Opinion Articles

All Aboard the Transition

THERE is one thing Australian governments have become genuinely world-class at: shutting industries down. When it comes to building what comes next, however, the record is far less impressive. The live sheep export ban is shaping up to be the latest – and perhaps clearest – example of this pattern. The Commonwealth has proven highly competent at ending a trade. What it has shown near-total incompetence at, is replacing that trade with anything functional, funded or operational

Trevor Whittington February 5, 2026

Opinion Articles

Reflex politics crushing WA

Out on a country road, when something jumps out in front of you, the worst thing you can do is panic and yank the wheel. Anyone who has spent time behind the wheel outside the suburbs knows you don’t swerve wildly left or right every time the road throws up a surprise. That’s how you turn a problem into a wreck. Yet that, increasingly, is how the Albanese Government governs. When political pressure mounts, it

Trevor Whittington January 2, 2026

Opinion Articles

Can Captain Jarvis Navigate Without a Polling Compass?

I’ve stood on the bridge of the Fisheries portfolio before, watching the charts, reading the soundings, and warning the captain that reefs lay ahead. As a former Chief of Staff to a Fisheries Minister, I recognise the signs when a government vessel starts taking on water and the crew pretend it’s just spray over the bow. WA is again steering toward the same rocks: science shouting from the crow’s nest, lobby groups whispering on the

Trevor Whittington November 13, 2025

WAFarmers calls for full investigation

WAFarmers is extremely disappointed in the allegations that the footage from the Awassi Express in 2016 were fabricated and animal activists groups may have mislead the general public and their own members for their own financial gain. WAFarmers President Tony York said these reports completely discredit these organisations. “WAFarmers is calling for a full investigation into these allegations and if any individual or group is found to have broken the law, then prosecution should follow,”

WA Farmers January 18, 2019