Opinion Articles

The Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries has a budget credibility problem

JACKIE Jarvis was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Food in December 2022. She picked up responsibility for Fisheries in March 2025, giving her three budgets and one election to get her head around the DPIRD budget papers. Now, long-suffering readers – along with the minister’s office and the diversity crew scattered across DPIRD’s multiple Perth HQs – will know exactly where this is going. Once again, I’ve gone back to the State budget to point

Trevor Whittington January 29, 2026

Opinion Articles

Heritage by litigation: How Ben Wyatt is rewriting history to excuse a failed law

“WAFarmers are reaping what they sow,” Ben Wyatt declared recently, reflecting on the looming Maddox case and claims by WAFarmers that the current laws are being selectively targeted by the department (Heritage stoush ‘makes mockery of WA laws’ intent, The Australian, 20 January 2026). There is a curious habit among former ministers once they leave office: they rediscover principle. Mr Wyatt’s recent commentary on Aboriginal cultural heritage laws is a textbook example. Draped in the language

Trevor Whittington January 29, 2026