2026-09-04
Exploring people oriented transport systems in Europe, and frustrated with the progressive things Labor said they would do, but don’t
By Hon Brad Pettitt MLC
From the UK to Parliament, and keeping up the pressure
The winter recess took me to the UK and Ireland — and what I saw made the contrast with Perth even harder to sit with.
London's cycling journeys have increased 43% in six years to 1.5 million a day. Manchester lifted bus patronage 24% in three years by taking buses back into public control, capping fares at £2 and unifying ticketing across modes. Ireland is spending €1 million a day on active travel — among the highest per capita in the world. Dublin's light rail covers its own operating costs. Perth's public transport requires an 80% subsidy.
These aren't wealthy utopias with easy answers. They're cities that made a decision to invest differently — in people, not cars — and it's working. Perth can do this too. We just need the political will to get on with it.
The trip was also a chance to present at the Smart City Expo on One Planet Living, to cycle London's new protected lanes with Professor Robin Hickman from the Bartlett School of Planning, to meet with Dublin City Councillors and MPs on what genuine active travel investment looks like on the ground, and to visit Welwyn to see a walkable, mixed-use, car-light urban design model in practice. I also got to tour the House of Lords with Greens Upper House MP and former leader Natalie Bennett. All of it feeds directly into the Solutions for Cities book, which is taking shape with the help of our intern Dee and a growing community of people sharing their transport stories and ideas online.
Back home, Parliament resumed on 11 August and picked up where it left off: a government that is great at announcements and less great at follow-through.
The Electricity Industry Amendment (Capital Charges) Bill proposes a $100,000 per megawatt upfront charge on new energy projects — almost all of which are renewable. It might suit large multinationals, but it pushes out the smaller WA-owned solar and battery businesses we need most. I moved amendments to fix it and secured a commitment from the WA Government to consult with smaller renewable energy organisations to improve the regulations. We cannot afford to slow this transition down any further.
The Equal Opportunity Act was promised in 2022. The Climate Bill has been talked about for years. Nine sitting weeks left in 2026. The list of undelivered progressive legislation grows longer while Parliament's time is consumed by administrative bills and — as I said in the chamber — legislation that seems designed to solve problems for corporate interests rather than the community. When WA Labor then stalls its own commitments, including a motion on an independent Office of Animal Protection that was literally in their election platform, the frustration is genuine and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
Meanwhile, WA Police have begun trialling real-time facial recognition surveillance in public spaces with no parliamentary process and no independent oversight. This is the sixth expansion of police powers in two years. I wish this government had the same energy for the housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis or the crisis of men's violence against women and children.
On the ground, things are more encouraging. I attended the launch with Jon Edwards, who built WA's fastest EV charger — 400kW, solar and battery powered, keeps running when the grid goes down — because he decided Perth needed better infrastructure and got on with it. That's the spirit the Government should be matching, not trailing behind.
I've been door-knocking in Secret Harbour with our by-election candidate Rhi Davies, and the conversations are consistent: people are fed up with the major parties and looking for something real. Housing. Cost of living. A government that actually solves things.
On 21 August, Jess Beckerling MLC and I co-hosted a First Nations roundtable at Parliament House, bringing together members of the Wiyi Yani u Thangani delegation — including 20 WA women from the group that took 150 First Nations women to Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne — alongside Professor Anne Poelina, Dr Hannah McGlade, Corina Martin and representatives from the South West Aboriginal Women's Collective and Kimberley Aboriginal Women's Council.
We're also hosting a screening of Pursuit of Happiness — a 1987 film set in Fremantle about Australia's ties to the US war machine — alongside Sophie McNeill and Jordan Steele-John, with former Deputy Mayor Don Whittington hosting. Drawing the line between the Greens' history of opposing nuclear weapons and the work still ahead feels more relevant than ever.
Our office continues to operate as a DV Safe Phone drop-off point, a Breastfeeding is Welcome Everywhere space, and a recycling collection point through TerraCycle, Close the Loop and ReSmart.
We are currently recruiting a new Media Director. Tim Oliver leaves some very big shoes to fill. He has been extraordinary in raising the profile of the issues that we Green MPs do in Parliament and the community in the media. Under Tim, the Greens have been in the media more than ever before in WA, and we thank him not only for being great at what he does but for being great to work with too.
Header photo: Brad with Jon Edwards at the EV charger