Mr. Omodei questions the Minister for Police and Emergency Services regarding conflicting accounts of legal advice concerning the disclosure of the Leader of the Opposition's breath test results. The Minister responds by quoting the Police Commissioner's statements on the matter.

AnsweredQoN 258Legislative Assembly
Asked
2 June 2005
Portfolio
Police and Emergency Services

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the report in today’s The West Australian in which the minister claims that the Commissioner of Police had advice from the State Solicitor’s Office that it was appropriate for her to disclose the result of the Leader of the Opposition’s breath test, which showed a reading under the legal limit. I refer further to the Police Commissioner’s revelation today that he gave the minister no such advice and, in fact, his only advice to her was that it was appropriate for him to brief the minister. Did the commissioner also advise the minister that it was legally appropriate for the minister to make this information available to the public? Mrs M.H. ROBERTS

AnswerView source ↗

I draw the member’s attention to comments the commissioner made on 6PR on 31 May in a segment that started at 9.05 am, when he said to Paul Murray - . . . I spoke to the Crown solicitors yesterday, and they said, it’s entirely appropriate for me to brief the minister on high-profile and controversial issues which affect her portfolio. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - And so I have a duty, as the CEO of a public sector agency, to do that, whether I like it or not. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Vasse to order for the first time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - You know, once I have released that information or given it to the Minister, the Minister has to make a judgement call on how the Minister uses it. In the conversation I had with the Commissioner of Police, that is fairly much what he said. He said that he had had a discussion with the State Solicitor’s Office and it advised him to the effect that he was obliged to pass that kind of information on to me and that once it had been passed on to me it was for my use in terms of my parliamentary duties.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I draw the member’s attention to comments the commissioner made on 6PR on 31 May in a segment that started at 9.05 am, when he said to Paul Murray - . . . I spoke to the Crown solicitors yesterday, and they said, it’s entirely appropriate for me to brief the minister on high-profile and controversial issues which affect her portfolio. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - And so I have a duty, as the CEO of a public sector agency, to do that, whether I like it or not. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Vasse to order for the first time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - You know, once I have released that information or given it to the Minister, the Minister has to make a judgement call on how the Minister uses it. In the conversation I had with the Commissioner of Police, that is fairly much what he said. He said that he had had a discussion with the State Solicitor’s Office and it advised him to the effect that he was obliged to pass that kind of information on to me and that once it had been passed on to me it was for my use in terms of my parliamentary duties.
I draw the member’s attention to comments the commissioner made on 6PR on 31 May in a segment that started at 9.05 am, when he said to Paul Murray - . . . I spoke to the Crown solicitors yesterday, and they said, it’s entirely appropriate for me to brief the minister on high-profile and controversial issues which affect her portfolio. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - And so I have a duty, as the CEO of a public sector agency, to do that, whether I like it or not. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Vasse to order for the first time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - You know, once I have released that information or given it to the Minister, the Minister has to make a judgement call on how the Minister uses it. In the conversation I had with the Commissioner of Police, that is fairly much what he said. He said that he had had a discussion with the State Solicitor’s Office and it advised him to the effect that he was obliged to pass that kind of information on to me and that once it had been passed on to me it was for my use in terms of my parliamentary duties.
The SPEAKER : Order! Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - And so I have a duty, as the CEO of a public sector agency, to do that, whether I like it or not. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Vasse to order for the first time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - You know, once I have released that information or given it to the Minister, the Minister has to make a judgement call on how the Minister uses it. In the conversation I had with the Commissioner of Police, that is fairly much what he said. He said that he had had a discussion with the State Solicitor’s Office and it advised him to the effect that he was obliged to pass that kind of information on to me and that once it had been passed on to me it was for my use in terms of my parliamentary duties.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - And so I have a duty, as the CEO of a public sector agency, to do that, whether I like it or not. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Vasse to order for the first time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - You know, once I have released that information or given it to the Minister, the Minister has to make a judgement call on how the Minister uses it. In the conversation I had with the Commissioner of Police, that is fairly much what he said. He said that he had had a discussion with the State Solicitor’s Office and it advised him to the effect that he was obliged to pass that kind of information on to me and that once it had been passed on to me it was for my use in terms of my parliamentary duties.
The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Vasse to order for the first time. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - You know, once I have released that information or given it to the Minister, the Minister has to make a judgement call on how the Minister uses it. In the conversation I had with the Commissioner of Police, that is fairly much what he said. He said that he had had a discussion with the State Solicitor’s Office and it advised him to the effect that he was obliged to pass that kind of information on to me and that once it had been passed on to me it was for my use in terms of my parliamentary duties.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It continues - You know, once I have released that information or given it to the Minister, the Minister has to make a judgement call on how the Minister uses it. In the conversation I had with the Commissioner of Police, that is fairly much what he said. He said that he had had a discussion with the State Solicitor’s Office and it advised him to the effect that he was obliged to pass that kind of information on to me and that once it had been passed on to me it was for my use in terms of my parliamentary duties.

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