Reverse the rip-off in the Mid West: The Nationals WA gear up for Federal Election

Author: Lynne Craigie
Published on: 31-May-2010

The Nationals will today commence a new television advertising campaign calling on Western Australian’s to demand their fair share at the upcoming Federal Election.

State President of The Nationals WA Colin Holt said regional areas in WA have been underrepresented in Federal Parliament for too long.

“Regional WA is sick of being used as a money-pit to fund projects in the Eastern States,” Mr Holt said.

“Recent debates around the allocation of GST revenue and funding for infrastructure projects highlight the fact that WA, in particular regional WA as the engine room of our economy, is being ripped-off.

“The Nationals have given regional WA a voice in State Parliament and Royalties for Regions has allowed regional communities to share in the wealth they produce.

“We are now looking to send a team to Canberra to reverse the rip-off and get WA’s fair share.”

The Nationals have preselected strong candidates for the Federal seats of O’Connor, Durack and the Senate.

Lynne Craigie (Newman), candidate for Durack, is a long term Pilbara resident and she has started campaigning around the huge electorate. “Although Durack takes in a major part of the state, it is my intention to visit as many communities as possible and to talk to voters about the issues they feel are most relevant to their towns. Having lived in regional WA for many years, I know that it is often difficult to be heard by those who may represent us in Canberra”, Lynne said,” It is time we had our say!”

Lynne warns that the mid west is only one step behind the Pilbara and sees that the Federal Government must come to the table to ensure that the same mistakes are not made developmentally. “It is the responsibility of all layers of government to make sure that every advantage is taken within the region, ensuring that the rapid rise of development does not pass the locals by, allowing all benefits to be gained by the big corporates and overseas interests. Let’s take the issue of Royalties for Regions to the Federal arena and get our fair share just as we have with the state government.”

The Nationals WA Senate team will be lead by John McCourt (Broome), with the strong message that we need a Senator like Barnaby Joyce to represent our state.

John is supported on the ticket by Veronica Fleay (Exmouth) and Michael Rose (Corrign).
“Our team has the advantage of being able to deliver real results because they won’t be rolled in the party room by city-centric politicians from Sydney and Melbourne,” Mr Holt said.

“Despite the best intentions of current local members, the truth is they will always lose out to party politics which will preference cities and high population centres.”

The Nationals WA advertisements will go to air in regional areas today.