Opinion: A Labor Government is bad for the bush and treating our regions with contempt is just not acceptable

I grew up on the bush poetry of Banjo Paterson, celebrating our regions and their characters: And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars, And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended, And at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars. This poetry, sadly, is not as well-known as it was when I was a boy. However, it still speaks to the unique connection all Australians have to our wide, brown land. Australians have a great love of and connection to the regions, and a great deal of appreciation for those who have forged often hard, but rewarding, lives across our vast continent. Whilst most Australians now live in the capital cities — as a nation — there is no doubt the regions helped forge our identity and our rich history. From the humble war memorial in the smallest towns reflective of the Anzac legend, to the tales of the outback settlement, to the gold rushes and the latter mineral exploration, overlaid with a rich tapestry of aboriginal history, Australians are rightly proud of our ‘sunlight plains extended’ whether they be in the north, the South West, the sunset on western beaches, or our magnificent wheatbelt. West Australians care about our regions. We value all those who make their lives and livelihoods there. I think that’s why Labor’s fundamentally flawed Aboriginal Cultural heritage Act hit such a raw nerve in our community. At the polling booth in Rockingham on Saturday’s by-election, numerous former Labor voters came up to me and told me the reasons they were supporting the Liberals or the independent was the ACHA. I asked if they had more than 1100 square meters of land. They mostly answered no, but said it just wasn’t right to do that to our farmers and others living on the outskirts of Perth or in the bush. The result of the Rockingham by-election should be a massive wake-up call for Labor at both State and Federal levels. Treating our regions with contempt is just not acceptable. Yet Labor at both State and Federal levels does just that. And it’s not just the ACHA. State Labor has decimated the voice of the regions in parliament — eliminating 18 dedicated regional seats in the Upper House and, if that wasn’t bad enough, then scrapping one in the Lower House. They have attacked Community Resource Centres funding, tried to close school of the air, and tried to close Moora college (only stopped by community outrage). Federal Labor is no better. Their ban on live exports is an attack on the WA sheep industry and is unprecedented. The minister has admitted it is not based on science or evidence, but rather is ideologically driven. Officials have admitted that animal welfare internationally will actually go backwards. They are sacrificing the lives and livelihoods of WA sheep farmers and others in the industry on the altar of inner-city animal rights activists. Federal Labor also has its own cultural heritage laws in development. It is being kept under wraps at the moment. Little wonder. Federal Labor is clearly keeping their own laws hidden until after The Voice referendum. Fortunately, West Australians are waking up to Labor’s agenda. They are realising that Labor’s disdain for the regions is not acceptable and must be fought. The 33 per cent swing in primary votes against Labor in Rockingham was the first chance to send a message to both governments — to help defend regional Australia — but it won’t be the last. Slade Brockman is a Liberal senator for WA