Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to thank Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price for taking the time recently to visit the remote Northern Goldfields region of O'Connor, where the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians received a warm Goldfields welcome, despite the unseasonably cool weather. Together with Rowena Olsen, the Liberal candidate for Kalgoorlie; Neil Thomson MLC; and Senator Matt O'Sullivan, our strong Goldfields Liberal team was pleased to engage with community members and discuss their specific issues.

I give a big thankyou to the Shire of Laverton for hosting a cuppa at the Great Beyond Visitor Centre, which marks the start of the Outback Way, Australia's longest shortcut. The sealing of this iconic trans-Australian highway has been a labour of love for shire president Pat Hill. Over 27 years, he and the Outback Highway Development Council have worked relentlessly to secure over $1.2 billion in federal, state and territory funding to seal the 2,700 kilometres of road that links Laverton to Winton and that goes through Deputy Speaker Scrymgour's electorate of Lingiari via Australia's Red Centre and Senator Nampijinpa Price's home town of Alice Springs.

In Laverton, I was proud to introduce the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians to a remarkable Indigenous training project, the Laverton Training Centre, a novel program run by former NORFORCE major Mac Jensen. Mac's boot-camp style of training has really caught on, and every time I take visitors like Peter Dutton, Julian Leeser and, now, Senator Nampijinpa Price there, they cannot fail to be impressed by the enthusiasm and achievements of his trainees. These trainees have mostly come from extremely remote communities with limited education and training opportunities, and they thrive under Mac's direction. Since 2022, almost 200 trainees have completed nationally accredited certifications, which have led to local job opportunities in more than five extremely remote shires, with plans to expand and replicate this successful training model. Unfortunately, despite a multitude of attempts to secure federal funding, the future of this program remains uncertain.

The barren site of the proposed Laverton Hospital tells a long and sorry story. In 2015, the WA Liberal-National government allocated $19.5 million to redevelop the 1973-built Laverton Hospital. However, when the McGowan government came to power, in 2017, they decided to redirect this funding to projects like the Mandurah foreshore redevelopment and the construction of a high-rise train station car park. After a public outcry, Laverton managed to claw back $4 million from the state government, and in March 2019 I secured a $16.8 million commitment from the federal coalition government to enable this much-needed project to proceed.

So here we are, approaching the end of 2024, and the WA government has still not turned one sod on the Laverton Hospital site. It's an absolutely travesty that Roger Cook redirected money away from this project when he was WA health minister and now continues to drag his heels on the build as the Premier. In Leonora, the Goldfields Liberals team and Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price caught up with councillors and community members of the shires of Leonora, Menzies and Wiluna for a cuppa and a chat. Hot topics raised with the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians included local native title issues, the effects of the withdrawal of the cashless debit card, the need for more Indigenous youth diversion activities, like Rene Reddingius's basketball program, and the creation of a safe space for families fleeing domestic and family violence.

It was my absolute pleasure to introduce Senator Nampijinpa Price to some of my favourite Leonora leaders, including: Geraldine Hogarth, who received an AO for her work in child health and language preservation; elder and dear friend Nana Gaye Harris; and local councillors Fifi Harris, Larnie Petersen and Naomi Sprigg dos Santos, who are taking a strong stand against domestic and family violence and creating a safe house for Indigenous families where they can not only take refuge but be supported in normalising their lives.

I have long supported this project and believe it could be a pilot for a new model for helping families recovering from trauma, re-engaging them in normal family behaviours, education and training, and restoring social connections. I was thrilled to secure funding for this project as an election commitment from the then coalition government, but, sadly, the Albanese government, despite my ongoing representations, has failed to recognise its importance to the Leonora community.

In closing, I extend my thanks to Senator Nampijinpa Price for taking the time to travel the vast distance required to see firsthand the issues in my more remote O'Connor communities. I thank my strong Goldfields Liberals team Rowena Olsen—candidate for Kalgoorlie—Neil Thomson MLC and Senator Matt O'Sullivan, who join me in challenging the current Labor government at both the state and federal level, urging them to do better and deliver for our Goldfields communities.