Kevin Hillier says he’s proud to be a boy from the west
When someone says, “You can take the boy out of the west but you can’t take the west out of the boy,” it’s usually derogatory as the person in question is from the western suburbs. But I wear being from the west as a badge of honour. While I don’t like everything that goes on in the west, I don’t have postcode bias or snobbery. We’re different but in a good way.
I have been reminded of that a few times in recent weeks as I know people who have gone that extra yard to do something for someone else. There was nothing in it for them except that feeling you get when you touch someone’s life. It’s not always life-changing stuff either; it can be as simple as a phone call to wish someone the best or to acknowledge an achievement or milestone. It isn’t exclusively western suburbs behaviour, but more about being a caring, sharing human being.
Postcode snobbery is real, though. How many times have you heard someone go on about how everything from the restaurants to the schools, to the shops and even the footy is so much better in the eastern suburbs? Just because it costs more, or pays more, doesn’t mean it’s better. Thankfully, house prices and expensive wine lists don’t define a person.
Contrary to the popular stereotype, we in the western suburbs are not all moccasin-wearing dole bludgers with half our teeth missing. And nor is everyone on the other side of the Westgate a pompous, aloof, chardonnay-sipping twit heading to the snow in a Range Rover.
But one area in which we have caught up, and probably even surpassed, the east is traffic congestion, although that’s hardly something to boast about. We’re resource-poor, but a lot of that is because of how we stand politically, as pollies don’t have to throw dollar-laden promises at us to keep their seats.
The Opposition tends to use our seats as training grounds for up-and-coming candidates and that won’t change for a long time. I like the honesty, loyalty and transparency of my friends in the west. They don’t judge, they’re there when I need them and when I don’t, and vice-versa. ■
If you have any news or events, let me know at kevin@howdypartnersmedia. com.au
