New Citizens
Australia Day is also a great opportunity to welcome new Australians and, for some of us with the honour of sharing in the ceremonies, we have the privilege to share our thoughts on what it means to be Australian and how fortunate we all are to be known as citizens.
Although for most councils, citizenship ceremonies take place right through the year, many people choose to make Australia Day the day to nail their colours to the mast and truly call themselves Aussies.
This year I had the pleasure of joining around a hundred and thirty new Australians in the City of Belmont and thirty-three new citizens in Newman for their swearing of their citizenship pledge and receipt of their certificate. I was very pleasantly surprised in Newman when the Shire CEO, Steven Harding, asked us all to join him in the Australian Citizenship Affirmation.
As an Australian citizen,
I affirm my loyalty to Australia and its people,
Whose democratic beliefs I share,
Whose rights and liberties I respect,
And whose laws I uphold and obey.
As someone who grew up in the remote towns of the Pilbara and the Gascoyne regions, a part of me always feels that I have come home. Speaking to several of the families who have decided to make Newman their home and Australia their country it is truly wonderful to see that the dream of building a future together in the remote communities up North is alive and well.
The Remote North with All its Challenges and Opportunities
With the McGowan Labor government abolishing the six Western Australian regions and reducing the voice that remote and rural areas have in the parliament, it indicated how little regard they have for those whose hard work and sacrifices powers, not only Western Australia, but much of our nation. When asked if I would like to be part of a group of Liberal Members of Parliament supporting the Pilbara, it was an easy decision. People in the Pilbara put up with a lot but just get amongst it and get things done.
During my previous visit to Newman for the Stars of East Pilbara Awards, I was struck by just how many different sporting and social organisations the families there on the night represented. In communities like Newman, everyone is connected and the community does an amazing job of filling in the gaps in services that are taken for granted in the metro area.
On this Australia Day visit I had the pleasure or spending the following day with members of the Newman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (who were also energetically involved in the running of the incredibly active Newman Community Centre), the Newman Recreation Centre, the Shire of East Pilbara, and local businesses very concerned about the lack of available Industrial land (an irony for one of the most sparsely populated places on the planet), lack of critical community services, and funding that in no way reflects the incredible contribution that these towns make to the WA economy.
Petition to the Legislative Council
The lack of available land, overcrowding, and clear operational inefficiencies were plain to see during my visit. The shortage of suitable industrial land has been directly limiting business growth and is now holding back efforts to diversify Newman’s local economy. A petition has been tabled in the Legislative Council addressing this matter so it will be interesting to see how the government responds. For my part, I will be actively advocating for the Newman community along with my colleague the Hon. Neil Thomson MLC on their behalf.
46 Degrees and Busted Air‑Con
Of all the places in Western Australia (that has just had a week of 46-degree days) education department managed air conditioning in the town’s only enclosed recreation centre and emergency shelter has been barely functioning and is clearly past its used-by date. (You’ll hear more on this).
For these remote and regional communities, everything and everyone is interconnected. When businesses are unable to function effectively, or must move to other locations, when health services are almost non-existent (some actually non-existent), when education opportunities are limited, and when facilities are inadequate, uncomfortable and often unusable, it affects everything. Western Australia owes so much to these hard-working communities in our North and its up to us to insist that our governments do better in ensuring they have fair access to services most Western Australians are able to take for granted.
Martumili
I also had the pleasure of a visit to the Martumili Aboriginal Art Centre, which does incredible work supporting Martu artists across the Pilbara—helping them create, exhibit, and bring their artworks to wider audiences. It was a real pleasure to meet Corban-Clause Williams, who is currently exhibiting in Melbourne, Marlene Anderson, whose work really resonated with me, and the dedicated staff who make the centre such a vibrant and welcoming place. And, if you ever find yourself in Newman, do yourself a favour and drop into Martumili – it’s a visit you won’t regret.
What’s Driving Interest Rates?
Unfortunately, as I write this newsletter, we hear that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has had to raise interest rates a quarter of a percent to 3.85%. Although a relatively small rise, the impacts on so many Australians who a so deeply leveraged on home loans and struggling with state and federal government fuelled inflation it’s a worrying blow.
I don’t know about you, but I was a bit annoyed by the way the way the RBA framed the reasoning for the rate rise and downright incensed with the way federal treasurer Jim Chalmers more or less blamed you and I for what is clearly caused by Albanese government policy.
The RBA governor emphasized that private demand was a main force in driving interest rates upwards but conveniently didn’t make the point that it was government policy that had driven demand and prices up. An omission that Jim Chalmers was more than happy to take advantage of.
Housing policy is stoking “private” demand
It can’t go past the keeper that a significant share of what the RBA labels “private demand” has been amplified by government housing policy. Incentives such as firsthomebuyer schemes and “Help to Buy” have lowered entry costs and pulled more buyers into an already deeply constrained housing market. Where else was the price going to go! My 20-year-old daughter saw it the moment the government announced the 5% deposit and transfer of lenders mortgage insurance to the taxpayer. (Sub-prime collapse anyone?) She knew that to avoid missing out altogether she would have to get in fast! Apparently, thousands of other Gen Z and Millennial homebuyers could see the same thing. My daughter was lucky (for now) and in a few months the “value” of her new home has increased by around $100K. Many economists could see this. Thousands of twenty and thirty somethings could see this. But apparently government economists and the treasurer couldn’t. I have many questions.
Analysts warned that expanding these types of incentives would “pour petrol on the fire” of excess demand when supply is so far behind. Official assessments of the housing system similarly highlighted that demand pressures remain acute, and policy changes can intensify competition for limited stock unless matched by faster supply. Something that the latest WA figures show the Cook Labor government has failed miserably on yet again with housing approvals falling to their lowest level in six months.
Immigration is a powerful demand driver
It seems to be an issue the political class is terrified to talk about, but it can’t be denied that population inflows have played a major part in driving housing demand. The latest 12month Net Overseas Migration is around 306,000 (to June 2025). Each additional resident increases pressure on rentals and new builds when construction is running behind target – and appears to be getting worse. Independent housing demand projections show that migrationled household formation is a primary engine of dwelling demand from 2023 onward. Pretending it doesn’t exist does not make the problem go away and it’s the people of our state and nation who are suffering the consequences.
Bottom line
The RBA is right, at least at a superficial level that private demand is running hot—but housing policy and immigration settings are key reasons that demand (and therefore inflation and interest rates) are higher than otherwise. Not really mentioned, and perhaps a topic for another day, is the way state and federal governments are playing fast and loose with public debt. Every bit of deficit spending must come from somewhere. The government is either competing with you and the private sector for finance – driving up interest rates, or they are printing money – driving up inflation. Either way you pay for Labor’s poor policy and addiction to spending.
Closing Thoughts – Duties vs Rights
I really said way more on interest rates than I intended so will keep my closing thoughts brief and perhaps frame them in a question to you the readers. We are constantly bombarded by the invention of new and creative form of “rights” yet we as a nation are not becoming more free or safer. In fact, it’s clear the opposite is happening. So I have been thinking a great deal about this question recently.
Does a nation become more free when it focuses on rights or on duties? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for all your recent responses, whether supporting or questioning the things I have been saying. I know my previous newsletter was expressing some positions that not everyone agreed with, but I do read them and where I can respond. We all grow through the free exchange of ideas.
Speak up, write to your MPs, sign the petitions, and encourage others to stay alert. Democracy only works when citizens make themselves heard.
Warm regards,
Phil
