Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I begin this evening on a positive note by paying tribute to my friend and an absolute stalwart of the Kimberley, Elsia Archer. The Kimberley, in the far north-west of Western Australia, is a very special place, from its stunning natural beauty to its important role in our state and national economies. It's as unique as it is isolated. It also has more than its fair share of challenges, and that makes the strength of its communities and their leaders absolutely vital. So I acknowledge Elsia Archer, a noteworthy member of that Kimberley community and the Derby community in particular.

It's no overstatement to say that Elsia has dedicated her entire life to fighting and delivering for the Kimberley region. She has lived, worked and raised a family in the historic town of Derby for 70 years. Twenty-seven of those years were at the Shire of Derby, West Kimberley, where she was the shire president for 17 years. But her service doesn't stop there. She has served her local communities by being in board and committee positions on the Kimberley Regional Group of Councils, the Western Australian Local Government Association state council, Australia's North West tourism council, the Kimberley Small Business Support Council, the Regional Development Council, the Kimberley Development Commission, Roadwise, Derby Health Consumers and, of course, the Regional Development Association of the Kimberley.

I've worked with Elsia mostly in her role at the RDA, where she took on a voluntary position as its chair, a ministerial appointment recognising her experience and her unwavering dedication to the north of Western Australia and its tremendous potential. It was no surprise to those of us who know her and know of her contribution that she was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia. Elsia is hanging up her hat for now—at least from her role at the RDA, although she'll remain an indefatigable local champion for many years to come, we're sure. I was so disappointed to have missed, just last week, a sundowner that the RDA Kimberley held to celebrate Elsia's remarkable achievements for her local communities in Broome, but I will make one of my regular visits again soon to extend my personal thanks and appreciation for Elsia's stewardship of Kimberley communities and her strong and trusted friendship with me.

Elsia, from so many of us: thank you for all you have done. Derby and Kimberley would not be where they are today without your efforts. The people and the issues of the Kimberley now must find a new voice and a new champion. Elsia Archer, your example is one that many can follow.

This is far from the first time I have risen in this chamber to highlight the damage the Albanese government continues to do to my home state of Western Australia. But it is now inescapable. On almost every metric, life in Western Australia has become harder on Labor's watch—the total opposite of what Anthony Albanese promised to a Perth audience in May 2022. According to recent data provided to me by the Reserve Bank of Australia, nearly one in 10 Western Australians are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on their mortgage repayments. It is little wonder, when you consider that those mortgage repayments have doubled in 180 Perth suburbs since Labor won office. In fact, Perth has experienced the largest increase in mortgage repayments of any Australian capital, with the top 50 worst affected suburbs facing, on average, a 154 per cent increase in their monthly mortgage repayments. Labor held seats are feeling it also. In Kelmscott, a suburb in the electorate of Burt, mortgage holders are paying an average of $1,848 per month more than they were in 2022. It's no wonder, then, that our standards of were living have suffered such a historic collapse under Labor. Australians are finding it harder to keep their heads above water, let alone thrive and save for the future.

Instead of finding solutions, the Albanese government has been at best distracted by the wrong priorities. At worst, it has been hell-bent on actively jeopardising Western Australia's economic strength and prosperity. Take, for example, the North West Shelf gas project, a crucial part of our energy security and economy. It has provided millions and millions of dollars in royalties and, closer to home, driven the expansion of regional communities across the Pilbara and the Kimberley. Labor clearly doesn't understand its value to Western Australia. I say that because, instead of the North West Shelf's continued operation being approved in a timely fashion that gives investors confidence, this vital project has instead become a victim of Labor politics and Labor seeking to appease the Greens in inner-city seats. Labor's characteristic delay, damage to confidence and stifling of investment now threaten the prosperity of Western Australia.

Equally ill advised are the nature-positive laws, which will hang over the heads of Western Australia and the resources sector for as long as the Albanese government remains in power. While they may not have come to pass in this parliament, make no mistake: a future Labor or Labor-Greens minority government will continue to use nature-positive laws to undermine and attack the mining industry in Western Australia, and nature-positive laws will be the new spearhead of Labor's anti-Western Australia movement.

If that's not enough anti-WA rhetoric from Labor, let's look again at what Labor is doing to farming communities across Western Australia. Western Australian farmers are facing the complete shutdown of their live sheep export industry, without proper and thorough consultation. This, of course, presents dire consequences for the many communities that have relied on the industry for generations. Their frustrations were evident even in the recent state election. It goes without saying that an elected coalition government would reverse this decision as a key priority.

While Labor couldn't care less about our farmers, they will always look after their unions. It has been impossible to miss coverage of recent union activity in the Pilbara, where unions are taking the economic engine room of WA and the country hostage with their self-interested agenda. It's a risky road that Western Australians cannot afford to head down.

So, while the Prime Minister might try to spin himself as a good friend of Western Australia, his government's record tells a very different story. It's something Western Australians must consider at the ballot box in just a few weeks time. The options are real and severe for Western Australia. A Dutton led coalition government will protect Western Australia and its agricultural and mining interests. An Anthony Albanese led Greens-Teal-Labor alliance will serve only to hold Western Australia back and damage its future prosperity.