If WA’s current situation were a character in a film, we’d be the unsung hero, the reliable sidekick, the supporting character who does the heavy lifting but never gets the credit — at least not from Canberra under the Albanese Government.

We’ve been the economic backbone, the steady hand that has kept the nation’s growth trajectory from faltering.

Yet, recent policy decisions by the Albanese Government make it clear that WA is being side-lined.

This isn’t just an oversight; it’s a recurring pattern of neglect that threatens our industries, our jobs, and our future.

The Albanese Government has walked away from WA to appease their inner-city base on the east coast.

This is not the fair go for WA that Labor campaigned on in 2022, and it’s not the fair go that West Australians voted for.

The alarming fact is only one member in Mr Albanese’s Cabinet is from WA.

Madeleine King, who is tasked with the resources portfolio, has done an excellent job of siding with the unions and leaving the resource sector to fend for itself.

What a way to repay an industry that has kept the wider Australian economy out of a full-blown recession.

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Adding insult to injury, no West Australians are in the Labor leadership or within the influential Expenditure Review Committee and National Security Committee of Cabinet.

This lack of representation means WA’s voice is absent from the most critical conversations.

What a gut punch for the WA voters who helped Mr Albanese win a majority government in 2022.

WA deserves better.

It’s this voiceless void that allows Mr Albanese and his Eastern States-dominated Cabinet to feel free to blatantly target WA jobs and projects.

Labor’s outright Eastern States bias and favouritism are constant and multifaceted, too.

Their live export ban will devastate WA farming families and rural communities. The consequences will be felt far and wide, from truckies to stock agents, shearers and sporting clubs.

Their Nature Positive legislation will threaten critical minerals and energy projects across WA. And if the Greens had their way, the inbuilt “climate trigger” they are championing would only compound that harm to the industry.

Sure, the Prime Minister has ruled it out — for now. But we know Adam Bandt and the Greens have made it a condition of their support in the event of forming a Labor/Green minority government.

Let’s not forget the unions.

Labor’s problematic IR legislation means unions can now collectively bargain without majority workforce support across multiple employers. The current forceful unionisation push in the Pilbara, spearheaded by the Australian Workers Union, bears more than an uncanny resemblance to the early stages of the 1980s Robe River dispute.

Labor is bending over backwards, trying to return to the “good old days” of union supremacy, forgetting these were extremely dark days of high unemployment, record industrial strikes, a full-blown recession, and slumping productivity.

In stark contrast, the former Coalition government had many WA cabinet ministers over its three terms who were influential and passionately advocated a better deal for our State.

We have WA Coalition cabinet ministers to thank for our GST share, repealing Labor’s disastrous mining tax, and securing billions in infrastructure grants for State-shaping projects, including the new ECU and WAAPA campuses in Perth CBD.

A future Dutton-led Coalition government will stand up for WA. Peter Dutton has already shown a strong commitment to ensuring WA’s interests are front and centre in national policy debates. His leadership promises a return to a government that genuinely understands and values our state’s contributions, fighting for our industries, jobs, and future prosperity.

WA deserves to be recognised as more than just a reliable supporting character. We have earned a seat at the table and a role in the decisions that shape our future.

It’s the job of WA Labor members to hold Prime Minister Albanese accountable and ensure WA is not sidelined. If they can’t achieve this, they need to be upfront with the public about their inability or unwillingness to do their core job.

We need members of Parliament who fight for WA and are not merely subservient to the Eastern States.