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Station Life: Raelene Hall says rural WA ‘deserves an apology’ over Ben Harvey’s opinion piece

RAELENE HALLMidwest Times
Manjimup Shire President Paul Omodei has a laugh with The West Australian chief reporter Ben Harvey, who visited the town following his controversial opinion piece.
Camera IconManjimup Shire President Paul Omodei has a laugh with The West Australian chief reporter Ben Harvey, who visited the town following his controversial opinion piece. Credit: Danella Bevis/The West Australian

Not everyone is a fan of regional WA. Fine.

What isn’t fine is for a journalist to use a column to denigrate and run-down areas outside the city limits.

On October 19, Ben Harvey, chief reporter at The West Australian — in trying to write about the proposal for a deep-water port at Exmouth — managed to insult towns in WA, intimated WA rural residents were hicks who ate horseshoe rolls of beetroot and grated cheese, and said he believed international tourists wouldn’t travel in WA because the distances were too great.

Ben obviously doesn’t know, or care, about what regional WA contributes to this State in so many ways. Nor does he care who is offended by his poorly written article, in which he cannot even be bothered to find the correct name for those “little boats” cruise ships use when they can’t enter a harbour. For your information, Ben, they are called “tenders” and are used by cruise ships worldwide.

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Did you actually do any research Ben, or is that below you? International tourist numbers in WA were the highest ever, pre-COVID.

I can guarantee they weren’t all staying in the city. So, a day-long bus trip is too far, with nothing to see? Guess what, Ben?

No one is asking you to travel on a bus to the regions. Those with open minds and eyes may well choose to, though.

This is the most narrow-minded, patronising piece of writing I’ve read in a long time, and I’m appalled the editor of The West Australian was happy to publish it.

Given the article is supposedly about the benefits of having a deep-water port near Exmouth that cruise ships can access, why was it necessary to belittle and mock rural WA?

I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t signs going up right across rural WA at this moment saying, “Ben Harvey not welcome here”, especially in Manjimup, Merredin and Geraldton. Not sure Kalbarri will even welcome you anymore, Ben, because while we all compete for tourist dollars, we also defend each other from insults and diatribes like yours.

I’m not sure where you find “hot bread shops”, as most places we go to in the regions have a bakery, and I can’t recall the last time I saw a horseshoe roll.

Maybe your next “rant” could be an apology to rural WA.

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