Robyn Frew

Very disappointed tonight with the way West Australians were represented as wanting to secede from the rest of Australia. As a mature West Australian born and raised here, but who also lived in Melbourne for 18 years of my young adult life, I feel I am well placed to give a fair response. I have been a great fan of The Project since its inception but so called ‘expert’ opinions are often very biased and in this case, the assertions about West Australians was insulting, untrue and were left totally unchallenged. The geographical isolation of WA from the rest of Australia has meant that there has been a long history of our State being seen as a backwater, and we for so long have had to endure the joke about putting your watch back two hours and your mind back ten years. Historically, many could not be bothered making the trip to find out what Western Australia had to offer. So it has not just been West Australians who are parochial. Western Australia has contributed significantly to the Australian economy and yet we have been ignored in our calls for a fair GST carve-up. We are now fortunate enough to have a true leader in government, who has been so since coming to power. West Australians hands down appreciate the fact that in Mark McGowan, we have finally found a Premier who works and fights for the interests of the people who put him in office. What a concept! West Australians are not fools; we appreciate transparency and straight talking and we recognise genuine leadership when we see it. If the Prime Minister, State Premiers and their constituents want to politicise Mark McGowan’’s stance, then they are all missing the point. Over here, we are and have been necessarily independent. We are all still proud Australians but perhaps not quite so backward in our thinking as some would prefer. Our economy has not tanked as it has in all other states. Instead of The Project engaging someone to come on to their program to belittle and berate WA, how about some balance in espousing some credit for the fact that Western Australia is for the most part living life Covid-free and propping up our nation’s economy, due to our hard border.