Opinion Articles

Transitions without the capacity

“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design” Friedrich Hayek 25 Feb 2025: the State Minister for Agriculture announced a $3.3m to Beaufort Rivier Abattoir as part of the live export transition. 25 Feb 2025: Beaufort River puts out a press release announcing it was shutting its doors “due to ongoing livestock shortages. The decision follows continued supply constraints that have

Trevor Whittington February 25, 2026

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

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

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

News Clippings

ABC Country Hour interview with Trevor Whittington re Sheep Industry roadmap

“Well, this is the roadmap that’s been on the road for a long time” That’s how WAFarmers’ CEO Trevor Whittington started his interview with ABC WA Country Hour host Belinda Varischetti today in response to her question about the clarity of the Federal Government’s WA roadmap out of the live sheep trade. The interview took place while Trevor was attending an industry workshop in Perth, where he said more talking was wasting valuable time: “It’s

Darren Brown January 28, 2026

Media Releases

WAFarmers backs mandated pain relief for mulesing as flystrike threat remains front and centre

WAFarmers has welcomed the Minister for Agriculture’s confirmation in Parliament that Western Australia will mandate the use of pain relief for mulesing under the nationally agreed Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for sheep, noting the move is squarely in line with existing WAFarmers policy. WAFarmers Livestock Council supports that effective pain relief should be mandatory for mulesing and has consistently supported continued research into practical alternatives to surgical mulesing. Geoff Pearson, President of the

Darren Brown November 20, 2025

Minister for Agriculture

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