❓ Premier Gallop deflects questions about vote rigging allegations within the Labor Party by stating an internal fact-finding process is underway and drawing a comparison to allegations against the Leader of the Opposition regarding Western Power.
AnsweredQoN 121Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I again refer the Premier to the allegations made by Senator Mark Bishop of vote rigging within the Labor Party. (1) When did the Premier first become aware of the allegations made by Senator Mark Bishop? (2) When did the Minister for Police first become aware of the allegations? (3) Has the Premier referred the allegations to the police? (4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(1) When did the Premier first become aware of the allegations made by Senator Mark Bishop? (2) When did the Minister for Police first become aware of the allegations? (3) Has the Premier referred the allegations to the police? (4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(2) When did the Minister for Police first become aware of the allegations? (3) Has the Premier referred the allegations to the police? (4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(3) Has the Premier referred the allegations to the police? (4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue.
What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(1) When did the Premier first become aware of the allegations made by Senator Mark Bishop? (2) When did the Minister for Police first become aware of the allegations? (3) Has the Premier referred the allegations to the police? (4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(2) When did the Minister for Police first become aware of the allegations? (3) Has the Premier referred the allegations to the police? (4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(3) Has the Premier referred the allegations to the police? (4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
(4) If not, why not, and when will the Premier refer them to the police? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) I became aware of those allegations at the same time as most other people. The first responsibility of the Labor Party is to determine the facts, which is exactly what will happen. Once the facts are determined, and should those facts indicate that there has been a breach of the law of Western Australia, of course the matter will be referred to the relevant authorities. However, the first responsibility is to determine the facts. I will draw an analogy for members. Members are aware that an allegation has been made about the payment of money from Western Power to a particular union in Western Australia. We are very interested to know what the Leader of the Opposition knows about that, when he first knew about it, who told him about it and what he did about it. What is more, we are very interested to know when the Leader of the Opposition or his staff last spoke to the former chief executive of Western Power. There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue. Mr J.H.D. Day: For very good reason. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
There is an allegation about those matters. On the surface, it is a very serious allegation. It has been referred to the relevant authority. To do what? To determine the facts. Once those facts are determined, the matter will either not warrant further inquiry or go to the relevant authorities. That is exactly what the Labor Party is doing about these issues. It has a responsibility to get the facts of the matter. When it has the facts of the matter, it will be in a position to know what may or may not have happened. What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue.
What is interesting is the approach we are adopting to this issue as opposed to the approach the Leader of the Opposition is adopting to the Western Power issue. He got the information, and what did he do with it? He scurried off to The West Australian when he knew it would be published in the Sunday Times . A lot of questions need to be answered by the Leader of the Opposition on this issue. Make no mistake; the fact that he did not answer them when they were put to him by the parliamentary secretary does not mean they will go away. We will keep pursuing this issue because we know that the former management of Western Power resisted the government policy on this issue.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: The member acknowledges that it did that. He just said that Western Power resisted it. What did the former Minister for Energy know about it? Let me ask him a question: did he talk to the former chief executive, Mr David Eiszele, about these matters after the change of government? Did he? Did the Leader of the Opposition speak to Mr David Eiszele about our reform program after we were elected? Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
Mr C.J. Barnett: I asked you a question about police allegations and about corruption. Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: Here we go. I have answered it. We will determine the facts of this matter. If those facts disclose that there has been a potential breach of the law, of course it will be passed on to the police, as the Attorney General made very clear last week.
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