Home
Search
thewest.com.au

Opinion

Albanese needs to wake up and listen to voters.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
PM has misjudged voter fury over pollie perks

Australians would really like their MPs to stop pissing their hard-earned taxpayer dollars away on idling Comcars and flash dinners.

Financial hardship is becoming entrenched, after years of soaring rents and relentless increases in the cost of the things we need for a basic standard of living.

opinion
opinion
OpinionCommentsPremium
opinion
WA’s relentless cost growth has eroded household savings

For West Aussies living on low income after years of dual cost-of-living and housing crises, it can feel like things are never going to get better.

Louise Giolitto

The housing affordability problem in Perth has been decades in the making.

opinion
opinion
OpinionComments
opinion
Perth should embrace gentle density to tackle housing crisis

WA needs to build homes that are close to jobs, amenities and educational opportunities - but it doesn’t have to mean high density housing. 

Cassandra Winzar

Leader of the Opposition Basil Zempilas.

opinion
opinion
Basil ZempilasCommentsPremium
opinion
Cook Government needs to forget soccer and fix the basics

What the Treasurer wants, the Treasurer gets, right? Just ask her Cabinet colleagues.

Basil Zempilas

Anthony Albanese is deflecting, but really the rules should just be changed.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
Albo’s deflection treats voters like mugs

It is politicians treating Australians with contempt that has led to this scandal blowing up in the first place.

‘The slipping and sliding from politicians trying to justify the gobsmacking amount they charge taxpayers to fly their families around the country and overseas has voters white hot with rage,’ says Mark Riley.

opinion
opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
opinion
Why Albo’s ‘I don’t make the rules’ line is such a cop out

The slipping and sliding from politicians trying to justify the gobsmacking amount they charge taxpayers to fly their families around the country and overseas has voters white hot with rage.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Question time at State Parliament on Thursday. Pictured is Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti holding a chocolate.

Rita SaffiotiCommentsPremiumSaffioti’s big week for WA

Last week we passed a landmark surrogacy Bill that will ensure equal access to assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy services for all.

Rita Saffioti

‘The Victorian Government has shown how higher land tax for investors can help to put a lid on property prices,’ writes Kim Macdonald.

opinion
opinion
Kim MacdonaldCommentsPremium
opinion
Landlords must pay more to stop runaway property prices

I’m a property investor and I want people like me to be taxed more. Yes, you did actually read that right.

Kim Macdonald

Kim Macdonald

Anthony Albanese has been forced to defend Anika Wells and her travel spending during an under 16s social media ban victory lap.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
‘Within the rules’ doesn’t make Anika Wells’ spending right

Anika Wells appears steadfastly determined to dig in and ride out the furore over her liberal use of taxpayer-funded travel entitlements.

Editorial

Letters to the editor must contain the author’s full name, address and daytime contact number.

Letter to the editorLetter to the Editor: First aiders save lives, not new roads

Over the last few months, Albany has heard an intriguing new narrative from the lips of more than one Albany councillor regarding the need for Range Road to reduce hospital travel times, writes Jennifer McRae.

Jennifer McRae

The social media ban for under 16s came into effect across Australia on December 10.

opinion
opinion
Lorraine FinlayCommentsPremium
opinion
How the social media ban puts us all at risk

If you think handing over your identification is risk-free, think again.

Lorraine Finlay

When you purchase a powerful message tee from the social enterprise Clothing The Gaps, you are not just buying apparel; you are funding advocacy and celebrating culture.

opinion
opinion
Emma GarlettCommentsPremium
opinion
Choose First Nations retailers for heartfelt Christmas gifts

Choosing to buy from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander-owned business this Christmas is an act that extends far beyond the transaction.

Emma Garlett

A Qantas plane at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport.

OPINIONPremiumOPINION: Airfare cap price hike defeats purpose

An extra $132 on top of the already pricey $398 — that is the new price Goldfields residents will soon have to pay to fly to-and-from Perth at short notice, or at peak times. 

