Last week, after months of refusing, the Cook Government finally relented. Attorney General Tony Buti has asked the coroner to hold an inquest into the deaths of the three Hawke children in Port Hedland. This is a win for their grandmother, Dorothy Papertalk, who has fought for almost four years for answers about why her repeated warnings to authorities went unheeded. It’s also a win for everyone who refused to let this issue be swept aside. That includes the eminent legal mi

Richard Shalders was a dedicated Liberal and a vigorous campaigner who retained and consolidated a marginal seat for Sir Charles Court’s government but whose ministerial career was cut short by the major statewide defeat of 1983. Richard was born in Midland where his father owned a drapery business and was educated locally before joining the workforce at 16, with WA Government Railways and the Commonwealth public service before attending Claremont Teachers College in 1957-5

Australia’s migration system is no longer working for Australians. And Australians are paying the price. You see it when you try to rent a home in Perth. When you wait weeks for a GP appointment. When you sit in traffic on the Mitchell Freeway. And you hear it when your children or grandchildren tell you they have given up on the Australian dream of owning their own home. Under Anthony Albanese, Australia’s population has grown by a record 1.9 million people. Around 80 per c

Friends, Last week, West Australians were hit with another interest rate rise. For households already stretched by the cost of groceries, power, insurance, rent, and just about everything else, it was more bad news. But while families are being told to tighten their belts, the Cook Labor Government is doing the exact opposite. The 2025-26 Annual Report on State Finances, released last week, shows general government spending rose by $2.53 billion, or 5.5 per cent, which comes

He tells the Australian people one thing while knowing full well that what he is saying is not the truth. Take his latest fraud on the Australian people in regard to credit card surcharges. The Prime Minister stood in front of the cameras and told Australians that banning surcharges would save them money every time they tap. But on day one, businesses are already warning that prices will rise. Nobody likes card surcharges. Nobody enjoys getting to the end of a meal or a coffe

The past fortnight in State Parliament has been dominated by an issue that should concern every Western Australian - the safety of vulnerable children in the Pilbara. The revelations from South Hedland have been deeply disturbing, and our Opposition team has been determined to ensure they do not disappear from public view without answers, accountability and action. Much of what we now know has come to light because of the determined reporting of Ros Thomas at The Australian.

The last two sitting weeks of Parliament started out with the Coalition fighting to scrap Labor’s cruel $5,000 cap on military veterans’ allied health entitlements. It ended with the Albanese Government finally scrapping that cap - because of the pressure by the Coalition, veterans and Australians. It was a win for our veteran community - but a battle they should never have had to fight. And Labor cannot now rewrite history. When the measure was announced, the Government’s ow

There is a simple way for Australians on the eastern seaboard to think about Western Australia’s GST deal. Forget, for a moment, the predictable interstate grievance, the “east coast versus west coast” rhetoric and Roger Cook’s description of the Productivity Commission as a collection of “east-coast clowns”. Ask instead a more important question - what is in the national interest? If Western Australia is generating almost half of Australia’s goods exports, providing billions

Friends, I want to begin by thanking everyone who volunteered in the Secret Harbour by-election, those who doorknocked, set up booths, handed out how to vote cards, and put time and effort into what was a campaign we can all be proud of. And of course, on behalf of all WA Liberals, I thank Ryan Robertson for his efforts in a hard-fought campaign. As I said on election night, we have unearthed a star in Ryan, and I am very confident that he is just beginning his political jour