❓ Question regarding alleged electoral fraud in the Town of Port Hedland's local government election, specifically concerning the Mayor's claims and the police investigation. The response clarifies the police findings and limitations in providing information.
AnsweredQoN 1822Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to question without notice No. 1161 asked in the Legislative Council on 20 November 2018 by Hon Martin Aldridge to the Minister
representing the Minister for Electoral Affairs in relation to the
Electoral Commissioner's referral on 17 April 2018 of suspected electoral fraud
in the Pilbara to the Western Australia Police Force, and page 33 of the Town of
Port Hedland minutes of 24 October 2018, and ask: (a) was the Mayor of Port
Hedland advised that there is insufficient
evidence into his claims of mail fraud evidence that he obtained in the
last Local Government election; (b) if yes to (a), on what date was the Mayor informed; (c) has the Mayor submitted
a FOI application(s) for all documents in relation to this investigation; (d) if yes to (c), were
documents supplied and on what date; (e) if yes to (d), will
the Minister table the FOI documents; (f) did the police send
Mayor Blanco a letter stating that the investigation had been reopened; (g) if yes to (f), on what date; (h) is it correct that “The investigation has
been closed and the Mayor’s understanding is that the police have evidence of
mail tampering and fraud in relation to the Town of Port Hedland election, but
they do not have enough evidence to charge a specific person.”; (i) is it correct that “The Department of Public
Prosecutions is not accepting expert witness evidence on handwriting.”; (j) if yes to (i), why not; and (k) the
Mayor has stated that in his opinion, “that there was fraud, corruption and
mail tampering in the last Local Government elections.”: (i) is there any evidence to support this statement; (ii) if yes to (k)(i), will the Minister provide that evidence; and (iii) if no to (k)(i), is
the Mayor at liberty to continue by inference to suggest there was corruption?
representing the Minister for Electoral Affairs in relation to the
Electoral Commissioner's referral on 17 April 2018 of suspected electoral fraud
in the Pilbara to the Western Australia Police Force, and page 33 of the Town of
Port Hedland minutes of 24 October 2018, and ask: (a) was the Mayor of Port
Hedland advised that there is insufficient
evidence into his claims of mail fraud evidence that he obtained in the
last Local Government election; (b) if yes to (a), on what date was the Mayor informed; (c) has the Mayor submitted
a FOI application(s) for all documents in relation to this investigation; (d) if yes to (c), were
documents supplied and on what date; (e) if yes to (d), will
the Minister table the FOI documents; (f) did the police send
Mayor Blanco a letter stating that the investigation had been reopened; (g) if yes to (f), on what date; (h) is it correct that “The investigation has
been closed and the Mayor’s understanding is that the police have evidence of
mail tampering and fraud in relation to the Town of Port Hedland election, but
they do not have enough evidence to charge a specific person.”; (i) is it correct that “The Department of Public
Prosecutions is not accepting expert witness evidence on handwriting.”; (j) if yes to (i), why not; and (k) the
Mayor has stated that in his opinion, “that there was fraud, corruption and
mail tampering in the last Local Government elections.”: (i) is there any evidence to support this statement; (ii) if yes to (k)(i), will the Minister provide that evidence; and (iii) if no to (k)(i), is
the Mayor at liberty to continue by inference to suggest there was corruption?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
3 April 2019
Responded by
Minister for Environment representing the Minister for Police
Response time
13 days
The Western Australian Police advise:
(a) Yes.
(b) September 2018.
(c), (d) and (e) The names of FOI applicants (and the content of their applications) is personal information and, in accordance with the position of the Information Commissioner, that information is not publicly disclosed.
(f) There are no records or running sheet entries that the Mayor of Port Hedland was ever advised by South Hedland Detectives either by letter or other means that the investigation had been reopened.
(g) Not applicable
(h) There is no evidence to show the mail was ever tampered with. There is insufficient evidence to proceed with Electoral Fraud.
(i) - (j) As these questions relate to the procedures of the Department of Public Prosecutions, the Western Australia Police Force are not in a position to provide an answer. It is recommended that the Honourable Member refer the question to the Minister representing the Attorney General.
(k) As per answer (h), the only offence identified by the WA Police Force was that of electral fraud. Evidence to show offences of corruption and mail tampering were never confirmed.
(i) Not applicable.
(ii) Not applicable.
(iii) Not applicable.
(a) Yes.
(b) September 2018.
(c), (d) and (e) The names of FOI applicants (and the content of their applications) is personal information and, in accordance with the position of the Information Commissioner, that information is not publicly disclosed.
(f) There are no records or running sheet entries that the Mayor of Port Hedland was ever advised by South Hedland Detectives either by letter or other means that the investigation had been reopened.
(g) Not applicable
(h) There is no evidence to show the mail was ever tampered with. There is insufficient evidence to proceed with Electoral Fraud.
(i) - (j) As these questions relate to the procedures of the Department of Public Prosecutions, the Western Australia Police Force are not in a position to provide an answer. It is recommended that the Honourable Member refer the question to the Minister representing the Attorney General.
(k) As per answer (h), the only offence identified by the WA Police Force was that of electral fraud. Evidence to show offences of corruption and mail tampering were never confirmed.
(i) Not applicable.
(ii) Not applicable.
(iii) Not applicable.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.