Labor member Trish Cook vows to support Bullwinkel sheep farmers in the wake of the live export ban

Labor’s Trish Cook has vowed not to forget her rural constituents as she begins her role as the first Member for Bullwinkel.

Bullwinkel is a new seat stretching from Perth’s metropolitan fringe out to the Wheatbelt, with 15 per cent of constituents falling outside of the metropolitan region.

The shires of Beverley, Northam, Toodyay and York fall within the hybrid urban-rural seat where they once fell in O’Connor and Durack — typically seats held by the Liberal party.

Parts of the cities of Armadale, Gosnells, Kalamunda and Swan, and the Shire of Mundaring also fall within the 9508sqkm area.

Ms Cook said her first message to all her constituents was one of gratitude.

“Thank you for electing me as the first ever member for Bullwinkel,” she said.

“I appreciate it’s a great honour and privilege to do this and I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running and getting stuck into it.”

The vastness of the electorate has seen a wide range of issues affecting voters, from suburban families to primary producers and farmers.

Ms Cook said the needs of her regional voters were familiar to her, having served as a councillor for the Shire of Mundaring for six years, as deputy shire president in 2023 and as a nurse in Northam.

“I appreciate the trust and support that’s been given to me, and I know that it’s probably a first time there’s a Labor MP for those areas and I don’t take that lightly,” she said.

“I’ve travelled around the electorate, especially the country towns . . . they’re not new to me — this is an area I know reasonably well and I intend to advocate for the people there.

“I know the unique challenges of living in the regions and I want to deliver results for the farmers out there and their communities.”

Labor’s laws phasing out live sheep exports by sea have been a key issue facing rural communities — the plan has been heavily protested by farming groups, culminating in the Keep the Sheep campaign.

Ms Cook said she wants to support Bullwinkel farmers in the wake of the live sheep export phase out.

“I want those farmers to farm sheep, I want those sheep to be processed in WA and I want those jobs to stay here,” she said.

“I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure that the $1.39 million transition package is wisely spent and goes towards supporting the farmers of Bullwinkel.

“I’ve already asked my staff to set up a meeting with the transition advocate and I’ve been liaising with Jackie Jarvis, the State Minister for Agriculture, and Julie Collins’ office, and I really want to hit the ground running on this issue and do what I can to help the farmers of the district to adapt.

“I spoke to a lot of people on pre-poll, including the Keep the Sheep people. I’ve been out to Toodyay and speaking to farmers there. I want to do my best as a MP to support farmers because they do have specific issues in their industry and I will prioritise them.”

Ms Cook said she intends to deliver on all Labor’s election commitments.

These include a new urgent care clinic in Mundaring, a mental health centre in Kalamunda, and a $5m childcare centre in Mundaring.

Other commitments include battery backup power for the 23 mobile phone towers within the Perth hills to assist in emergencies, various funding commitments across six volunteer fire brigades, and the joint commitment of the State and Federal governments with $355m for Midland Hospital.

“They’re commitments I really want to see and — this is being supported by Anthony Albanese — is that we will spend, the first year particularly, delivering on those commitments,” Ms Cook said.

On top of these, Ms Cook said she intends to advocate for quality healthcare and cost of living measures, as well as improvements to housing infrastructure, roads, bridges and telecommunications.

“I trust the councils and the shires in those regional areas, as well as the people we door knocked and have spoken to — they told me what they need and I will certainly go in to bat for them.”