Home
Search
thewest.com.au‌‌

Opinion

Advance is stealing Angus Taylor’s thunder. Andrew Ritchie

opinion
opinion
Federal PoliticsCommentsPremium
opinion
Campaigners swooping in on Liberal policy work

Conservative campaigners Advance had already annoyed the Liberals in last year’s election campaign. Now they’re taking credit for the party’s policy work.

Katina Curtis

The AUKUS deal, under which Australia is to receive its first submarine in seven years, is no longer fit for purpose.

opinion
opinion
Cameron MilnerCommentsPremium
opinion
Why Australia should scrap pricey, out-of-date AUKUS deal

Conflicts in Ukraine and Iran show why we should focus on on drones and other automated technologies, not lumbering subs and warships.

Cameron Milner

As Jim Chalmers reviews his Budget plan, one area which must remain at the top of the savings list is the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
Chalmers must make hard call on cutting NDIS cost

As Jim Chalmers reviews his Budget plan, one area which must remain at the top of the savings list is the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

For every dodgy tradie there are many others delivering high-quality work, who are dealing with their own set of challenges, including customers whose expectations can be as demanding as they are unrealistic.

opinion
opinion
OpinionVideoCommentsPremium
opinion
It’s not them, it’s you: Why tradies might not call back

With tradies in high demand, it is not just about whether the job stacks up but whether the customer does, too.

Gary Martin

Television shows such as M*A*S*H remains a timely example of the power of humour in times of chaos and war.

opinion
opinion
OpinionVideoCommentsPremium
opinion
Humour a powerful weapon amid times of chaos, war

The best and worst parts of life cause us to laugh and cry all at once — it’s an autonomic, biochemical social coping strategy, says Andrew Miller.

Andrew Miller

The myopic green dream of Energy Minister Chris Bowen (pictured) and his co-cabinet ideologues has left us all exposed, driving us into renewables with the kind of zealotry usually reserved for religious extremists.

opinion
opinion
OpinionVideoComments
opinion
Energy security sacrificed on altar of green politics

OPINION: The myopic green dream of Energy Minister Chris Bowen and his co-cabinet ideologues has left us all exposed.

Liam Bartlett

Australia’s incoming Defence Chief, Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, is touching down in the United States this week to discuss potential Middle East deployments alongside the AUKUS nuclear submarine project. Inset: Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump.

OpinionVideoCommentsPremiumTime for Australia, US to come clean on Iran

Australians deserve straight talk on what is expected of us, as our incoming Defence Chief touches down in the US to discuss potential Middle East deployments alongside the AUKUS nuclear submarine project. 

Opinion: If you can find $100m of taxpayer dollars for the Perth Bears, surely you can find $30m to fix up the disgraceful Cottesloe Foreshore

opinion
opinion
OPINIONCommentsPremium
opinion
Iconic WA stretch is a patchwork quilt of disgrace

If you can find the cash to pour at least $100 million into a new rugby league side for WA, then surely you can find $30m to fix the embarrassment that is the Cottesloe foreshore.

JOE SPAGNOLO

The so-called Catalpa Rescue of April 19, 1876, has just about everything a journo like Ben Harvey wants in a tale — political skullduggery, gritty jailhouse deals and a bit of espionage capped off by a naval chase and a dramatic stand-off in front of a 12-pound cannon. Pictyred: Fenian political prisoner John Sarsfield Casey.

opinion
opinion
OpinionCommentsPremium
opinion
150th anniversary of WA’s most incredible prison escapes

It’s with great pleasure that Ben Harvey can deliver the news that 150 years ago (to the day, if you don’t mind) Fremantle was the scene of one of the most audacious prison escapes the world has ever seen.

Ben Harvey

Ben Harvey

Nat Locke

opinion
opinion
THAT’S LIFE
opinion
Why I’m a completely different person when I travel

I’m still liable to fall over at any moment; who decided to cover the steep streets of Portuguese cities with slippery cobblestones? But I’ve realised I do things when travelling that I never do at home.

Nat Locke

Shai Bolton of the Dockers marks the ball during the round three AFL match between West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium, on March 30, 2025.

opinion
opinion
EditorialVideoCommentsPremium
opinion
Sunday’s Western Derby is a match to savour

While the game itself is officially played for four points, there is more to it than that.

University of Canberra (UC) Vice-Chancellor and President, the Honourable Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Paul MurrayCommentsPremium
opinion
Budget shambles and handouts from Chalmers have to stop

This cannot be a Budget that shirks the many difficult issues facing the nation. Some of the necessary solutions would require substantial political skill to co-opt citizens to the cause.

