WA Nationals Leader Shane Love MLA says debate at this week’s Federal Labor Conference has confirmed what regional Western Australians have known for years: declining local services and a lack of investment are leaving regional communities behind.
“Regional Western Australians do not need another Labor conversation about the bush; they need practical action and genuine investment in their communities. The fact Labor now considers regional communities a ‘sleeper issue’ suggests they only take notice when voter frustration begins to show up in the polling,” Mr Love said.
“For The Nationals WA, regional communities are the reason we exist. People in regional WA are tired of being taken for granted while essential services decline and local communities are expected to do more with less.”
Mr Love said country local governments were increasingly being asked to deliver critical infrastructure and services without adequate support from State Government.
“Regional councils are on the frontline delivering local roads, community facilities and services that people rely on every day, yet they continue to be burdened with greater responsibilities and fewer resources,” he said.
“That is why Royalties for Regions, in its intended form, was so important. It ensured regional investment was additional to normal government spending and gave regional people a genuine say in decisions aAecting their own communities.”
Kirrilee Warr MLA, Shadow Minister for Local Government, said the Country Local Government Fund was one of the most successful examples of that approach, delivering direct funding to local governments for roads, community infrastructure and locally identified priorities.
“The Country Local Government Fund empowered regional councils to make decisions based on local needs, not instructions from Perth,” she said.
“Rather than strengthening Royalties for Regions, Labor has hollowed it out and turned a transformational regional development program into a fund for day-to-day government spending. Councils cop the brunt and fill the gaps because Labor is absent.
“Regional councils need dependable funding, local decision-making and a government willing to back them, rather than continually shifting the burden onto country ratepayers,” she said.
Mr Love said that Labor notices regional WA when it fears losing votes, while the Nationals WA fight for regional WA every day.
