CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms PRICE (Durack) (10:48): I'm very proud to advise the House that, earlier this month, seven Australians from my electorate of Durack received a King's birthday honour. Congratulations to Robert Gillam and the honourable Brendon Grylls on being awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for their service to Western Australia in agriculture and the state parliament respectively.

Elsta Foy and Anna Vitenbergs were awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for their work in Indigenous health advocacy and reconciliation and conservation in the Pilbara. Nigel Elliott received the Australian Fire Service Medal for his distinguished service to our fire services. Senior Constable Andrew Seery received the Australian Police Medal for his service to the police service, and Danielle Hill was awarded the Public Service Medal, recognising her service to the public sector.

Congratulations to them all. Last week I had the pleasure of hosting students, alongside my colleague Dean Smith, from Baynton West Primary School from Karratha. They were here in Parliament House.

I spoke to them the week before at their school in Karratha as they were preparing for their journey to Canberra. When we met in Karratha I asked them what they would do if they were Prime Minister for the day. Here are some of the year 6 group's views: 'reduce school days from five to four; remove social media ban; remove fuel excise tax permanently; change housing rules so we can build more houses; more funding for mental health support; shelters for homeless people; outlaw false advertising; stop climate change; get rid of AI; reduce cost of education; no-one goes hungry; more airline competition; and more funding to support sports for kids.' I think everyone in this House would be pretty impressed with these year 6s from Bayton West.

I am confident our future is in incredibly good hands, judging by the responses of this group of students. Earlier this week, the WA state opposition introduced a bill to parliament to strengthen minimum lighting requirements for trains. The bill would enforce flashing beacons, side lighting and more reflectors on trains, which are not required under the national act.

These are important changes for the safety of our regional communities. Of the more than 20,000 rail crossings in Australia, around 80 per cent are passive, only having a stop or give way sign. The introduction of the bill follows two decades of advocacy across Australia for stricter lighting standards.

Lara Jenson from my electorate of Durack has led the charge, following the tragic death of her brother Christian and his friends in a level crossing crash 26 years ago. She has been fighting for this for 26 years. I implore the WA government to support this bill, which will put Western Australia at the forefront of rail safety reform and provide greater protection for those in the region.