Community demonstrations are a good reflection on how a current government is performing.
I'm not talking about a professional activist "rent a crowd" or a few comments on Facebook. I'm talking about a significant physical turn out of hard-working people.
When they come to town you know there is an issue.
You only had to be in Perth last week to see this in plain sight.
Hundreds of landholders packed onto the front steps of Parliament, unified to protest a series of crises gripping their communities.
Together, they called on the WA Labor Government to stop destroying their industries.
The devastation of WA Labor's relentless attacks on our regional communities knows no bounds.
As West Australians grappled with WA Labor's botched cultural heritage laws, Premier Roger Cook buried his head in the sand.
What followed was weeks of ignoring a 30,000 person strong petition, overcapacity at every government run education session, dozens of representations, labelling opponents as racist and 'dogs returning to their vomit' and calls for the opposition to 'get on the right side of history'.
Together, we achieved an unprecedented outcome, with Premier Cook announcing the government would scrap their cultural heritage law, after just six weeks of operation.
But now regional areas face a new issue.
Labor's most recent onslaught comes in the form of the proposed electoral boundary redistribution.
Labor's submission to the West Australian Electoral Commission (WAEC) to abolish the seat of North West Central comes just two years after their party altered the structure of the Upper House, stripping 18 regional representatives from State Parliament.
As a result of Labor's submission, the '2023 Proposed Boundaries' would see the abolition of Moore and North West Central, to be amalgamated into the seat of 'Mid-West'.
This, the price for yet another metro seat, 'Oakford'.
The proposed Mid-West seat will cover 431,224km2, 24 councils, thousands of farmers, pastoralists and miners, dozens and dozens of schools, and even more small towns and isolated settlements.
It sprawls from remote Aboriginal communities in the north, to townships on Tonkin highway on the outskirts of Perth.
As the Member for Moore over the past decade, it has never been lost on me that being actively engaged with the local community is crucial.
In fact, being physically present in your electorate to be available to people and listen to them is essential for representing their needs.
Therefore, as we look to the future and the proposed Mid-West 'super seat' - an area half the size of NSW - I pose a question to WA Labor. Given you have stripped away 12 regional Upper House members from the area, how can a single member be expected to adequately represent this enormous electorate?
WA Labor's answer remains consistent - they just don't care.
The true focus of WA Labor is maintaining power.
This has become strikingly clear through their electoral reform agenda.
In the lead up to the 2021 State election, then Premier Mark McGowan insisted electoral reform was not 'on the agenda' for his government.
Labor then passed substantial changes altering the way West Australians elect upper house members.
It's no wonder that given the subsequent composition of the parliament, WA Labor has had unchecked power.
Now, with the current proposed electoral map changes, another regional seat lost would equate to 19 fewer voices in regional WA because of Labor's agenda.
Practically, consideration must also be given in any proposed changes to the sheer size of electorates.
Taking the regional seat of Roe as an example, the member currently represents 41 towns, 49 schools and 16 local governments across 105,000 square kilometres.
In comparison, the metro seat of Mount Lawley is just 18sqkm, where you can actually walk from one side to the other.
Despite this, Labor's boundary changes will see Roe increase by an additional 18,000sqkm and five local government areas.
It's hard to see how this change would serve the community in any way.
The regions face proposed boundary changes which threaten to expand electorates and split their towns and families apart, making it near impossible for the communities to have access to representation.
These changes are nothing short of an attack on regional democracy.
The opposition has offered a solution.
In parliament last week, a solution was offered to amend the Electoral Reform Act 1907 to mitigate the impact proposed boundary changes will have on regional representation.
Shadow Minister for Electoral Affairs Mia Davies moved a motion calling on the government to consider a simple change to the Act, a proposal to increase the 'Large District Allowance' from 1.5 per cent to three percent, which would preserve the current number of regional electorates.
Unfortunately, this reasonable motion was completely refused by the government, with Attorney General John Quigley labelling the current community of North West Central an "abomination on democracy" and telling voters "we are in a new world. Get used to it".
The voices of regional West Australians are important.
While our calls for WA Labor to come to the table have been rejected, it is not too late to have your voice heard.
Right now, you have the power to make objections to the WAEC's proposed boundary changes and deserve to have your say.
Until 5pm, Monday 21 August, anyone can make a submission.
Your comments will make a difference in the WAEC understanding their effects on regional representation.
Submissions can be made to boundaries@waec.wa.gov.au, which must include your name, comments, email and address.
Don't let Labor's relentless attacks go unnoticed.
