❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier regarding the handling of the 2025 state election failures, specifically concerning the Electoral Commissioner, a contract with PersolKelly, and funding shortfalls. The Premier defends the government's position, emphasizing the independence of the Electoral Commission and increased funding.
AnsweredQoN 300Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Special inquiry—2025 state election
300. Mr Shane Love to
the Premier:
I refer to the Special Inquiry into the Planning and Delivery of the
2025 Western Australia State General Election: Report , which documents
the litany of failures in the lead-up to and the running of the state election,
largely due to resource constraints, poor decision-making and cultural problems
within the organisation.
(1) Will the Premier seek the WA Electoral
Commissioner's resignation?
(2) Will the Premier ask his Minister for
Electoral Affairs to urge the WA Electoral Commission to tear up its contract
with PersolKelly immediately following the local government elections?
(3) Can the Premier explain why his Expenditure
Review Committee shortchanged the WAEC approximately $12 million of its ask for
funding in 2024?
300. Mr Shane Love to
the Premier:
I refer to the Special Inquiry into the Planning and Delivery of the
2025 Western Australia State General Election: Report , which documents
the litany of failures in the lead-up to and the running of the state election,
largely due to resource constraints, poor decision-making and cultural problems
within the organisation.
(1) Will the Premier seek the WA Electoral
Commissioner's resignation?
(2) Will the Premier ask his Minister for
Electoral Affairs to urge the WA Electoral Commission to tear up its contract
with PersolKelly immediately following the local government elections?
(3) Can the Premier explain why his Expenditure
Review Committee shortchanged the WAEC approximately $12 million of its ask for
funding in 2024?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I thank
the member for the question. It is important to get these issues straight,
because if a member of the public listened to the member over here, they would
be highly distracted and, quite frankly, would be living on falsehoods. It is
very clear that the 2017 election cost around $18.5 million, the 2021 election cost
$26.3 million and the 2025 election cost $44.7 million. So let us stop this
nonsense that the people have been shortchanged and that the WAEC was somehow
shortchanged and undercut in relation to its funding. That is not true.
The tradition for a long time
has been that the Electoral Commission has spent what it needs to spend in
relation to elections. Ultimately, it works with the Department of Treasury and
Finance to ensure that it has the funding to cover the elections. Now, that is
not a process that we are involved in, for good reason. We do not want
governments interfering in the Electoral Commission. Indeed, it is independent
because it needs to be independent. This is about our democratic system. It is
a system of which we are very proud and a system of which many people around
the world would be envious. After the local government elections, the acting
Electoral Commissioner has advised that he will be reviewing the PersolKelly contract
in the context of future operational requirements. This is not something that
we will be getting involved in, because we do not
want, and we cannot have, the government interfering with the independent
umpire when it comes to the conduct of elections. This is a fundamental premise
of our democratic system, and that is the reason that we will not be interfering
with the Electoral Commission as the Leader of the Nationals WA would have us
do.
In relation to the Electoral
Commissioner, that position is also independent. There are processes under the
Electoral Act that we could follow, but, quite frankly, the acting Electoral
Commissioner is doing a good job, and the acting deputy commissioner is doing a
job.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook: As a result of that, people shall have
confidence. The Electoral Commission is focused on conducting the local
government elections in October, and that is the important part of what we
should be doing. But we should all think very carefully before we start making
careless comments about the future of the independent umpire for elections.
This is something we should all commit ourselves to. We should conduct
ourselves very carefully before we start passing comment or suggesting, by way
of questions, actions the government should take that would interfere with the
independent umpire.
the member for the question. It is important to get these issues straight,
because if a member of the public listened to the member over here, they would
be highly distracted and, quite frankly, would be living on falsehoods. It is
very clear that the 2017 election cost around $18.5 million, the 2021 election cost
$26.3 million and the 2025 election cost $44.7 million. So let us stop this
nonsense that the people have been shortchanged and that the WAEC was somehow
shortchanged and undercut in relation to its funding. That is not true.
The tradition for a long time
has been that the Electoral Commission has spent what it needs to spend in
relation to elections. Ultimately, it works with the Department of Treasury and
Finance to ensure that it has the funding to cover the elections. Now, that is
not a process that we are involved in, for good reason. We do not want
governments interfering in the Electoral Commission. Indeed, it is independent
because it needs to be independent. This is about our democratic system. It is
a system of which we are very proud and a system of which many people around
the world would be envious. After the local government elections, the acting
Electoral Commissioner has advised that he will be reviewing the PersolKelly contract
in the context of future operational requirements. This is not something that
we will be getting involved in, because we do not
want, and we cannot have, the government interfering with the independent
umpire when it comes to the conduct of elections. This is a fundamental premise
of our democratic system, and that is the reason that we will not be interfering
with the Electoral Commission as the Leader of the Nationals WA would have us
do.
In relation to the Electoral
Commissioner, that position is also independent. There are processes under the
Electoral Act that we could follow, but, quite frankly, the acting Electoral
Commissioner is doing a good job, and the acting deputy commissioner is doing a
job.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook: As a result of that, people shall have
confidence. The Electoral Commission is focused on conducting the local
government elections in October, and that is the important part of what we
should be doing. But we should all think very carefully before we start making
careless comments about the future of the independent umpire for elections.
This is something we should all commit ourselves to. We should conduct
ourselves very carefully before we start passing comment or suggesting, by way
of questions, actions the government should take that would interfere with the
independent umpire.
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