❓ Mr. Birney questions the Premier about alleged ministerial interference in police operations regarding Asian gang violence, citing the Wood Royal Commission. Dr. Gallop denies a directive was issued and defends the government's right to address community concerns about gang violence.
AnsweredQoN 703Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the Premier to the alarming report on the front page of The West Australian today that the Commissioner of Police refused a directive from the Minister for Police to re-figure the Police Service staff structure to re-form the specialist Asian gang squad. (1) Is the Premier aware that the New South Wales Wood royal commission into police corruption concluded that, “The Commission considers that within the Service budget . . . the Commissioner of Police, as chief executive officer, should have the authority to determine the staffing structure, . . . and the deployment of staff required to carry out his statutory duties”? (2) Why is the Minister for Police attempting to interfere with the independent decision-making role of the police commissioner, in direct contradiction to the Wood royal commission and section 5 of the Western Australian Police Act 1892? (3) What action will the Premier take to protect the operational independence of the Western Australia Police Service? Dr GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(1) Is the Premier aware that the New South Wales Wood royal commission into police corruption concluded that, “The Commission considers that within the Service budget . . . the Commissioner of Police, as chief executive officer, should have the authority to determine the staffing structure, . . . and the deployment of staff required to carry out his statutory duties”? (2) Why is the Minister for Police attempting to interfere with the independent decision-making role of the police commissioner, in direct contradiction to the Wood royal commission and section 5 of the Western Australian Police Act 1892? (3) What action will the Premier take to protect the operational independence of the Western Australia Police Service? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(2) Why is the Minister for Police attempting to interfere with the independent decision-making role of the police commissioner, in direct contradiction to the Wood royal commission and section 5 of the Western Australian Police Act 1892? (3) What action will the Premier take to protect the operational independence of the Western Australia Police Service? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(3) What action will the Premier take to protect the operational independence of the Western Australia Police Service? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(1) Is the Premier aware that the New South Wales Wood royal commission into police corruption concluded that, “The Commission considers that within the Service budget . . . the Commissioner of Police, as chief executive officer, should have the authority to determine the staffing structure, . . . and the deployment of staff required to carry out his statutory duties”? (2) Why is the Minister for Police attempting to interfere with the independent decision-making role of the police commissioner, in direct contradiction to the Wood royal commission and section 5 of the Western Australian Police Act 1892? (3) What action will the Premier take to protect the operational independence of the Western Australia Police Service? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(2) Why is the Minister for Police attempting to interfere with the independent decision-making role of the police commissioner, in direct contradiction to the Wood royal commission and section 5 of the Western Australian Police Act 1892? (3) What action will the Premier take to protect the operational independence of the Western Australia Police Service? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(3) What action will the Premier take to protect the operational independence of the Western Australia Police Service? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
(1)-(3) I begin by pointing out to the member for Kalgoorlie that the assumption behind his question is wrong. Let us start by getting the facts right on this issue. The Minister for Police did not issue a directive to the police commissioner. The Minister for Police, who is in touch with what is going on in Western Australia, reflected the concerns of the community about gang violence in Western Australia by telling the police commissioner, on behalf of the people of Western Australia, whom she represents in my Government, that the Government wanted an improved performance. Under the previous Government, there was no distinction between the police commissioner and the minister. Do members know why? The minister was irrelevant. Why do we have responsible government? Why do we have elections? We have elections to get people in this Parliament to respond to the needs of our community. The police commissioner is a big and capable person. He understands how our political system works. As a Government, we have said there is a problem. Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
Dr GALLOP: There is no interference with the commissioner. What a load of nonsense! The minister has said to the Police Service - as we said in opposition and as we will continue to say in government - that this State has a problem with gangs. What does that problem mean? The member for Perth can tell us. Last Friday night, he and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the wonderful reserve that we call Hyde Park. Many Western Australian families visit the park because it is one of the finest in this State. Tragically, acts of violence there led to the death of a Western Australian citizen. The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
The member for Kalgoorlie comes into the Parliament and tries to lecture us about our responsibilities. This Government has a responsibility to ask the Police Service to do whatever it can to ensure these things do not happen. That involves gathering intelligence about the way the gangs operate and using it to take proactive action so that murders such as that which occurred on the weekend do not happen again. The Minister for Police has my full support, and I know she has the full support of the people of this State. We now have a real, proactive Government in Western Australia that is acting on behalf of the people of this State.
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