❓ Mr. Whitby questions the Minister for Police about counterterrorism preparedness. The Minister assures the house of the police force's readiness and criticizes the Leader of the Opposition's alleged lack of support.
AnsweredQoN 954Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
POLICE — COUNTERTERRORISM PREPAREDNESS
954. Mr R.R. WHITBY to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the counterterrorism training exercise conducted
yesterday by the WA Police Force. Can the minister outline to the house why she
has confidence in the WA Police Force's ability and preparedness to
respond to a terrorist incident; and can the minister advise the house if she
is aware of anyone who does not back our police force in its efforts to protect
Western Australians?
954. Mr R.R. WHITBY to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the counterterrorism training exercise conducted
yesterday by the WA Police Force. Can the minister outline to the house why she
has confidence in the WA Police Force's ability and preparedness to
respond to a terrorist incident; and can the minister advise the house if she
is aware of anyone who does not back our police force in its efforts to protect
Western Australians?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Baldivis for his question and for his
support of our police force. For our government, the safety and security of all
Western Australians is absolutely paramount. Yesterday, WA Police Force jointly
hosted—it commenced here in Western Australia—Operation
Neighbour 2018. That was a counterterrorism simulated activity designed to
validate existing preventative response and information-sharing arrangements to
an evolving terrorist threat within Western Australia and South Australia. The
Premier and I yesterday saw firsthand the multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency
strategic approach that has been executed for this incident. Operation Neighbour
will go over three days. It started in Western Australia yesterday and
continues today in South Australia. It is a simulation of a complex terrorism
incident scenario. The scenario relies on contemporary terrorism threats such
as chemical and explosive devices, and attacks on crowded places and government
buildings. It is very realistic and builds on the work we continue to do with
the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the federal Department of
Home Affairs and other policing jurisdictions. It has been over a year in the
planning, and the Western Australia Police Force became part of this well over
a year ago, in conjunction with South Australia. Other agencies involved in the
exercise yesterday included some of our other emergency response groups that we
need to work with to practice those scenarios with—groups like St John
Ambulance and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services—as well as
ChemCentre and other government agencies and support. This wholly collaborative
exercise involved various state agencies, including Health, and our national
counterparts. Police do this routinely and they need to be prepared.
Only two weeks ago we saw
a terrorism event in Melbourne; right around Australia in recent years some 14
terrorism events thwarted. That is why all our police forces need to be
prepared and ready. Western Australia is very strongly linked in with that
national effort. In fact, today, with Peter Dutton, Minister for Home Affairs,
I and others have put out a statement about the importance of an exercise like
Operation Neighbour 2018, and what it means in terms of our collaboration and
readiness.
The member for Baldivis asked me whether I was aware of
anyone who did not support our police being prepared. I have a lot of confidence
in our police. We had various elements of the police force there yesterday,
doing their components—bomb squad, homicide squad, our forensic people,
as well as our general counterterrorism officers and command control officers.
But, sadly, only last week I heard on Channel Nine news that the Leader of the
Opposition does not support the police in Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : He said it was clear that Western Australian
police were not taking the lead on counterterrorism. That could not be further
from the truth. Our police, as the member for Scarborough sitting next to him
knows, are well and truly prepared. We have people with phenomenal expertise
right across the police force. On a daily basis they are dealing with their
state and national counterparts because the terrorism threat across Australia
is probable and all jurisdictions need to stand ready. This is not a reaction
to what happened in Melbourne two weeks ago or comments by people as irrelevant
as the Leader of the Opposition; this exercise was planned well in advance, and
they happen routinely and regularly so that our police force can stand at the
ready, along with other government agencies, to preferably thwart or deal with
a terrorism threat, should it occur.
Tabling of Paper
Mr D.T. REDMAN : The
minister earlier in her response quoted from what appears to be an official
document. I wonder whether you could ask her to table it, please.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, I will
make a decision on that. Minister, is it an official document?
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is
my notes, and you can see the writing on the bottom there. That is the bit I quoted.
The SPEAKER : Can I have a look at it, please, so no-one
gets upset.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : Sure.
The SPEAKER : No, it is not an official document.
support of our police force. For our government, the safety and security of all
Western Australians is absolutely paramount. Yesterday, WA Police Force jointly
hosted—it commenced here in Western Australia—Operation
Neighbour 2018. That was a counterterrorism simulated activity designed to
validate existing preventative response and information-sharing arrangements to
an evolving terrorist threat within Western Australia and South Australia. The
Premier and I yesterday saw firsthand the multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency
strategic approach that has been executed for this incident. Operation Neighbour
will go over three days. It started in Western Australia yesterday and
continues today in South Australia. It is a simulation of a complex terrorism
incident scenario. The scenario relies on contemporary terrorism threats such
as chemical and explosive devices, and attacks on crowded places and government
buildings. It is very realistic and builds on the work we continue to do with
the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the federal Department of
Home Affairs and other policing jurisdictions. It has been over a year in the
planning, and the Western Australia Police Force became part of this well over
a year ago, in conjunction with South Australia. Other agencies involved in the
exercise yesterday included some of our other emergency response groups that we
need to work with to practice those scenarios with—groups like St John
Ambulance and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services—as well as
ChemCentre and other government agencies and support. This wholly collaborative
exercise involved various state agencies, including Health, and our national
counterparts. Police do this routinely and they need to be prepared.
Only two weeks ago we saw
a terrorism event in Melbourne; right around Australia in recent years some 14
terrorism events thwarted. That is why all our police forces need to be
prepared and ready. Western Australia is very strongly linked in with that
national effort. In fact, today, with Peter Dutton, Minister for Home Affairs,
I and others have put out a statement about the importance of an exercise like
Operation Neighbour 2018, and what it means in terms of our collaboration and
readiness.
The member for Baldivis asked me whether I was aware of
anyone who did not support our police being prepared. I have a lot of confidence
in our police. We had various elements of the police force there yesterday,
doing their components—bomb squad, homicide squad, our forensic people,
as well as our general counterterrorism officers and command control officers.
But, sadly, only last week I heard on Channel Nine news that the Leader of the
Opposition does not support the police in Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : He said it was clear that Western Australian
police were not taking the lead on counterterrorism. That could not be further
from the truth. Our police, as the member for Scarborough sitting next to him
knows, are well and truly prepared. We have people with phenomenal expertise
right across the police force. On a daily basis they are dealing with their
state and national counterparts because the terrorism threat across Australia
is probable and all jurisdictions need to stand ready. This is not a reaction
to what happened in Melbourne two weeks ago or comments by people as irrelevant
as the Leader of the Opposition; this exercise was planned well in advance, and
they happen routinely and regularly so that our police force can stand at the
ready, along with other government agencies, to preferably thwart or deal with
a terrorism threat, should it occur.
Tabling of Paper
Mr D.T. REDMAN : The
minister earlier in her response quoted from what appears to be an official
document. I wonder whether you could ask her to table it, please.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members, I will
make a decision on that. Minister, is it an official document?
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : It is
my notes, and you can see the writing on the bottom there. That is the bit I quoted.
The SPEAKER : Can I have a look at it, please, so no-one
gets upset.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : Sure.
The SPEAKER : No, it is not an official document.
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.