Countryman Opinion

opinion
opinion
FIREARMS LAWS
opinion
Public safety is at heart of gun reforms

‘Contrary to claims on social media, I am probably more comfortable with firearms than any police minister since Vietnam veteran Graham Edwards in the early 1990s’, writes Paul Papalia.

Paul Papalia

opinion
opinion
SCHOOL BUSES
opinion
Rural lifelines are threatened by Government cost cutting

For more than a century, the Government of WA has been tasked with ensuring rural communities have access to essential services — commitment that has held the Wheatbelt together through generations.

Trevor Whittington

FUTURE OF WORKERSAre our farm service reps being made redundant?

Agriculture has always relied on middlemen — livestock agents and ag chemical suppliers — each providing a service to farmers based in their local towns, but for how long?

Trevor Whittington

opinion
opinion
Machinery
opinion
Middlemen exist only if you allow them to

In the early 1980s, a group of WA farmers grew tired of the growing disparity between the tractor prices offered by their local dealer and what American farmers were paying.

Trevor Whittington

OpinionIs Keep the Sheep starting to bite in marginal seats?

Labor’s latest attempt to shut down the Keep the Sheep campaign and protests from WA farmers is long on rhetoric and short on detail, writes Liberal MLC Steve Martin.

Steve Martin

opinion
opinion
Hesitation on innovation
opinion
Australian farmers could be leading the way in agtech

Australian producers are hailed as some of the most tech-savvy in the world, but there’s still much more to be done to break down barriers and drive broader agtech adoption.

Harriet Mellish

opinion
opinion
LIVE EXPORT BAN
opinion
Still no word on Labor’s live export ‘transition package’

It’s been three months since legislation to end live sheep exports by sea came into effect, but farmers remain in the dark about the Albanese Government’s transition plans and funding package details.

Bonnie Skinner

opinion
opinion
LIVE EXPORT
opinion
Attack on Keep the Sheep campaign adds insult to injury

As Mark Twain so eloquently put it: ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics’. WA Labor gave us all three versions during debate in the Parliament recently.

Steve Martin

opinion
opinion
Community safety
opinion
Jo Jackson King’s life lessons from the rail industry

Rather than my usual letter decrying the fact the rail industry isn’t illuminating their vehicles to the degree society rightfully expects, I’ve reminded myself ‘you can learn something from everybody, right?’”

Jo Jackson King

Federal PoliticsThe one minister missing from Albo’s cabinet roadshow

There’s been one very notable exception from Anthony Albanese’s WA cabinet roadshow this week.

Dan Jervis-Bardy

opinion
opinion
‘Timely reminder’
opinion
Labor has ‘no plan’ for biosecurity

National Biosecurity Week is a timely reminder that Labor needs to explain how it will fund, support and safeguard Australia from dangerous pests and diseases, writes Nationals leader David Littleproud.

David Littleproud

ACT NOWSmall businesses must start their decarbonisation journey

It’s only a matter of time before mandatory climate reporting applies to smaller businesses such as farms, writes C-Wise chief executive Greg Watts.

Greg Watts

opinion
opinion
OPINION
opinion
Federal Labor has neglected WA’s aviation interests

The most aggrieving part of Rex Airlines’ collapse is that the Albanese Government was given plenty of warning signs more had to be done to urgently support aviation competition, writes WA Senator Dean Smith.

Dean Smith

opinion
opinion
Editorial
opinion
PM’s quip shows contempt for farmers

Albo’s bad taste joke — made to some of the agricultural industry’s brightest lights — about killing off Australia’s live export industry has to be one of the worst prime ministerial clangers.

Editorial

opinion
opinion
LIVE EXPORT
opinion
Swing to sheepmeat production ‘is possible’

Once again, the WA sheep industry appears to be in a state of decline, writes Wannamal lamb producer Murray Ellis.

Murray Ellis

opinion
opinion
OPINION
opinion
States still fail to act on train lighting standards

As another National Rail Safety Week rolls around, Lara Jensen questions when State governments will address the ‘glaringly obvious’ issue of inadequate train and rolling stock visibility lighting standards.

Lara Jensen

opinion
opinion
OPINION
opinion
Keep the Sheep campaign ‘mockingly dismissed’

Last week, a raft of Labor and Greens parliamentarians chose to wilfully ridicule a movement born from the heart of Western Australia — the Keep the Sheep campaign.

Slade Brockman

opinion
opinion
OPINION
opinion
Sheep shipping ban puts all export industries at risk

Federal Labor’s cavalier approach in amending the Export Control Act 2020 has significant implications for all of Australia’s $650 billion export industries, on which our national economy so heavily depends.

Chris Back

opinion
opinion
OPINION
opinion
Proper inquiry into sheep export ban is needed

It’s no surprise the Labor-dominated parliamentary inquiry into the Albanese Government’s proposed live sheep export ban ignored the evidence and the science, writes Liberal Senator Slade Brockman.

Slade Brockman

opinion
opinion
OPINION
opinion
The enduring charm of fox hunting on horseback

‘Having grown up heavily involved in Pony Club through my teenage years, transitioning to fox hunting on horseback marked a significant shift in my equestrian pursuits’, writes Lake Hunt WA’s Jahn Trethowan.

Jahn Trethowan

opinion
opinion
OPINION
opinion
Grain growers step up fight against live sheep ban

Grain Producers Australia has made a strong submission to the House Standing Committee on Agriculture’s inquiry into legislation tabled in Federal Parliament to ban live sheep exports by sea from May 2028

Barry Large