TRANSCRIPT:
It's not often a brand-new federal electorate is created.
In Western Australia, the seat of Bullwinkel is the latest example.
The first member for Bullwinkel will be elected at the upcoming federal election.
For local resident and sheep farmer Peter Boyle, the live sheep export issue is key to his economic livelihood.
"We've been farming here since 1855. I don't know where we are going to go next year, because there's huge reduction in sheep numbers all around us. We won't be able to buy shore sheep and fatten them for my type of market. It's going to be very difficult even to supply it for live shipping."
The federal government has announced it is banning live sheep exports by 2028.
The Coalition says it has a clear mandate to reverse the ban—promising to "Keep the Sheep" if it wins the upcoming election.
Nationals leader David Littleproud says the first step would be restoring trust with Middle Eastern trading partners.
"My first international trip will be to Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, to Morocco - to show them some respect, that we are an important part of their food security. And we should be a trusted partner that they can rely on. And when this madness has ended, and that they can rely on us to continue to send with the best animal welfare standards in the world."
But the fight for Bullwinkel is about more than just agriculture.
The new federal seat was introduced to accommodate Western Australia’s growing population - bringing WA’s total to 16 federal electorates.
Spanning Perth’s eastern suburbs and parts of the Wheatbelt, it bridges two very different communities - each with their own priorities.
Curtin University political expert, John Phillimore, says that mix makes it difficult to predict the outcome.
"Notionally a Labor seat, with a pretty close margin of two to three per cent. But I think most commentators would expect that in a normal federal election year, it would probably be a marginal Liberal seat because Labor got such a huge vote last time around."
For the Coalition, the key challenge is making rural issues resonate with suburban voters - where cost of living is the biggest concern.
At a small barbershop in the heart of the electorate, shop owner Hussein Naser says times are tough.
He has four kids, a mortgage and runs his own business—but with rising costs, he's struggling to keep up.
"I’ve had to cut the staff down because customers stopped spending enough money. We still have the same customers, but they don’t come as regularly as before. So some of them, every fortnight, they then come every month. And the people that come every month, they start coming from two to three months."
For Labor candidate Trish Cook, the economy is front and centre of her campaign.
But when she visited Bullwinkel recently, she was shielded from media questions on live exports—with [[Veterans' Affairs]] Minister Matt Keogh stepping in before she eventually responded.
Trish Cook was pressed on whether focusing too much on cost-of-living concerns could risk alienating farming communities.
"Well, I am campaigning on the issues that matter to the people. So, I am a nurse, I've been a nurse for a long time, I've lived in this area for 20 odd years. I know this area very well."
But for voters like Hussein Naser, the biggest issue isn’t just what politicians promise - it’s whether they follow through.
"Politicians will promise you lots of stuff. But if they promise ten things, how many will actually be done?"
And when it comes to the race for Bullwinkel, the answer may depend on party politics.
Unlike at the federal level, where the Coalition is united, the Nationals and Liberals in WA risk splitting the vote - especially if they clash on state issues.
That could give Labor the advantage - positioning itself as the stable, reliable option, particularly in suburban communities where cost-of-living is the top concern.
