Western Australia

Analysis and Comment (24)

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Wolfe Creek Crater: the second largest meteor impact site in the world. Dainis Dravins - Lund Observatory, Sweden.

Unknown wonders: Wolfe Creek Crater

By Kenneth McNamara, University of Cambridge

Australia is famous for its natural beauty: the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kakadu, the Kimberley. But what about the places almost no one goes? We asked ecologists, biologists and wildlife researchers…
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Despite anti-gas protests, Woodside pulled out of James Price Point for commercial reasons. AAP image/Cortlan Bennett

Without James Price Point, what now for Browse Basin gas?

By Susan Gourvenec, University of Western Australia

Last Friday, Woodside announced it would no longer be developing a gas processing plant at James Price Point in Western Australia. The announcement was greeted with enthusiasm by environmental groups…
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Colin Barnett and his wife Lyn celebrate the Liberal party’s crushing win the Western Australian state election. AAP/Tony McDonough

WA election: Barnett and the Liberals do it easy

By Ian Cook, Murdoch University

Nobody thought that Labor would form government in Western Australia after the 2013 election. And with the current seat count at 30 for Colin Barnett’s Liberals, 18 for Labor and 6 for the Nationals…
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The Colin Barnett led Coalition is set to retain government in Western Australia, but Labor under Mark McGowan has shown encouraging signs for the future. Tony McDonough/AAP

WA election: Barnett should win but not all lost for Labor

By Natalie Mast, University of Western Australia

Putting your finger on the pulse of the WA public can be difficult at times. Even the day before an election. While the nation swims in federal polls, at a state level, survey data of Western Australians…
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When it comes to the polls, FIFO workers are most likely to vote for the party which will support their industry. Wesfarmers

Western Australia election: FIFO vote

By Graeme Ditchburn, Murdoch University

In Western Australia business is booming for the mining and resources sector. The number of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers employed in the state has increased over the last five years to more than 35…
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Western Australians are heading to the polls this Saturday, but it looks likely Premier Colin Barnett will be in for a second term. Alan Porritt/AAP

Western Australian election: all over bar the voting?

By John Phillimore, Curtin University

As Western Australian’s prepare to head to the polls this Saturday, where do the parties stand ahead of the state election? Opinion polls published since January have the Liberal and National alliance…
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Transport in Perth has become a major talking point for the upcoming state election. Flickr/eGuide Travel

Ring around the rail in the Western Australian election

By Peter Newman, Curtin University and Cole Hendrigan, The Conversation

Public transport has risen to the top of the campaign to-do list for the upcoming Western Australia election. Both Labor and Liberal have unveiled plans to bring a rail network to the airport – it’s now…
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Western Australian National leader Brendon Grylls speaks at a press conference in Perth on September 14 2008. Nicolas Perpitch/AAP

Brendon Grylls risks all in battle for the Pilbara

By John Phillimore, Curtin University

Arguably the most intriguing electoral contest in the Western Australian state election on March 9 is the Pilbara. The leader of the Western Australian Nationals, Brendon Grylls – architect of the multi…
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Labor leader Mark McGowan has been widely seen as the winner of last night’s debate ahead of the WA state election. ABC News

WA elections: McGowan wins debate, but damage to Barnett is minimal

By Natalie Mast, University of Western Australia

Watching a political debate without the assistance of the worm can be difficult. Thankfully we have Twitter to provide us with indicators of the audience’s views. Even more useful is when party members…
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Rainfall is dropping, but runoff into dams used for irrigation is dropping even faster. CSIRO

In south-western Australia, water shortages will worsen

By Don McFarlane, CSIRO

While the rest of Australia has had a reprieve from the Millennium Drought, and floods have recently affected many areas along the north eastern Australian coast, the extended dry period that has affected…
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Western Australians are heading to the polls twice this year. Jay-Oh

Western Australia: two elections for the price of two

By Ian Cook, Murdoch University

If the thought of one election campaign is your worst nightmare, then pity the West Australians. When Julia Gillard announced a September federal election it meant two campaigns being run simultaneously…
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Pre-emptively emptying beaches when sharks are around can save lives, but there are other ways of preventing bites. Caroline Embrey

Shark bite prevention should be led by evidence, not politics

By Christopher Neff

Things could not be harder for the beach-goers of Western Australia. Following the worst spate of shark-related fatalities ever recorded, it is summer once again. Shark sightings are up and there is always…
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Federal member for Fremantle Melissa Parke has attracted a national profile with her left wing views in recent years. Office of Melissa Parke MP

In Conversation: Greens are not our enemy, says Labor’s Melissa Parke

By Geoffrey Robinson, Deakin University

Labor’s Melissa Parke probably won’t be too popular with rightwing powerbrokers like Paul Howes with her view that the Greens are a fellow progressive party rather than an insidious enemy to be confronted…
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Understanding the stingray’s significance can help us understand opposition to James Price Point gas plans. Joy VanBuhler

Beware the stingray: Indigenous heritage and WA’s gas plans

By Peter Botsman, University of Melbourne

For overwhelming economic, social, cultural and environmental reasons the LNG precinct proposed for Walmadany (James Price Point) should not be built…In sum, such a project is against the national interest…
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There are a lot of positives in the WA Government’s plan to keep beaches safe – but why cull sharks? platours/flickr

Does WA have a problem with sharks, or with the media?

By Ryan Kempster, University of Western Australia

The WA Premier Colin Barnett and Fisheries Minister Norman Moore recently announced the Government will allocate $6.85-million for its “shark mitigation” strategy, in response to the recent wave of sharks…
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James Price Point’s monsoon vine thickets are culturally and ecologically important, and undervalued in assessments of environmental impact. Artist and botanist Jeanne Brown

James Price Point: environmental significance ignored in failed impact assessment

By Malcolm Lindsay, University of Melbourne

The proposed Browse Liquefied Natural Gas Hub at James Price Point (known locally as Walmadany), 50km north of Broome, has created one of the most fiercely fought environmental and indigenous battles currently…
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The waters of the Kimberley in Western Australia have long tempted politicians and engineers wanting to make the drier southern regions bloom. Flickr/Koala:Bear

Western water dreamers rise again with Colin Barnett’s canal vision

By Ruth Morgan, Monash University

Settler Australians have a long history of trying to harness the continent’s great rivers to water the dead heart of the country. Schemes such as those of Bradfield and Idriess in the 1930s and 1940s sought…
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The recent climate-related deaths of tracts of Western Australian forest go beyond a green issue. George Matusick

Western Australia’s catastrophic forest collapse

By George Matusick, Murdoch University; Giles Hardy, Murdoch University, and Katinka Ruthrof, Murdoch University

Recent, unprecedented, climate-driven forest collapses in Western Australia show us that ecosystem change can be sudden, dramatic and catastrophic. These collapses are a clear signal that we must develop…
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WA premier Colin Barnett visits the scene of a bushfire in Margaret River. AAP/Tony McDonaugh

Labor in Western Australia: improving, but still a long way to go

By William Bowe, University of Western Australia

Punishing opinion poll results have become a depressingly regular event for Labor in recent times, at federal level as well as in most states. It was thus something of a surprise when a Newspoll result…
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The resources boom is political gold for Liberal premier Colin Barnett (second from left). AAP/Rebecca Le May

From boom to bust: why Labor can no longer win in the West

By William Bowe, University of Western Australia

Last week’s change in the Western Australian ALP leadership ended the three-year tenure of the ousted Eric Ripper – quite a good innings for a modern opposition leader, even if he wasn’t granted the opportunity…

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