Laura Newell: When the rain falls West Aussies whinge louder than any Pom

A single drop of rain falls onto the windscreen as my WA-born daughter stares glumly out at the black sky on the drive to school on Tuesday. “It’s raining,” she says. “We’ll have to stay inside at breaktime.” Her British-raised mother, who recalls from her youth months of continuous drizzle, has no time for her meteorological moaning following the first real wide-spread drenching this year after a long, hot and very dry summer. “Yep, real end of the world stuff that, kid,” I replied, the sarcasm dripping louder than the rain now pounding the bonnet. After dropping her off at the covered kiss and ride, on to work I went, crawling through in the parking lot that a drop of drizzle on a Perth road inevitably produces. I’m in the door of the office only five seconds before the first colleague I see tuts and gestures outside: “Crap weather, eh?” I nod, smile and step into the lift. A hand stops the closing door. Another colleague steps in, shaking off their jacket: “Rain, huh? Miserable, innit?” Another polite nod, a now thin-lipped smile from me. Throughout the morning every person I meet has a comment to make about the weather. Each time, I feel my anger start to rise. Poms are supposed to be the whingers around here. But every single one of the moaners in this case is a Dinky Di Aussie. In fact, it isn’t until I look at the headlines on Tuesday afternoon that I remember that autumn and winter storms here in WA aren’t just good for the garden. They also bring with them the potential for fire, power outages and serious road crashes. While it might seem like all those West Aussies were simply whining about how the damp makes their hair frizzy, actually, they are all in their own way reminding me that rain here can be a serious hazard. So, WA, I give you a pass on the whinging this week. But let’s not make a habit of it, eh?