❓ Mr. Barnett questions the Premier about the reasons behind a search warrant and the government's response. The Premier clarifies the department's focus on Public Sector Management Act compliance and notes Mr. Burkett's resignation, emphasizing the unsubstantiated nature of the allegations at the time.
AnsweredQoN 628Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I have a supplementary question. The Premier said that his department was looking for the reasons behind the search warrant. Did he receive a response; and, if so, what was the response? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
The Government has never been informed of the nature of these allegations. Mr C.J. Barnett: You just said that you had asked about the process. Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: The Government has never been informed of the nature of these allegations. Mr C.J. Barnett: You just said that you had asked about the process. Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
The Government has never been informed of the nature of these allegations. Mr C.J. Barnett: You just said that you had asked about the process. Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
Mr C.J. Barnett: You just said that you had asked about the process. Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: The Government has never been informed of the nature of these allegations. Mr C.J. Barnett: You just said that you had asked about the process. Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
The Government has never been informed of the nature of these allegations. Mr C.J. Barnett: You just said that you had asked about the process. Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
Mr C.J. Barnett: You just said that you had asked about the process. Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: No, the department had to find out whether there were any issues relating to the Public Sector Management Act, as it has a responsibility to do. As it turned out, Mr Burkett resigned. He is no longer in the employ of the department. If the CCC does bring to light some issues, those matters will of course be put before the Government. I remind the member that when the Corruption and Crime Commission raised this matter, it made it very clear, and it reminded the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, that at that stage they were unsubstantiated allegations. That should be taken into account when considering the way in which it dealt with the issue.
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.