NOTE - Since creating this, we have had an amended version with an 'apology' from Ben Harvey. The amended piece still mocks people for existing and references an 'average BMI of 60'. "A handful of poorly-worded sentences... offended a lot of people" is not an apology. The column was bigotry, not a momentary lapse. 

This week, The West Australian published a column about the Perth Royal Show that mocked people in larger bodies, disabled people and their carers. (link here) I am writing to request a formal public apology from the author and from the editors who approved it for publication.

The column's main argument is actually one I agree with - that the Royal Show has become too expensive and has lost touch with the agricultural community it was created to celebrate. I share the belief that entry, food, novelty pieces of plastic and showbags cost too much. An event that once brought farmers and city families together now relies on the fear of missing out, selling things people don't need at prices many families can't afford. That could have been a strong column about cost of living, commercialism and who gets left out of community events. Instead, the author chose to make people the target.

The column told readers that "the average BMI of a show attendee was about 60".

It called a man who won a raffle a "salad dodger" and joked that his ticket number, 48D, "could have been his bra size". 

It described people "so fat they were getting around on mobility scooters meant for the elderly". 

It suggested that people should spend their money on Ozempic instead of showbags.

Most upsettingly, it complained that many had their "bloody NDIS carers" with them, and asked how much that was costing taxpayers.

Each of those lines targets people for being seen in public. Fat people eating at a show. People on low incomes spending a little on a day out. Disabled people using the mobility aids and support workers that make it possible for them to take part in everyday life. People with disability in Western Australia already face stares, suspicion and a public conversation that treats their supports as a burden. A columnist with a large platform has added to that for the sake of a laugh. Nobody can tell what is happening in a stranger's body or life by looking at them. Weight is shaped by medical history, genetics, medication, poverty, trauma, disability and so much more. When a newspaper mocks fat bodies, it tells every fat reader what it thinks of them. It also tells every young person reading over a parent's shoulder that their body is something to laugh at.

The blame for overpriced showbags belongs with the companies setting those prices and the systems that keep people struggling. Rent, groceries and power bills keep rising. People reach for small comforts, a bit of nostalgia or a day away from worries. That reflects the world we have built, and it is no reason for ridicule.

I went to the Royal Show a few days before turning 16, while deep in an eating disorder. That day was spent counting steps, feeling fear and disgust at the food vans, and searching for an hour for one snack that felt allowed. I was so jealous of the people enjoying showbags and fair food.

I write this not to blame or shame. We live in a fatphobic world, where fat jokes feature in just about every hit comedy film, where fat is wielded as an insult and where thinness is conflated with health and moral superiority (The Politics of Smallness - Butterfly Foundation).

That said, I seek public accountability.

The responsibility does not rest with the author alone. This column passed through at least one editor before it reached print. The West Australian decided it was fit to publish, in 2026, to a readership that includes the very people it mocks.

I am asking The West Australian to remove the column and publish a formal apology to people in larger bodies, to disabled people and to their carers. I am asking the author to make that apology personally.

I expect better from our state's newspaper.