Home
Search
thewest.com.au

Opinion

Health Minister Meredith Hammat.

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
Health ministry success is life and death

The portfolio has long been regarded as politics’ poisoned chalice: providing its holder with ample opportunity to both distinguish and disgrace themselves.

Editorial

The responsibility for health lies primarily with first time minister, Meredith Hammat.

analysis
analysis
Jessica PageCommentsPremium
analysis
COVID can not continue to be the excuse for WA’s ills

Records that were broken during COVID should be the exception, not the new standard.

Jessica Page

“In WA, where the Liberal presence has withered to near-irrelevance, we need more than messaging tweaks.” says Richard Wilson.

opinion
opinion
Richard Wilson
opinion
Richard Wilson: Liberals must win back the middle class

In WA, where the Liberal presence has withered to near-irrelevance, we need a fundamental reconnection with middle Australia’s personal circumstances, beginning with five underlying truths.

Richard Wilson

Holding men to account is key to addressing family violence, writes Joharna Wynaden.

opinion
opinion
Joharna WynadenComments
opinion
Holding men to account is key to addressing family violence

What if we thought beyond using electronic monitoring and started intervening before violence restraining orders are breached?

Joharna Wynaden

The site earmarked for Perth’s first children’s hospice, scheduled to open at the end of the year.

opinion
opinion
Kate EmeryCommentsPremium
opinion
Hospice park fight is selfish NIMBYism at its most vile

The kerfuffle over a slice of Swanbourne’s Allen Park reserve is the kind of story that gets more ridiculous the more you hear about it.

Kate Emery

Kate Emery

Ed Husic has made it clear he has no intention of holding his tongue.

opinion
opinion
Katina CurtisCommentsPremium
opinion
The unhealthy ‘yes man’ culture is a big risk for Labor

Disunity may be death in politics but valuing unity above all else doesn’t necessarily foster thriving life either, as politicians on both sides are discovering

Katina Curtis

Katina Curtis

Cardinals attend a mass for the election of the Roman Pontiff, prior to the start of the conclave, at St Peter's Basilica on May 7, 2025.

opinion
opinion
Andrew MillerCommentsPremium
opinion
Gender disparity the elephant in room for Catholic church

Conclave - the movie - may ultimately be a bit silly, but that’s what happens when women are sidelined. 

Andrew Miller

A woman walking alone at night.

opinion
opinion
EditorialPremium
opinion
Reality for women a damning indictment

Have you ever felt the need to tie your hair up in a bun while walking at night to minimise the risk of it being pulled by an attacker? If you have, chances are you’re a woman.

Editorial

Anti-Semitism. Israel war in Palestine.

opinion
opinion
Dvir AbramovichPremium
opinion
Hate is a siege on democracy

What is at stake here is not just the safety of the Jewish community. It is the soul of Australia.

Dvir Abramovich

‘The modern workplace is built on principles of communication, fairness and trust - or so the promise goes,’ writes Gary Martin.

opinion
opinion
Gary MartinCommentsPremium
opinion
Workplace wellbeing platitudes don’t bear out in reality

The modern workplace is built on principles of communication, fairness and trust - or so the promise goes.

Gary Martin

Bizarre, stunning and daring: The 2025 Met Gala looks

opinion
opinion
Lanna HillCommentsPremium
opinion
Met Gala’s staggering excess detracts from worthy message

While the theme itself was certainly powerful, watching the grandeur of the gala through the lens of an increasingly widening poverty gap in the US, for me, just didn’t feel right. 

Lanna Hill

‘Anthony Albanese needs to show some Cabinet love to WA,’ writes Joe Spagnolo.

opinion
opinion
Joe SpagnoloCommentsPremium
opinion
Memo PM: It’s time for more WA MPs in Cabinet

Albanese says he loves WA and lauds it as the engine room of the nation. That should be rewarded by fair Cabinet representation.

Joe Spagnolo

WA magpies are in serious danger.

opinion
opinion
JAY HANNA CommentsPremium
opinion
WA magpies are in danger and they need our help

‘While I’d like to assume Mac has moved to a better tree in a nicer part of town, the odds are like hundreds of thousands of other magpies across WA, they have fallen victim to magpie paralysis syndrome.’

