Media Release | 4 August 2026
Lachlan Hunter MLA
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food
The Cook Labor Government has finally bowed to pressure from the Opposition by restoring a Parliamentary Secretary with responsibility for Agriculture following its Cabinet reshuffle.
The appointment comes after Western Australia went without a dedicated Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture since 14 December 2022, despite agriculture remaining one of the State’s largest export industries and the backbone of regional communities.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Lachlan Hunter MP said the appointment was an overdue admission that Labor had failed to give agriculture the attention it deserved.
“For almost four years, Labor treated agriculture as an afterthought.
“The Opposition has consistently called on the Cook Labor Government to restore a dedicated Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture because our farmers deserve a Government focused on the challenges facing the sector every single day.
“Whether it has been avian influenza, fertiliser shortages, freight pressures, workforce shortages or rising costs, WA agriculture has faced significant challenges while Labor left the portfolio without dedicated parliamentary support.”
Mr Hunter said it was telling that the Government had finally acted only after sustained criticism and a Cabinet reshuffle.
“This is a Government that has spent years taking regional Western Australia for granted.
“Labor has appointed an inner metropolitan MP from the 20 square kilometre electorate of Bicton to help oversee one of the State’s biggest regional industries. I hope this means the Government will finally start listening to the people who produce our food and drive our regional economy.”
Mr Hunter said the appointment was welcome but long overdue.
“If Labor believed agriculture deserved a Parliamentary Secretary today, then it deserved one yesterday, last year and the year before.
“This appointment is an admission that the Cook Labor Government got it wrong. The real question is why it took nearly four years, a Cabinet reshuffle and relentless pressure from the Opposition before they finally listened.”
ENDS
