Every now and then, one of my weekly articles stirs up a reaction (published recently plus reprinted at the end of this one) —usually in the form of a phone call to the President, complaining that I’m spreading “fake news” and should be cancelled. The usual response? An open invitation for a right of reply, though few ever take up the challenge. But every so often, someone does, eager to set me straight.
That’s exactly what happened with last week’s piece, The Nats Need to Cut the Pork. The Nationals have fired back with a media statement insisting I’ve got it all wrong—that their plan to spend millions relocating DPIRD to Northam is sound policy, not political pork-barrelling.
In the spirit of fairness, I’ve pasted their response below—along with my own commentary to separate fact from fiction.
WA Farmers CEO’s Misguided Criticism ignores WA Agriculture’s Future
Media Release 27 Jan 2025 The Nationals WA
The recent opinion piece by WA Farmers CEO Trevor Whittington criticising The Nationals WA’s election commitment to deliver a permanent home for Western Australia’s agriculture sector is disappointing.
Ummm which claims were these, they don’t seem to be to listed in the body of the article, you might recall the ones about the likely loss of half the experienced staff, the fact that Northam is too small to site a head office and lacks housing, but I read on with interest.
Rather than exploring the benefits of our policy, Mr. Whittington has resorted to misleading and alarmist claims, without engaging directly with our Party or even reviewing our media statement.
True I did not pick up the phone to the Nationals, why would I, the media statement told me everything I needed to know, in fact I reviewed the media statement very closely, looking in vain for some recognition of the huge risks to staffing, housing and service delivery.
It is essential to set the record straight. In 2022, WA Labor pledged $320 million to establish a world-class headquarters for the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). This initiative aimed to co-locate the facility at Murdoch University, linking WA’s agriculture sector with cutting-edge research and enhancing our leadership in agricultural innovation. Fast forward to 2025, and that promise has been completely abandoned.
The urgency of the situation became evident in June 2024, when asbestos concerns forced the abrupt closure of DPIRD’s South Perth offices, displacing hundreds of staff. Months later, Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis suddenly and unexpectedly backflipped, saying that Murdoch University was no longer an option due to space constraints, leaving WA agriculture without a clear path forward.
Today, no alternative site has been identified, and Labor’s mid-year budget review revealed a devastating $176 million cut from the original project, further delaying progress until at least 2028.
Not true I’ve read the mid year papers and they do not detail a cut from the original project, only a delay.
Taxpayers are now left footing the bill for nearly $10 million annually to house displaced staff in temporary facilities, including the Claremont Showgrounds.
No, the new $100m biosecurity facility is a leased warehouse so its available faster than would have been the Murdoch build, and the rest they jammed into existing govt buildings at the CBD.
This is an egregious failure to deliver on a promise that should have laid the foundation for WA agriculture’s future success.
Not sure a new building was going to be the foundation of WAs agricultures future success. If so god help the farmers.
Rather than holding WA Labor accountable for this failure, Mr. Whittington has chosen to attack The Nationals WA—the only party presenting clear, practical solutions to support agriculture in this election.
Maybe the Nats have not been reading the Farm Weekly, I have written article after article for the past six years attacking the governments many failures on ag policy.
The Nationals WA have proposed an ambitious yet practical plan.
Definitely ambitious but this is poor policy by any measure, actually I would go as far to say as its irresponsible and unreal.
Our commitment to relocating DPIRD’s headquarters to Northam restores the $176 million cut from the budget by WA Labor, ensuring the construction of a world-class facility.
See above, there is no cut.
This permanent home will include state-of-the-art laboratories, an incident and emergency response centre, and on-site research and development facilities, such as fields and glasshouses.
Why would they duplicate the recently announced 100.3m biosecurity incident and response centre at Canning Vale that makes no sense at all.
Relocating DPIRD to Northam will also create hundreds of stable jobs in the Wheatbelt, establishing the region as the heart of WA’s agricultural future.
Note hundreds
Contrary to Mr. Whittington’s claims, this proposal involves relocating up to 200 staff members, not the entire department.
Ummm hundreds of jobs or 200 jobs which is it. So let’s get this straight they are going to build a new headquarters including labs, and biosecurity response centre for what a 200 of the 1000 or so who are currently spread between the Show Grounds, Nash St and the William St offices. Its not much of a HQ when most of the troops will be left in the existing buildings. (Hint to whoever wrote this don’t cut and paste from the Ministers press releases – try doing some thinking of your own).
And exactly how much are they proposing to spend $320m – $104m (biosecurity centre) = $216m so the plan is to spend around a million dollars a FTE. It really will be the Taj Mahal of office buildings. This is totally irresponsible the standard spend for office space the govt allowance is 10m2 for govt office staff at around $8,000 a m2. You do the math, or I’ll do it for you for 200 people, $16m leaving $200m for labs which are already being built in Canning Vale.
Northam, just 90 kilometres east of Perth, is ideally positioned to support agriculture and regional industries.
Sure it is. If you ignore horticulture, dairy, viticulture, northern beef and fisheries which all fit under DPIRD not to mention regional development. Also not everyone lives in the CBD in Perth. If our unfortunate DPIRD employee who has been transferred to Northam lives in Yanchep or Rockingham, then they are in for a 130km trip to work if they are to commute.