Jay Hanna

Jay Hanna

Claremont RSL President David Thomas with the grave site of Private George Butcher AIF at Karrakatta Cemetery.

opinion
opinion
Ben HarveyCommentsPremium
opinion
Ghosts of soldiers trapped in limbo

If you feel these ministers need reminding that inaction is an affront to the ANZAC legacy then drop them a line.

BEN HARVEY

State Funeral for Mr Arthur Leggett OAM at St Georges Cathedral in Perth.

opinion
opinion
Editorial CommentsPremium
opinion
How WA gave thanks for Arthur Leggett’s sacrifice

It is moments like the State funeral for WWII hero Arthur Leggett that should make us stop and think about our good fortune.

Nat Locke pictured in the studio

opinion
opinion
THAT’S LIFE Premium
opinion
An ode to mothers, the knowers of all the things

I tried in vain to explain mental load to a mate. He’s adamant he’s an active dad. He does school pick-ups. He drops them to sports training. He goes to the supermarket. But who writes the shopping list?

Nat Locke

ballet, ballerina, ballet tutu, dancer, pointe shoes, dance, girl, dancing, cute

Anxiety Aunt PremiumHow to parent an extrovert when you’re an introvert

And One admires that you accept your daughter for who she is, even if it thrusts you and your husband into positions and spotlights you’d usually run from.

Jay Hanna

Jay Hanna

Speaking to The West Australian in 2011, Mr Leggett said he thought of his time as a prisoner of war in Crete every day. 

opinion
opinion
EditorialCommentsPremium
opinion
State funeral fitting farewell to honour life of war hero

It’s a send-off that will honour Mr Leggett’s enormous bravery — both on the battlefield and in prison camps and back in civilian life. 

Editorial

Christie Nicholas is the CEO of Mumpower

opinion
opinion
Christie Nicholas CommentsPremium
opinion
Mums need support to lighten their load, not platitudes

Let’s be real, mums deserve more than just brunch and flowers. 

Christie Nicholas

Sussan Ley, deputy Liberal Party leader, speaks during the Liberal National Coalition federal election campaign launch in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Australia’s two major parties held their 2025 election campaign launches within hours of each other on Sunday, revealing plans to allow residents to tax deduct their mortgages and setting aside billions of dollars to build new houses for first-time home buyers. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

opinion
opinion
Paul MurrayCommentsPremium
opinion
Why Liberals need to elect Sussan Ley as new leader

At some stage, the Liberals need to cauterise the gender wounds which are now routinely inflicted on the party by its political opponents as being anti-women.

Paul Murray

Paul Murray

‘In Labor, factionalism can trump merit,’ writes Michelle Grattan.

opinion
opinion
Michelle GrattanCommentsPremium
opinion
In Labor, factionalism can trump merit

Labor’s extraordinary election result has triggered a power play that has exposed the uglier entrails of Labor factionalism.

Michelle Grattan

Shemara Wikramanayake

opinion
opinion
CEOsPremium
opinion
CEOs flock to Sydney for Macquarie’s corporate conclave

In the Vatican there was a papal conclave. In New York there was the Met Gala. In Sydney this week? There was the Macquarie Australia Conference.

Simone Grogan

‘Though the stages of politics, sport, business and life may wear different costumes, the dance of dealing with adversity remains remarkably similar,’ writes Justin Langer.

opinion
opinion
JUSTIN LANGERCommentsPremium
opinion
Losing is devastating, but there is pathway back to success

Being ‘dropped’ by the nation would be incredibly hurtful, but politics like sport is not for the faint of heart.

Justin Langer

Mitski’s Working for the Knife and Florence + The Machine’s Free re-frame fulfilment as self-determined, not tied to maternal roles.

opinion
opinion
Rachel MatthewsCommentsPremium
opinion
Rachel Matthews: A reminder that motherhood isn’t womanhood

Australia’s fertility rate sits at a historic low of 1.6 births per woman, part of a global shift. 

Rachel Matthews