Posted by Phil Twiss on January 16, 2026
Well, it didn’t take long for 2026 to start shaping up as an interesting year!
In the first week, we saw U.S. Special Forces snatch socialist dictator and politically illegitimate Venezuelan President, Victor Maduro, from his bed to stand trial in the United States on narco-terrorism charges. However this plays out, it’s sure to be a fascinating story. As much as I welcome the removal of socialist regimes (for the sake of long-suffering Venezuelans), I’ll leave the global analysis to the experts and armchair commentators and instead focus on the significant challenges we face closer to home.
Reflections on 2025
Last year was a big year and sadly tragic in so many respects. It was a year that innocence was again shattered, as peaceful people like Charlie Kirk in the United States and the Jewish Community in Australia were subject to vicious and cowardly attacks.
Despite the pain, this needs to be a time for clear perspective, honest reflection, and courageous ownership. Disappointingly, in New South Wales, this has not been the case and political opportunism has been passed off as decisiveness by the Minns Labor Government. I’ll speak and write more on this later.
On a personal note, 2025 was transformative. After being elected in March and sworn in as a Member of the Legislative Council on May 22, my journey from a respectable General Manager in the technical world to a politician—where polling suggest that public trust ranks alongside social media influencers and only slightly above advertising executives—was complete.
I’ve always been a bit contrary, so I sincerely hope to break ranks with recent history and be a politician you can trust. As Lincoln famously said (slightly misquoting the 15th century poet, John Lydgate): ‘You can please some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time.’ For those I fail to please, forgive me. At times we will disagree (thank you to those who have done so respectfully), and at times I won’t be able to help even if we agree. I will do what I can, as entrusted by the people of Western Australia.
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Switching Off – Chainsaws, Family & Books
After an intense year ending with an extra week’s sitting in Parliament, it was time to unwind with family and friends. For me, that means family time, books, and a touch of chainsaw therapy.
Family and books are obvious, but chainsaw therapy? I often get funny looks when I mention it! No, it’s not juggling six running saws while singing La Marseillaise and sipping rum cocktails. Living on a big block in the Perth Hills and with parents down south means there are always trees that have given up on life and need help becoming firewood.
Felling a tree safely requires intense concentration, teamwork, and significant physical effort—especially for a politician! Working with my father and sons, making sure everyone walks away in one piece, clears the mind and puts life in perspective.
It’s a discreet task with clear boundaries and outcomes. Good therapy!
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Holiday Reading
Christmas is my time to catch up on a bit of free reading. I always come away from a decent book feeling relaxed, even if challenged and some part of my mind is expanded from the experience. Below are three that I managed to complete over the break.
- ‘Nothing but Wickedness’ – Theodore Dalrymple
Not my favourite, but a sobering reminder of how humans can delude themselves into hideous acts. No one is immune who loses their moral compass..
- ‘Stella Maris’ – Cormac McCarthy
Dark, somber, and technically intriguing, yet McCarthy brings beauty and humour through the most dysfunctional parts of humanity.
- Shakespeare’s Hamlet
A timeless warning of how terribly wrong things can go for those who think they are cleverer than they are when ambition and plotting take hold.
- Currently reading: ‘The Hollow State: Power Without Purpose in Australian Politics’ – Peter Van Onselen
Feel free to email me with recommendations for something light-hearted!
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Issues Ahead
The Bondi attack exposed deep societal rifts, vulnerabilities, and breakdowns in how governments handle internal threats. I fear that, given the government’s current priorities more broadly, weaknesses in our national, as well as internal defence will become more apparent. It appears all too apparent that the government is more focused on defending itself than the citizens who elected it.
As calls for a Royal Commission into Bondi grow louder, the government seems to become yet more defensive—a sign of how necessary it is.
Instead of honest reflection, governments often deflect and clamp down on the public rather than admit failures. Media attacks compound the problem, destroying political careers and personal livelihoods. In almost every case the innocent are made scapegoats—as seen with hundreds of thousands of law-abiding firearms owners in NSW.
The next casualty? Free speech. While curtailing certain speech may seem fair, history shows that blanket restrictions follow and we will all be told it is to keep us all safe. Although the tools and criminal penalties were already in place to prevent the incitement of violence, the government chose to remain silent.
In the UK, 140,000 people a year face charges over speech and online comments and, while just a fraction of these ended up convicted, the effect is chilling and makes the UK one of the most dangerous places in the world to hold an opinion.
By reducing the problem to government defined “hate speech” and gun control (a knee jerk reaction that even former Prime Minister John Howard warned against) Australia risks following suit, with ramifications that will deeply affect our society.
We must tread carefully.
Closing Thoughts
May 2026 be a happy and prosperous year for you and your family. Let’s stay vigilant, thoughtful, and committed to preserving the freedoms that define us.
I’ll keep working hard on on your behalf.
Hon Phil Twiss
Member of the Legislative Council
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