❓ A parliamentary question probes the Water Resources Minister's past ties to Brian Burke and the appointment of an acting department head. The Minister defends the appointment and details his evolving relationship with Burke.
AnsweredQoN 570Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES - BRIAN BURKE
I refer the minister to his maiden speech in this house, in which he said, among other things - To the former Premier, Brian Burke, I owe a special debt of thanks. (1) What exactly has the minister done over his parliamentary career to repay that special debt of thanks? (2) Can the minister explain why Mr Paul Frewer became acting head of the Department of Water under the minister, despite not being on the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards’ short list for the position? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
I refer the minister to his maiden speech in this house, in which he said, among other things - To the former Premier, Brian Burke, I owe a special debt of thanks. (1) What exactly has the minister done over his parliamentary career to repay that special debt of thanks? (2) Can the minister explain why Mr Paul Frewer became acting head of the Department of Water under the minister, despite not being on the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards’ short list for the position? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) I think the member is under some misunderstanding in that he said that Mr Frewer was not on the short list of candidates. Mr Frewer was already in the acting position. Someone had to be put into the acting position. I think he has done a very good job as the Acting Director General of the Department of Water. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
(2) Can the minister explain why Mr Paul Frewer became acting head of the Department of Water under the minister, despite not being on the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards’ short list for the position? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) I think the member is under some misunderstanding in that he said that Mr Frewer was not on the short list of candidates. Mr Frewer was already in the acting position. Someone had to be put into the acting position. I think he has done a very good job as the Acting Director General of the Department of Water. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) I think the member is under some misunderstanding in that he said that Mr Frewer was not on the short list of candidates. Mr Frewer was already in the acting position. Someone had to be put into the acting position. I think he has done a very good job as the Acting Director General of the Department of Water. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
(1)-(2) I think the member is under some misunderstanding in that he said that Mr Frewer was not on the short list of candidates. Mr Frewer was already in the acting position. Someone had to be put into the acting position. I think he has done a very good job as the Acting Director General of the Department of Water. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
(2) Can the minister explain why Mr Paul Frewer became acting head of the Department of Water under the minister, despite not being on the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards’ short list for the position? Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) I think the member is under some misunderstanding in that he said that Mr Frewer was not on the short list of candidates. Mr Frewer was already in the acting position. Someone had to be put into the acting position. I think he has done a very good job as the Acting Director General of the Department of Water. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) I think the member is under some misunderstanding in that he said that Mr Frewer was not on the short list of candidates. Mr Frewer was already in the acting position. Someone had to be put into the acting position. I think he has done a very good job as the Acting Director General of the Department of Water. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
(1)-(2) I think the member is under some misunderstanding in that he said that Mr Frewer was not on the short list of candidates. Mr Frewer was already in the acting position. Someone had to be put into the acting position. I think he has done a very good job as the Acting Director General of the Department of Water. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Members opposite do not understand. There was not a short list in progress when he was put into that position. When a new department is set up, someone is brought in from another agency and that person goes through the process, and the process continues. The issue is that he has done a very good job and there has been national recognition of the way in which the department has been operating, and that recognition has come from a range of sources. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
The SPEAKER : I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The issue then is my relationship with Brian Burke, and that goes back to the fact that I worked for him on his campaigns back in the 1970s. I worked for him as a public officer within government in the mid-1980s. Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.H.D. Day interjected. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : Does the member want to hear the answer or not? If he wants to hear the answer, he might listen for a moment. I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
I was preselected in 1988 and I was elected in 1989. Brian Burke was no longer Premier or a member of Parliament at that time. However, he certainly played a role in my preselection because he did deals all over the place. It was only later that I came to recognise that often those deals were caught up in his ego and what he wanted to do, rather than what might have been good for the state. I was in this house when Brian Burke gave his final speech, and members of the National and Liberal Parties stood and applauded him. It was a standing ovation. It was not just I who was gullible and sucked in by Brian Burke; many members on the other side were also sucked in by him. I benefited from the fact that he had political power because I was preselected unopposed, and that would not have happened without his patronage. However, I soon realised that he was actually more about his own agenda, rather than what I thought was good for Western Australia. Therefore, over a period, which goes back many years now, I divorced myself from anything to do with Brian Burke. Part of my electorate has always included what was then his electorate, so I have received phone calls for assistance from people who were friends of Brian. If I knew those people, I would take up the issue, but as of about six or seven years ago, I would never take up anything on the recommendation of Brian Burke because his devious web has sucked in too many people on both sides of the chamber and throughout Western Australia, and I do not want to play any part in that web of deception.
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