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

Regional Western Australia is under attack from state and federal Labor governments. The phase-out of the live sheep trade, the introduction of the biosecurity tax, the rollout of unwanted renewable energy projects and the government's planned family car and ute tax adversely affect regional Western Australians, but unfortunately these attacks keep coming. The WA Labor government has announced it will ban boat tours through the iconic Horizontal Falls from 2028. It has been estimated this will cost the Kimberley region some $15 million and 58 full-time jobs per year. The Kimberley relies on tourism, and yet this is what the Cook government delivers. I am one of more than 4,600 people who have signed the Neil Thomson petition calling for this decision to be reversed and I encourage anyone concerned to join me.

I was also shocked but not surprised to hear the Albanese government was considering introducing a 40-kilometre-per-hour speed limit across the highways in the Pilbara to protect animals that may be crossing the road. This is the economic powerhouse of our nation. Labor have now done what I consider to be a very clumsy, quick backflip on this ridiculous idea. It's clear that actions like these aren't taken to improve the lives of regional Western Australians. They're not taken to approve economic opportunities. They're simply designed to win inner-city votes. I'll tell you what: regional Western Australians have had enough. They will no longer be the battering ram for the Labor government.