Shane Love: So-called ‘bogans’ want the basics not race track bribes

Last week, West Australians were treated to an eyebrow-raising admission from former Labor premier Brian Burke, who claimed the new $217 million Burswood race track was the Cook Labor Government chasing the so-called “bogan vote.”

Let’s set aside the obvious question: who exactly gets to decide who qualifies as a “bogan”?

From where I stand, these are ordinary West Australians, hardworking people, many from regional communities, who, to quote a well-known advertising campaign, like “BCF-ing fun.”

They fish, camp, drive four-wheel drives and dirt bikes on the weekend. They also enjoy recreational and competitive shooting.

Activities Labor might sneer at as “bogan” are, in fact, woven into the fabric of Australian life.

Here’s a message for the Premier: the people you’re trying to win over want to feel safe in their communities. They want the confidence that police are ready, willing and able to help when needed.

They want timely access to high quality health care. They want well-resourced schools that aren’t overcrowded. And they want roads that are maintained and safe to drive on.They also want to be left alone to enjoy the great outdoors without being regulated and restricted into oblivion.

But what has Labor delivered to the very people it has labelled “bogan voters” and claims to be trying to win back? A weekend spent under the watchful eye of bureaucrats and green activists.

A fishing rod gathering dust. A locked gate at the entrance of a national park. And a system that makes it impossible for law abiding citizens to keep their firearm licences.

Let’s start with recreational fishing. Labor blindsided thousands of families with a nine month ban on demersal fishing, no warning, no consultation. Then came the South Coast Marine Park, more than 1000 kilometres of coastline locked up, stripping fishers and tourists of access and enjoyment. And on the horizon? Plans to triple the size of Marmion Marine Park.

Fishing businesses are closing. Tourism operators are desperate. The Fisheries Minister is missing inaction. And for what? Decisions not backed by science but by ideology.

Then there’s off-road driving, another simple, popular pastime made increasingly difficult under Labor.

For years, the Government has ignored calls for proper legislation and infrastructure. As a result, recreational drivers are blamed for damaged tracks and beaches while the Government refuses to invest in managing or maintaining those areas.

The same neglect applies to our national parks. Labor has forgotten that their legislative purpose is to promote and facilitate recreation and tourism. Take the decision to ban visitors from the iconic Horizontal Falls, a move that will cost the Kimberley $15m a year, 58 jobs, and a piece of its identity.

Labor is locking West Australians out of their own backyard.

And of course, there’s the firearms legislation targeting law abiding owners, farmers, sporting competitors and recreational shooters, treating them like criminals. Labor’s reforms do nothing to address illegal guns or gang activity.

This is a Government actively attacking the recreational pursuits that define our way of life, all while pretending to represent “everyday Australians.”

And its response to the growing backlash? Throw $217m at a new racetrack, a headline-grabber few would oppose in principle, if only the basics were being delivered. But they’re not.

Regional communities, home to many of Labors so called “bogans,” or as I prefer to call them, West Australians, don’t feel safe. Crime is rising and confidence in the justice system is falling.

Families feel vulnerable. Businesses are being targeted. Communities are crying out for help. After 4pm, calls to local police stations are often diverted to larger centres hundreds of kilometres away, leaving residents without real time support in moments of crisis. It is not just frustrating, it is dangerous.

The justice system is buckling under pressure, and front line officers are doing their best with limited resources.

Imagine what $217m could achieve if invested in more police officers, upgraded regional stations, mobile patrol units and faster access to justice. Instead, the Government prioritises a race track while communities are left to fend for themselves.

Government Regional Officer Housing and social housing across regional WA are in a dire and unacceptable state, crippled by chronic underfunding. Rental affordability has reached crisis levels.

Hospitals are overwhelmed, with long promised upgrades either delayed indefinitely or quietly abandoned. Schools are bursting at the seams, and teachers are facing a disturbing surge in student violence. Meanwhile, roads beyond the metropolitan and South West regions are being blatantly neglected.

I would invite the Minister to drive the Great Northern Highway, though there’s a real chance she might vanish into one of the potholes.

These are not luxuries. They are the foundations of a functioning State, and they must come before racetracks and ribbon cuttings.

It is time the Cook Labor Government took a long, hard look at what truly matters to West Australians. If it wants to regain the trust of the voters it so flippantly dismisses, it must start by respecting their values and way of life.

Get the basics right.Because until the Government does that, no race track in Burswood, no matter how shiny, will bridge the growing divide between this Government and its so-called bogan vote.

Shane Love is the leader of the Nationals.