Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every year my team and I attend various local community agricultural shows. So far this year, we've attended shows in Kununurra, Dowerin, Mullewa, Karratha, Port Hedland, York and Mingenew, and last weekend we were in the wonderful town of Northam. These events, as you can imagine, are the centrepiece of each town's calendar, and they provide a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together for a great day of festivities and to put their local produce on display. Whether it be the watermelon-eating contest in Kununurra—which I'm going to enter next year, mark my words—or the young farmers challenge in Northam last weekend, there are plenty of opportunities for all to get involved and to have a great time.

I'd like to commend the work of the grassroots organisations and the hundreds of volunteers who make these events happen so successfully. As a stallholder, it's a great opportunity for me to engage directly with my constituents as they wander the market grounds. I always enjoy these conversations. It's a great opportunity to hear what the most pressing issues for them are.

The consensus opinion I am sensing and hearing consistently at the moment is that regional Western Australia is feeling left behind and ignored by the Cook and Albanese governments. The Albanese government's failure to combat the cost-of-living crisis is having a very dire impact on many of these communities in my electorate. Actions like delaying pivotal infrastructure upgrades and phasing out live sheep exports send a clear message to our regions. (Time expired)