❓ Opposition MP Mark McGowan questions the Minister for Police about the deployment of 50 police officers to the Roe 8 protest, suggesting resources could have been better used given rising crime rates. The Minister defends the deployment, stating it was based on police intelligence and operational decisions, not government direction.
AnsweredQoN 1010Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ROE HIGHWAY STAGE 8 — POLICE PRESENCE
1010. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Minister for
Police:
I have a supplementary question.
With reports of around 50 police officers plus patrolling in the Roe 8 area and
figures released today showing crime —
Mr
F.A. Alban interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Swan Hills, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
M. McGOWAN : I will start again, Mr Speaker. With reports today that at
least 50 police officers were present at this protest and figures released
today showing crimes against the person are up by a staggering 27 per cent
since this time last year, could these police resources not have been better
used?
1010. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Minister for
Police:
I have a supplementary question.
With reports of around 50 police officers plus patrolling in the Roe 8 area and
figures released today showing crime —
Mr
F.A. Alban interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Swan Hills, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
M. McGOWAN : I will start again, Mr Speaker. With reports today that at
least 50 police officers were present at this protest and figures released
today showing crimes against the person are up by a staggering 27 per cent
since this time last year, could these police resources not have been better
used?
AnswerView source ↗
What a ridiculous question. We
resource police in this state to perform a wide range of functions to protect
our community and maintain law and order. Right across the state, police
perform all sorts of functions. They perform traffic functions, they intervene
in domestic violence incidences and they respond to calls from the community.
Yes, they are available —
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : The community of Western Australia can be reassured that this
state government resources our police officers to keep the community safe and
to maintain order for a wide range of activities. Had things gone pear-shaped
at Roe 8, the police would have been there to intervene.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Butler, I call you to order for the first time; Member for Willagee,
for the second time; and Minister for Health, for the first time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : I want to make it very clear to everybody in this Parliament
that there was no direction from the government with respect to the protest
activity at Roe 8. The police acted in response to their intelligence gathering
with respect to their monitoring of social media. The commissioner makes his
decisions to deploy his people where he chooses—where they need to be
to keep the community safe and maintain order. He does a good job. I support
him in his job, and so should members opposite.
Mr
N.W. Morton interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Forrestfield, that is finished!
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I call you to order for the second time. The
question is finished.
resource police in this state to perform a wide range of functions to protect
our community and maintain law and order. Right across the state, police
perform all sorts of functions. They perform traffic functions, they intervene
in domestic violence incidences and they respond to calls from the community.
Yes, they are available —
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : The community of Western Australia can be reassured that this
state government resources our police officers to keep the community safe and
to maintain order for a wide range of activities. Had things gone pear-shaped
at Roe 8, the police would have been there to intervene.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Butler, I call you to order for the first time; Member for Willagee,
for the second time; and Minister for Health, for the first time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : I want to make it very clear to everybody in this Parliament
that there was no direction from the government with respect to the protest
activity at Roe 8. The police acted in response to their intelligence gathering
with respect to their monitoring of social media. The commissioner makes his
decisions to deploy his people where he chooses—where they need to be
to keep the community safe and maintain order. He does a good job. I support
him in his job, and so should members opposite.
Mr
N.W. Morton interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Forrestfield, that is finished!
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cockburn, I call you to order for the second time. The
question is finished.
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.