Paul Murray

Paul Murray

SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC, MG, with the Australian Special Operations Task Group, leaves a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during preparation of the Shah Wali Kot offensive in Afghanistan, 06/2010. Roberts-Smith was later awarded the Victoria Cross during action in saving the lives of wounded comrades. Supplied by News Corp Australia SUPPLIED

opinion
opinion
OpinionPremium
opinion
Demonising Ben Roberts-Smith insults Australian veterans

Without context, any moral calculation we try to make about Ben Roberts-Smith is incomplete, says Justin Langer.

Justin Langer

Fremantle Docker Josh Treacy and West Coast Eagle Jobe Shanahan outside Optus Oval in Burswood ahead of the 62nd western derby.

opinion
opinion
Editorial CommentsPremium
opinion
Western Derby is a moment to push gloom aside

The rivalry between these teams runs deep and loyalties cut across suburbs, businesses, families and couples, so for a while on Sunday afternoon the woes of the world will be forgotten.

In 2022-23, the proportion of participants aged between 0 and 14 who left the NDIS was just 1.5 per cent.

opinion
opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
opinion
Bogus providers milk NDIS system and some parents are worse

One of the biggest problems is unofficial rorting by parents of children diagnosed with mild autism spectrum disorders who are abusing the system to secure benefits that simply aren’t justified.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

The Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas.

opinion
opinion
Basil ZempilasCommentsPremium
opinion
Families are under pressure so State needs to be proactive

The crisis has exposed an inherent weakness in Western Australia’s economy and showed how vulnerable we are to global shocks, given our lack of energy resilience. 

Basil Zempilas

Last month WA Premier Roger Cook said fuel rationing would be left to the final stage. But the plan warns levels three and four could change if needed.

opinion
opinion
Editorial VideoCommentsPremium
opinion
Cook warning adds to gloom over fuel and rates fears

The blaze at Viva Energy’s Corio oil refinery in Victoria has added to fears that WA’s hopes of avoiding tougher fuel security measures — and perhaps fuel restrictions — may well have gone up in smoke too.

Letters to the editor must contain the author’s full name, address and daytime contact number.

Letter to the EditorLetter to the Editor: Thank you to those who helped my wife

Last Friday, my wife Pat and I were walking along a pavement in Albany near the Kmart store when my wife fell over face down, writes Paul O’Nion.

Paul O’Nion

Letters to the editor must contain the author’s full name, address and daytime contact number.

Letter to the EditorLetter to the Editor: Is Albany celebrating a year early?

As a concerned Perthian, I feel it is my duty to speak up for the people of Albany who seem to be celebrating their bicentenary a year early, writes Drew Bellamy.

Drew Bellamy

A property for lease in Spencer Park.

opinion
opinion
Kim MacdonaldCommentsPremium
opinion
Landlords need option to end toxic rental relations

My support for no-cause evictions may come as a surprise given I’m no doubt regarded as pro-tenant and annoyingly woke.

Kim Macdonald

Kim Macdonald

Premier Roger Cook, Treasurer Rita Saffioti, and Housing and Works Minister John Carey speak to the media at the under contruction Bel-Air apartments in Belmont today. Michael Wilson

opinion
opinion
Rita Saffioti CommentsPremium
opinion
Pre-sale guarantee to get apartments off the ground sooner

By guaranteeing the purchase of up to 50 per cent of unsold apartments, we’ll help get more projects off the ground sooner.

Rita Saffioti

Government spending to prop up the economy during COVID has resulted in an ongoing expectation of regular handouts. But the Treasurer should resist the temptation to throw money around in a willy-nilly manner.

opinion
opinion
EditorialVideoCommentsPremium
opinion
Global crunch ramps up pressure on Federal Budget

Government spending to prop up the economy during COVID has resulted in an ongoing expectation of regular handouts. But the Treasurer should resist the temptation to throw money around in a willy-nilly manner.

The Centre for National Resilience Perth on Gallagher Road near Bullsbrook.

opinion
opinion
Ben HarveyCommentsPremium
opinion
Politicians’ vow to tackle crime proves to be costly

Prisons are expensive and proof of the failure of social policy, so the Government declined to build one.

Ben Harvey

Ben Harvey

The idea of reconstructing a war zone renders Ben Roberts-Smith case insane, says Jeni O’Dowd.

opinion
opinion
Jeni O’DowdVideoCommentsPremium
opinion
Why we can’t wrap our heads around Ben Roberts-Smith case

Years after Afghanistan, a court is expected to reconstruct what occurred in the war zone between 2009 and 2012. This sounds insane.

Jeni O’Dowd