendar. As a grassroots political movement, it is where our members have their say, where new ideas are tested and where the priorities of regional communities help shape the direction of The Nationals WA.
A map for the future
In his address to Conference, Leader Shane Love outlined a clear message for The Nationals: to recognise why so many Western Australians feel frustrated with the direction of government, while offering them a practical and credible way forward.
Housing is increasingly out of reach, the cost of living continues to rise, regional businesses are struggling to find workers and too many families cannot access the services they should reasonably expect.
At the same time, regional Western Australia continues to generate much of the wealth that drives our State and national economies.
Our task over the next three years is therefore not simply to tell Western Australians what we oppose. It is to show them what we will build.
And that work has already begun.
Restoring Royalties for Regions
One of the major announcements from Conference was a commitment to restore Royalties for Regions to its original purpose under a future Nationals Government.
Created by The Nationals WA in 2008, Royalties for Regions delivered around $7 billion in new investment into regional communities, supporting hospitals, economic development, community infrastructure and thousands of projects across the State.
But since coming to Government in 2017, WA Labor has increasingly used Royalties for Regions to meet ordinary government expenses that should be funded from the State Budget.
The Nationals WA will change that.
A restored Royalties for Regions will once again be focused on new investment that grows regional economies, creates jobs, attracts investment, unlocks housing and improves the liveability of regional communities.
Our position is clear: regional Western Australia should not have to use its development fund to pay for basic government services.
The wealth generated in our regions should help build the future of our regions.
Restoring Royalties for Regions will be a non-negotiable priority for The Nationals WA in the formation of any future Government.
$120 million Regional Family Guarantee
Conference also saw the announcement of the first major policy to be funded through a restored Royalties for Regions program — the Regional Family Guarantee.
The Nationals WA will commit the first $120 million from a restored Royalties for Regions to improving the first 1,000 days of life for children growing up in regional Western Australia and supporting families from pregnancy through the early years.
The Guarantee will focus on six areas:
- Regional midwives — including recruitment and retention incentives, professional development, housing support and HECS rebates for midwives who commit to regional WA.
- Family accommodation — including fit-for-purpose family accommodation near major regional hospitals and reform of the Patient Assisted Travel Scheme.
- Primary healthcare — supporting communities to maintain essential local health services, attracting more GPs and helping regional nurses qualify as nurse practitioners.
- Allied health — attracting more professionals to the regions, establishing an Allied Health Flying Squad and increasing access to allied health services in communities and schools.
- Childcare — investing in communities experiencing the greatest shortages, supporting new centres and helping existing providers expand.
- School buses — providing greater certainty and sustainability for the orange school bus network relied upon by regional families.
At its heart, the Regional Family Guarantee is based on a simple principle: a child’s postcode should not determine the start they get in life.
Regional families should be able to choose to live, work and raise their children in the regions without accepting a lesser standard of essential services.
Standing up for regional WA
Conference also reflected on the work our Parliamentary team has been doing since the 2025 State Election.
We have stood alongside licensed firearm owners and sporting clubs as they deal with the consequences of the Cook Labor Government’s firearms reforms.
We secured parliamentary scrutiny of the Government’s decision to impose sweeping restrictions on commercial and recreational fishing.
And we have worked with road and rail safety advocates, families and the transport industry to push for practical measures to improve the visibility of freight trains at level crossings.
These issues are different, but the principle behind them is the same: regional Western Australians deserve a government that listens to them and understands how its decisions affect their lives.
The Nationals will continue to provide that voice.
The work towards 2029 has begun
Royalties for Regions and the Regional Family Guarantee are the beginning, not the end, of our policy agenda.
Over the coming years, The Nationals WA will continue working with our members and regional communities to develop solutions to the challenges facing our State.
That means tackling the housing shortage, improving regional roads, strengthening essential services and creating the jobs and industries that will give the next generation every reason to build their future in regional WA.
Our policies will not be drawn in Perth and imposed on the regions.
They will be developed with the people who live, work, invest and raise their families across Western Australia.
For more than a century, The Nationals have ensured regional Western Australians have a voice in the future of our State.
We’re not finished yet.