Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I had the privilege this last week of attending two regional shows in Western Australia. Probably the biggest regional show in WA, the Dowerin Field Days, took place this month. There was a wonderful turnout there, and another amazing event. And on Saturday I was privileged to attend the York Show. It was a smaller affair but one that is very important to that regional community.

It's worth reflecting, though, as we're thinking about Western Australian electorates, just how big they really are. York to Dowerin is about 1½ hours drive, yet they're both in the electorate of Durack, which is held currently by my good friend Melissa Price. And if you drive 3,000 kilometres north you're still in Durack, in the town of Kununurra—3,000 kilometres north. If you drive seven hours south-east, you're in the electorate of my other good friend, the member for O'Connor, Rick Wilson. These are the two electorates in which the vast majority of live sheep exports from my home state of WA depart this country, largely to the Middle East.

At those two shows I heard loud and clear from members of both those communities just how important the export sheep industry is for Western Australia. Another issue that came up was the cost of living, a big issue in the bush. The price of petrol and diesel in the regions is well in excess of $2 a litre these days. And we also heard about the Voice; loud and clear that it was a resounding no.

I thank both of those communities for having us in their towns, and I look forward to being back next year.