Amber Lilley

Shadow Minister for Forestry and Member for Warren–Blackwood Bevan Eatts MLA

OpinionPremiumRegional Women Deserve Real Protection

There isn’t a refuge anywhere across the 23,000 square kilometres of the Warren–Blackwood electorate — that’s not just a bureaucratic oversight — It’s a safety failure. 

Bevan Eatts

‘Blaming a “legislative backlog” for its failure to pass necessary legislation for Anthony Albanese’s help to buy scheme is the equivalent of the Cook Government blaming the dog for eating its homework,’ writes Jessica Page.

opinion
opinion
Jessica PageCommentsPremium
opinion
WA housing help on hold while Labor stalls debate

The Cook Government is blaming the dog for eating its homework. The legislative backlog was of its own making.

Jessica Page

Jessica Page

The WA Coroner has released his report on the death of Cleveland Dodds and has said it was predictable and preventable. 

opinion
opinion
Fiona StanleyComments
opinion
Unit 18’s pathway of neglect in ‘preventable’ death

The WA Coroner has released his report on the death of Cleveland Dodds and has said it was predictable and preventable. 

Fiona Stanley

The RBA has sounded the alarm.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
Era of rate cuts is dead as crippling inflation roars

Economists had expected the RBA to keep rates on hold, but the bank’s tone of extreme caution will rattle some. This was the RBA sounding the alarm.

Illustration: Don Lindsay

opinion
opinion
OpinionCommentsPremium
opinion
Australia’s mental health gap is widening

Australia is spending more than ever on help for people with mental health challenges, and yet more than 130,000 adults with significant psychosocial disability currently receive no support.

Reilly Polaschek

The exorbitant cost of airfares for a work trip has stirred up a hornets' nest for Anika Wells. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

opinion
opinion
Federal PoliticsCommentsPremium
opinion
Wells’ travel: Pub test, kitchen test or just entitled?

The sports portfolio is coveted but it comes with political dangers, as demonstrated through scrutiny over minister Anika Wells’ expenses claims for attending sporting events with family.

Katina Curtis

‘Like many born and bred West Aussies, I grew up wrapped in the magic of Channel Seven’s Alinta Energy Christmas Pageant,’ writes Jerrie Demasi.

opinion
opinion
Jerrie DemasiCommentsPremium
opinion
WA is where the Christmas Pageant joy still thrives

It may be a little daggy, but our State embraces community magic like no other.

Jerrie Demasi

Jim Chalmers’ latest take on the budget update shows a Treasurer rapidly running out of options - and money.

opinion
opinion
AARON PATRICKComments
opinion
Don’t buy Chalmers’ responsible-guy act. He’s lost control

Even though the Treasurer has decided to end electricity rebates, he is overseeing a widening budget deficit that is putting upward pressure on interest rates.

Aaron Patrick

Aaron Patrick

The social media ban is only a temporary solution.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
Kids’ social ban is a starting point, not the end

The ban buys us time to shield children from harmful content. But the real work will be educating them to become social media literate.

UWA Winthrop Hall Exterior shots Picture by Gerald Moscarda The West Australian 14 November 2014 .

opinion
opinion
OpinionCommentsPremium
opinion
ATAR scores aren’t the sole predictor of academic success

As UWA lowers its minimum ATAR requirements, it’s a good reminder that high school results are not the sole predictor of academic success.

Guy Littlefair

‘Chronic sleep deprivation is an underappreciated problem that might be seriously detrimental,’ says Andrew Miller.

opinion
opinion
Andrew MillerCommentsPremium
opinion
Why bad sleep might be much worse for health than we think

While we accept the idea that smoking, carrying extra weight, and diabetes are risk factors for multisystem disease, chronic sleep deprivation is an underappreciated problem that might be just as detrimental.

Andrew Miller