❓ Opposition questions the Premier about his awareness of the Minister for Police's past fuel drive-off incident and the reasons for her appointment over the previous minister. The Premier avoids directly answering, expresses confidence in the Minister, and accuses the opposition of character assassination.
AnsweredQoN 569Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MINISTER FOR POLICE; ROAD SAFETY
569. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS to the Premier:
I have a
supplementary question. Was the Premier aware or was he not aware prior to
appointing the member for Scarborough as Minister for Police that she had done
a fuel drive-off without paying, and why did the Premier dump the member for
Hillarys in favour of someone with so little experience and no regard for the
law?
569. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS to the Premier:
I have a
supplementary question. Was the Premier aware or was he not aware prior to
appointing the member for Scarborough as Minister for Police that she had done
a fuel drive-off without paying, and why did the Premier dump the member for
Hillarys in favour of someone with so little experience and no regard for the
law?
AnswerView source ↗
Again —
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Albany, I have not given you the call. I would like to do
so at some stage today, but I am formally going to call you to order for the
second time today.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Again, the Labor Party sinks low. If the
member for Midland and the Leader of the Opposition —
Mrs M.H. Roberts : Did she tell you or not? It is about your
accountability.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Is the Leader of the Opposition part of
this question?
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the third time today.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker —
Mrs M.H. Roberts : Did you know?
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I have absolute confidence in the member
for Scarborough, the Minister for Police. She is an outstanding member of
Parliament. I understand the jealousy and resentment of those opposite. I
understand that very well. This is not only the member for Midland. People in
this state need to understand —
Mrs M.H. Roberts : The question is about you and your
knowledge. Did you know or did you not know when you appointed her?
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I have given you a supplementary; I do not expect
to hear you yelling across the chamber. I formally call you to order for the
second time today. Premier, I am going to remind you that it is 20 minutes to
three. We have been going in question time for 40 minutes, and we are yet to
complete the fifth question.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will conclude with this and make an
observation. During this attempted character assassination, the member asked —
Several members
interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Member for Collie–Preston, I am going to ask you to withdraw
that comment.
Mr M.P. MURRAY : I withdraw.
Questions
without Notice Resumed
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will conclude with this sentence.
Mr J.N. Hyde : Two months ago you said that the member for
Hillarys was the greatest police minister ever.
The SPEAKER : Member for Perth, do you want question time to continue? I hope you
do. I formally call you to order for the first time today.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I will attempt to conclude my comment for the third time. A
question of that nature—a clear attempt at character assassination,
asked by a senior front bench member of the Labor opposition, an experienced
member of Parliament and a former long-serving minister—is not only
inappropriate, but also could only have been asked with the full agreement and
concurrence of the Leader of the Opposition.
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Albany, I have not given you the call. I would like to do
so at some stage today, but I am formally going to call you to order for the
second time today.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Again, the Labor Party sinks low. If the
member for Midland and the Leader of the Opposition —
Mrs M.H. Roberts : Did she tell you or not? It is about your
accountability.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Is the Leader of the Opposition part of
this question?
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the third time today.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker —
Mrs M.H. Roberts : Did you know?
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland!
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I have absolute confidence in the member
for Scarborough, the Minister for Police. She is an outstanding member of
Parliament. I understand the jealousy and resentment of those opposite. I
understand that very well. This is not only the member for Midland. People in
this state need to understand —
Mrs M.H. Roberts : The question is about you and your
knowledge. Did you know or did you not know when you appointed her?
The SPEAKER : Member for Midland, I have given you a supplementary; I do not expect
to hear you yelling across the chamber. I formally call you to order for the
second time today. Premier, I am going to remind you that it is 20 minutes to
three. We have been going in question time for 40 minutes, and we are yet to
complete the fifth question.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will conclude with this and make an
observation. During this attempted character assassination, the member asked —
Several members
interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Member for Collie–Preston, I am going to ask you to withdraw
that comment.
Mr M.P. MURRAY : I withdraw.
Questions
without Notice Resumed
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I will conclude with this sentence.
Mr J.N. Hyde : Two months ago you said that the member for
Hillarys was the greatest police minister ever.
The SPEAKER : Member for Perth, do you want question time to continue? I hope you
do. I formally call you to order for the first time today.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : I will attempt to conclude my comment for the third time. A
question of that nature—a clear attempt at character assassination,
asked by a senior front bench member of the Labor opposition, an experienced
member of Parliament and a former long-serving minister—is not only
inappropriate, but also could only have been asked with the full agreement and
concurrence of the Leader of the Opposition.
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.