Just over seven months ago, I was elected to the State Parliament as the Member for Central Wheatbelt. The people of my electorate – and indeed regional Western Australia – didn’t send me to Perth to sit quietly in the corner. They sent me here to speak up, to fight for their communities, and to make sure their voices are heard in a Parliament that too often forgets the regions even exist.
Since 2017, Labor has held government in Western Australia – and since 2021, they’ve enjoyed a massive, almost unchecked majority. At the March 2025 State Election, the swing across regional WA sent a clear and resounding message to the Cook Labor Government: people in the bush have had enough. If that same swing had occurred in metropolitan Perth, Labor wouldn’t be in power today.
That tells you something – not just about the strength of The Nationals, but about the growing frustration of regional communities who feel invisible to those running this State.
In a Parliament of 59 seats, only around 12 are regional. That imbalance means that unless someone is willing to speak up – loudly – regional WA gets steamrolled by a city-centric agenda.
The dynamics of the 42nd Parliament are unique. There are just 13 members of the Opposition. After years of having no real Opposition (by way of pure numbers), WA Labor has grown allergic to scrutiny. They’re so used to not being questioned that the moment someone challenges them, they take deep offence.
I’ve worked in and around politics for many years. I’ve watched robust debates and worked in the inner sanctum of the Federal Parliament alongside Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers – and they can take it on the chin. But not this mob.
What I see in Perth, however, is something different – a Labor Government that mistakes arrogance for authority.
There are some good Labor MPs – people who are courteous and will exchange pleasantries outside the chamber; after all, we are all human. But sadly, the majority of the frontbench won’t even return a “hello” when you pass them in the corridor. That tells you everything about the culture of this Labor Government.
Parliament should be a place of fierce but fair debate – that’s good for democracy, and that’s what I signed up for – not personal animosity. I believe in leaving the fight in the chamber.
Unfortunately, WA Labor doesn’t share that philosophy. There’s an ingrained hostility toward anyone who challenges them. It’s a culture of contempt – and it will take a change of government to fix it.
I was called to order four times in Parliament last week – and here’s why. Twice, for reminding a Labor MP that there are no beaches in the Central Wheatbelt after they mocked regional kids’ access to VacSwim. Labor has cut funding for swimming lessons in the bush, and I called it out. Once, for standing up to the Premier after he blamed and demonised commercial fishers for low fish stocks – yet another attack on a proud and hard-working primary industry. And finally, for pushing back when Labor MPs labelled small and family business owners “horrid” for daring to speak about rising costs caused by Labor’s cosy relationship with the trade unions.
For all that, I was ordered out of the chamber for the rest of the day. I simply refused to sit silently while Labor continues to run down our regions and belittle the people who keep this State going.
Labor doesn’t just ignore regional Western Australians – it actively works against them.
Labor had no agricultural policy at the last election. They rammed through disastrous Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws with no consultation. They rolled over to Canberra on shutting down the live sheep export trade. They’ve cut funding to the Grower Group Alliance – the very people driving innovation in our agricultural sector.
When I speak up about those issues, Labor’s glass jaw shatters. But for me – and for the thousands of people I represent – it’s about standing firm.
I wasn’t elected to be quiet. I wasn’t elected to be a wallflower. The people of Central Wheatbelt sent me to Parliament to be their strong, loud voice – to challenge a Government that has long forgotten where its food, fibre, and fuel come from.
Labor might have the numbers, but they don’t have a monopoly on the truth. And they don’t get to silence regional WA just because they don’t like what they hear.
So yes – I was kicked out of Parliament. But I’d do it again if it meant standing up for the people who put me there. Because right now, in Western Australia, there’s one rule for Labor… and another for everyone else.