Jackie Jarvis

Jackie Jarvis was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Food in December 2022. She picked up responsibility for Fisheries in March 2025, giving her three budgets and one election to get her head around the DPIRD budget papers ... Once again, I’ve gone back to the state budget to point out a glaring problem: the rhetoric simply does not match the money.

The Cook Government’s demersal “reform” package is not fisheries management. It’s fishing for votes at the expense of the two and a half million West Aussies who never step onto a sports-fishing boat loaded with the latest eco sounders. And, like most of this Government’s environmental crusades, the rhetoric is heroic, the delivery is sloppy, and the consequences fall squarely on the people who don’t have a big boat parked in their driveway.

The Western Australian Government has announced important reforms across WA's coastline to protect demersal fish like pink snapper, red emperor and dhufish from extinction and to help stocks recover for future generations.

Western Australians love two things: arguing about politics and arguing about fishing — and not necessarily in that order ...

The designated fishing sessions for the 2025-2026 Roe's abalone season have been released, with recreational fishers reminded to fish safely and sustainably this summer. The highly popular one-hour fishing sessions are scheduled to occur over four Saturday mornings between 7am and 8am, dependant on conditions, between Busselton Jetty and Greenough River Mouth.

I’ve stood on the bridge of the Fisheries portfolio before, watching the charts, reading the soundings, and warning the captain that reefs lay ahead. As a former Chief of Staff to a Fisheries Minister, I recognise the signs when a government vessel starts taking on water and the crew pretend it’s just spray over the bow. WA is again steering toward the same rocks: science shouting from the crow’s nest, lobby groups whispering on the bridge, and politicians tightening the sails to catch votes instead of heeding the compass. Now Captain Jackie Jarvis has the helm. We will see whether she keeps a steady course guided by evidence or follows her predecessor into the shallows of cheap populism and political drift.

Long-suffering readers know my refrain: Western Australia can build stadiums, museums and Metronet tunnels, yet still cannot build a permanent home for its agriculture department. Call it DPIRD or the old Ag Department, or—as I prefer—the Department of People, Inclusion, Re-education and Diversity. Titles change, logos change, ministers change. The reality stays the same.

The Cook Government has set new standards to strengthen the health and welfare of horses in Western Australia. The Standards and Guidelines for the Health and Welfare of Horses details the minimum standards and recommended practices to optimise the health and welfare of horses, backed by scientific evidence and industry knowledge.

Shadow Minister for Agriculture Lachlan Hunter MLA has slammed the Cook Labor Government for ignoring its own independent review into the Grower Group Alliance (GGA) and DPIRD Collaboration. Mr Hunter said the review, commissioned by the Labor Government, clearly recommended increased investment into the program, yet the Minister for Agriculture instead chose to axe the program entirely.

Every time someone brings up the Southern Oscillation Index or the Indian Ocean Dipole, I nod along and drift off. But a recent conversation with an old boarding school mate gave me hope that maybe it’s not as complex as I originally thought and maybe some of the amateur Wheatbelt weather forecasters might have more than half a clue about what's going on out there.