Dismissing it as unsuitable overlooks its potential for growth, as noted by Bernard Salt, one of Australia’s leading demographers. In a recent column, Salt highlighted Northam as part of a “secret lifestyle zone” brimming with opportunity. Ignoring such potential undermines efforts to strengthen regional WA and disregards the benefits of decentralisation.
Bernard Salt wrote in The Australian (2019), inland regional Australia is “slowly emptying out” and “coastal and peri-urban regions have an inherent advantage, while inland towns often struggle to reinvent themselves beyond their traditional industries.” Under its current growth projections Northam’s population of 7332 will catch up with Bunbury (pop 76,000 in year 2216 but by then Bunbury will have a population of 515,000. Now which of them would make a logical headquarters to DPIRD.
Mr Whittington cannot credibly advocate for regional development while opposing policies that bring essential services closer to the communities they serve.
Who writes this stuff. The headquarters of DPIRD is not an essential service.
The Nationals WA remain steadfast in our commitment to agriculture and regional WA.
Steadfast to pump priming their own safe seats. What about spreading the love (pun) and punting it on Bunbury or is that a bridge too far.
We will not be lectured by anyone who, with 35 days from a state election, has failed to present a single substantive policy.
Ok that means you are happy to have a lecture from me. Now I know the Nats collect my weekly articles, there are no doubt found some policy ideas in the 500 past efforts. But if they cant be bothered picking up the phone or going back through them here are a couple, (1) split DPIRD back to Fisheries and AG and put Regional Development into State Development under the Premier, (2) sell Western Power and fund stand alone power units across all 9,000 farms and wind up the old SEC network to reduce risk of fires, (3) dam the Fitzroy (4) freehold the pastoral leases, (5) ban mining corporates from planting trees on farm land and putting 100 year non clearing covenants on it. I have produced no end of good policy ideas the Nats are free to use so feel free to schedule that lecture.
It is time for Trevor Whittington to move beyond baseless criticism and engage in meaningful conversations about building a stronger, more prosperous future for regional WA.
Ah that’s what MacTiernan used to say about me. But seriously where’s the rebuttal about the risk of DPIRDs ability to coordinate a response to a FMD outbreak if they have lost half of their experienced staff by forcing the move to Northam. This is a serious question and deserves a serious response. I will reserve next week’s page for them.
The news this week of the Pastoralists and Graziers Association being placed into suspension of activity underscores the urgent need for strong representation. Now, more than ever, those of us who represent agriculture must unite to advocate for and support the invaluable work of our industry, which is facing unprecedented challenges and attacks from Labor Governments.
Ah see my campaign five years ago to turn two organisations into one the WAFarmers, Pastoralist and Graziers Assn (it may yet happen). And yes we need strong representation from our local MPs which includes credible policies.
Since 1913, the WA Farmers Federation and The Nationals WA have shared deep roots in standing up for farmers, and it is imperative that we refocus on working together with a shared purpose. Constructive dialogue and feedback are essential, but we must move beyond internal division to advance this vital industry
Now remind me how often the Nationals have approached WA Farmers in the past five years. Not often, the Liberals are far more proactive.
Attacking The Nationals only detracts from the shared goal of safeguarding agriculture’s future.
Then don’t release poor policy without road testing it. I know that the Northam DPIRD idea was not properly stress tested and has been dismissed as a bad idea by ex senior DPIRD staffers who are strong National Party supporters.
The Nationals WA stand ready to work with anyone who shares our vision for agriculture’s future, but we will not hesitate to call out those who hinder progress.
Call away but moving DPIRD to Northam is not progress, it would be a step backward for the remanent of the old Ag Dept.
The bazar thing is I have been told by senior National party figures that they know it would be dead in the water under a Liberal led coalition, which is why this Northam idea never got legs under the Court and Barnett governments even through it’s been kicked around for years.
Together, we can get agriculture back on track.
What’s that mean? What problems are they seeking to address in agriculture, what would they do that would be a game changer, maybe adopt some of my policy ideas. I look forward to reading about them in their upcoming policies.
Last word. I rank Lachie Hunter the young candidate for Central Wheatbelt, has a bright future in front of him and will be an asset to the Nationals, but now he is saddled with a policy that will never be delivered even if he becomes Deputy Premier one day. Why would the Nats brains trust do this to him? Policy development is hard grind, every idea needs to be put through the ringer, and most importantly it has to pass the Pub test. Outside Northam this one is liability and needs to be walked back from.
Here’s an idea: instead of a misguided headquarters relocation, why not position Northam as a Centre for Excellence in Grains Research? Invest in expanding the existing DPIRD facilities, with a goal of doubling their size and securing a larger share of the GRDC funding pool that WA growers already contribute to. A $100 million commitment over four years in matching funding would do just that—bringing 30-40 high-value jobs to town and, more importantly, actually passing the pub test.
And here’s another idea: invest in Muresk as WA’s premier Centre for Agricultural Machinery Technical Training. A $10 million annual commitment could fast-track 100 students per year through a residential, intensive mechanical training program—directly addressing the critical shortage of skilled workers in the ag industry. Unlike pork-barrelling a government department, this would deliver real, long-term benefits to farmers and the broader regional economy not to mention adding jobs and purple to the Northam shire.
The Nats policy brains trust need to do better if they are going to help the Libs look like a credible alternative government.
Post scrip: On our recent road trip all of one farmer was horrified at the fact I was kicking this issue on when we should all be showing.
FOR THOSE INTERESTED HERE IS THE PREVIOUS ARTICLE: The Nats need to cut the Pork
