Heavenly Beverley : The Beverley Hillbillies Meet The Premier

Most of my friends would be aware that I tend not to vote on the right side of politics. Their belief and structure in laissez-faire and small government does not sit well with my views. In fact, the only time the Liberals seem to have any contact with the Common People is during election campaigns. Then they can't wait to press the flesh with us all, promising big and usually delivering small. Who can remember Prime Minister Howard's "non-core promises"...Perhaps any dispute about the "children overboard" affair would today be labelled as fake news.

Actually, I tend to regard most politicians with a grain of salt, trusting my personal bullshit meter and the alternative independent media to provide me with a more balanced viewpoint than News Corp or Sky waffle.

There are, of course, notable exceptions to the rule. Katie Hodson-Thomas, a hard-working and compassionate state Liberal member, ran an appeal alongside me to increase our Autistic Superstar's education assistance. Eion Cameron, master of the ABC airwaves, took a brief sojourn as a Liberal politician and allowed me the use of his office's photocopier and paper for my group's newsletter. And the result? I voted for them both, regardless of their party's leanings.

Enter David Templeman and Darren West. Both Labor pollies in Mark McGowan's State government, the pair of them were engaged in a Wheatbelt jaunt to talk to local shires. Whilst enjoying lunch at Wayno's Country Kitchen, Dave (in his alter ego of Arts Minister) spied the East End Gallery and wandered in for a quick squizz. Quickly returning with Darren, they finally introduced themselves. We were stoked. At that stage, no other State or Federal politician had crossed our threshold. Mia Davies, leader of WA's Nationals has joined Dave and Darren as the three politicians ever to come into the Gallery.

During our build of Station House, we met a major snag. Having moved the property line between our adjoining (and already sub-divided) blocks by three and a half metres, we thought all would be smooth sailing. The WA Planning Commission classified us as "developers" and this escalated into a new subdivision. Plus as "developers", Western Power and the Water Corporation had the means, the motive and the opportunity to charge us lots of money we didn't have for our power and water connections.

Almost seven months later, whilst operating our house through an extension cord, we had a win. Darren, in his capacity as an Agricultural MLC, made a couple of phone calls to the powers that be. Within two days, we received new offers for our electricity and water connections. Western Power's was particularly memorable, down from $27,452 to $681. We immediately accepted the offer and signed the paperwork in a split second.

The Water Corp was finally convinced that the existing water main did run on the edge of our property and moved it into its correct position in the laneway.

These two momentous occasions allowed us to plan and build our beautiful and private courtyards, instead of enduring and endlessly traipsing dirt into our home, not to mention wave at every vehicle that passed our property.

Earlier in March, we received an invitation to attend the opening of the Northam office of Mister Darren West and Mister Laurie Graham, the two members of the Agricultural Region, an area from stretches from Geraldtown to the South Coast - not your smallest electorate. Here was my opportunity to thank Darren for all his help. I had completely failed to register that the Premier of Western Australia would also be there.

So, Michael, Jan and I barrelled up the road to Northam. When we arrived, the office was already packed. We collected our name tags, filled up with a glass of vino and started mingling. I was trying to spot Darren in the crowd, given he is about seventy-eight feet tall. Just as I spotted him, the speeches began.

At that moment, I realised the Premier was in the room. His speech was actually really interesting - a far cry from most political talk. He spoke of Northam's history, of the three State Premiers that had come from this region and his personal delight in opening Darren and Laurie's office.

After he cut the ribbon, I seized my opportunity. Starting with "Can I call you Mark, Premier?", I launched into a surprisingly short spiel of Darren's assistance to us in our hour of need. Only as I was speaking did my nerve almost fail me. I suddenly felt very short in a room filled with towering people.

My speech was met with rousing applause. I regained my height and beamed at everybody. The rest of the evening was extremely pleasant and we both had a quick chat as the Premier was leaving. Michael had gone to Governor Stirling Senior High School with another Labor parliamentarian, Lisa Baker. She is a recent Facebook buddy to me, but anyone who adores Weimaraners as much as I do could become a friend, even if Weimaraners is our only connection. Amanda Vanstone, I am happy to overlook your political affiliations.

After a splendid evening, we headed for Heavenly Beverley. I was thrilled. I'd had a chance to acknowledge a tremendously helpful parliamentarian in Darren West. And blow me down, I'd had a chat with the Premier...

And Kim Travers, Labor candidate for Pearce. Time to come on down for a cuppa, Kim!