Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As many in this chamber should well know by now, I come to this place with an immense amount of state pride. West is best. But, sadly, I'm not always sure the same can be said of some of my fellow Western Australians on the opposition benches. While the coalition are busy fighting each other, they cannot fight for the interests of our state. At every turn we see disunity and division, and nowhere is that more obvious than in their WA ranks. They can't get their story straight on housing, and they're fighting about net zero or our national security. Even the WA Liberal leader has admitted that their party has failed to connect with women, young people and metropolitan voters. They've had two crushing election defeats just this year. But, instead of uniting around modern policies and climate action, the Liberal Party is at war with itself. That same pattern is one we are seeing playing out nationally—grassroots members lurching backwards while moderates and conservatives squabble over the party's future. This is dysfunction, not leadership. The contrast could not be clearer. While the Australian Labor Party is building our nation's future, focused on the issues that matter to Australians, tackling costs of living, building more houses, taking action on climate, standing up for everyday Australians, the Liberals and Nationals are instead fighting each other. It must stop.