Opinion Articles

What does the rail lease actually require?

This is yet another instalment in my running theme: the State rail debacle. A saga of privatisation, monopoly infrastructure, and governments that appear to have misplaced both the keys and the contract. Twenty-five years after Western Australia leased out its freight rail network, one basic question still has no straight answer: what does the Brookfield/Arc lease actually require? Who is responsible for maintaining and upgrading WA’s freight rail network, and how on earth do we force the

Trevor Whittington February 19, 2026

News Clippings

Farm Weekly: Court case to defend rights of everyone

When Tony Maddox walks into the Supreme Court tomorrow, Friday, February 20, supporters say he will be carrying more than his own defence. He will be testing how Aboriginal heritage law applies to freehold farmland across WA. The Toodyay farmer has pursued a judge-only appeal against his conviction for breaching WA’s unamended Aboriginal Heritage Act (ACHA) 1972, after undertaking works on a creek crossing at his property in 2022. Found guilty in the Magistrates Court

Darren Brown February 19, 2026

Opinion Articles

How close is “too close” for a 300-metre tall wind turbine?

There are moments in public policy when you read a document, glance at the date, and briefly wonder whether someone has accidentally fed the printer a filing from another era. The Western Australian Planning Commission’s draft Renewable Energy Planning Code is one such moment. Released for public comment at the end of 2025, it poses a question of pressing contemporary relevance: how close to your house should a 300-metre-tall wind turbine be built? This would

Trevor Whittington February 17, 2026

Submissions

Submission on Draft Australian Standard AS 7531 – Rolling Stock Lighting and Visibility

Submission on draft Australian Standard AS 7531 – Rolling stock lighting and visibility Steve McGuire, President WAFarmers 17 February 2026 Introduction The Farmers Federation of Western Australia welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the draft Australian Standard AS 7531 – Rolling Stock Lighting and Visibility. WAFarmers represents primary producers across Western Australia, including thousands of grain, livestock and mixed farming businesses operating in the Wheatbelt and South-West. Our members rely on both road and

Darren Brown February 17, 2026

Media Releases

Land Titles must show Aboriginal Heritage

WA’s peak agricultural bodies are demanding that the government make immediate changes to ensure existing and new Aboriginal Heritage sites are shown on property Titles. The call comes ahead of a Supreme Court appeal by Toodyay farmer Tony Maddox who was charged for repairing a creek crossing on his property against the Aboriginal Heritage Act, despite not being told a “Site” had been declared on his land. WAFarmers President Steve McGuire said the Department of

Darren Brown February 13, 2026

Opinion Articles

State’s long rail tale of woe

WA has a long and bipartisan talent for pretending it is in charge when it plainly is not. Nowhere is that more obvious than on the 5500km of the old Westrail network — an asset sold at the turn of the century and then quietly abandoned by every government since. This is not a story about ideology. It is not even a story about privatisation. It is a story about a State that sold a

Trevor Whittington February 13, 2026

Opinion Articles

We can’t have a debate on rail without understanding the cost–benefit

Western Australia’s grain freight debate has become oddly unhinged. We talk endlessly about road damage, truck numbers, safety, emissions and who should pay. Rail tragics insist that reopening Tier 3 lines will solve all our problems. Road realists respond that we should simply widen and upgrade roads to allow triples. Yet the one thing farmers and road users actually need to have a rational debate about is largely absent: a clear, public, apples-to-apples understanding of what it

Trevor Whittington February 12, 2026

Tony Maddox was charged by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage after concreting his gravel crossing. Credit: Olivia Ford

News Clippings

Countryman: Calls from peak farming bodies for Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Committee transparency

The following article was published by The Countryman newspaper today Calls from peak farming bodies for Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Committee transparency Georgia Campion WA’s peak farming bodies have called for the State Government to lift the lid on what they say is the secretive work of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Committee, which meets every two weeks to determine places of cultural significance. WAFarmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA’s call comes as Toodyay

Darren Brown February 10, 2026

Correspondence

Letter to DPLH Director General asking for ACHC papers to be published

The following self-explanatory letter was sent to the Director General of the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) today: Anthony Kannis PSM Director General Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage By email: [email] 9 February 2026 Dear Anthony, REQUEST TO PUBLISH PAPERS OF ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMITTEE MEETINGS I write in my capacity at WAFarmers with the support of the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA (PGA) to ask you to direct the relevant

Darren Brown February 9, 2026

Recent Posts

WAFarmers 2026 Grains and Livestock Conference – 25th & 26th June, Albany

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