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

Despite the significant distance from communities in my large electorate, no matter where I go, I am reminded of the plight of regional WA under this Labor government. Labor's homegrown inflation is keeping interest rates higher for longer. As the Reserve Bank has told the Select Committee on the Cost of Living, they are waiting for softer growth in government spending before they cut interest rates. I'm afraid we could be waiting some time.

The cost-of-living pain that constituents in my electorate are feeling just makes the constant attacks on regional Western Australia even more shameful. As we know, Labor has now legislated to end WA's live sheep trade. Those opposite showed absolutely no regard for the wishes of my regional communities and the thousands of good, hardworking men and women who rely upon this important Western Australian trade. Just as this was a political calculation to appease inner-city voters, so was the decision to abolish the cashless debit card in vulnerable communities, including the East Kimberley. The University of Adelaide recently released their report detailing that domestic violence, public drinking, intoxication and gambling have all increased since this decision was taken. Statistics released by WA police have confirmed that 2023-24 was the worst year on record for crime in regional WA and that assaults on police officers in the Kimberley were nine times above the national average. Labor at a state and federal level need to do more to combat this crime epidemic.

Speaking of the East Kimberley: I was happy to hear the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley's application for funding for the Kununurra Airport runway extension through the Growing Regions Program was successful—hooray, we said. This project has the potential to deliver cheaper flights and direct east coast connections to the region. Yet even good news turns sour because of this government's incompetence. According to Labor's own guidelines, successful applicants must have started construction by May 2024. Comically, the recipients were announced on 16 May 2024. Three months later, the shire still hasn't received its funding application. The government's delay means upgrades to the airport won't commence until next year as, of course, work cannot begin now, due to the upcoming wet season. The shire is now predicting a 10 to 15 per cent increase in costs.

Labor had almost two years to get this program right after scrapping our successful Building Better Regions program, yet they couldn't deliver it on time, they rejected hundreds of projects while underspending the project's budget by 31 per cent and now they can't even confirm when recipients can expect to receive funding and get their projects underway. Such incompetence and lack of care demonstrates that the Albanese Labor government has abandoned regional WA.

Durack's borders are also under threat, and I call on the new minister to act immediately to reverse Labor's actions with respect to border protection. Under Labor, aerial surveillance hours have fallen by 20 per cent and maritime patrol days have decreased by 12 per cent. Earlier this year, I outlined the necessity of increasing maritime surveillance following the fourth illegal boat arrival along the WA coast in just six months. It seems that that message fell on deaf ears, with the Border Force confirming four illegal fishing vessels were found by local fishermen in the mangroves near Broome just last week. Boats reaching our shores present significant threats to northern Australia. Just think of the biosecurity disaster that could occur if disease reaches the mainland just because our borders aren't sufficiently protected.

However, there may be a bigger threat to industry in the form of Labor's so-called Nature Positive Plan. The duplication of environmental approvals will blow out times, and the prospect of a climate trigger will kill off billions of investment in our mining and resources sector along with thousands of jobs. According to the IPA's analysis, Western Australia would be the state most affected, that's regional WA, potentially losing $111 billion of investment. Once again, regional Australia—especially regional Western Australia—is getting the raw end of the stick, despite being the backbone of the Australian economy.