❓ Opposition questions the Premier about inadequate resourcing for electronic monitoring in regional WA, leading to failures in family and domestic violence prevention. Premier defends the government's investment and implementation of new laws, citing mobile coverage limitations.
AnsweredQoN 43Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Family and domestic violence—Mobile phone black
spots—Regions
43. Mr Basil Zempilas to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. After spending weeks trying
to convince the public that mobile phone black spots are to blame for a lack of
electronic monitoring in the regions, will the Premier now admit that it is
because his government has not properly resourced this initiative, at a cost to
victims in regional Western Australia?
spots—Regions
43. Mr Basil Zempilas to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. After spending weeks trying
to convince the public that mobile phone black spots are to blame for a lack of
electronic monitoring in the regions, will the Premier now admit that it is
because his government has not properly resourced this initiative, at a cost to
victims in regional Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
Apart from the fact
that the member opposite provided an ample preamble to his supplementary question,
a point that I noted Mr Speaker provided ample instruction on to both sides of
Parliament during the last sitting week, I can remind the member that we have
provided significant resources. This is not a question of resourcing; this is a
question of nation-leading laws being implemented after they were passed by
this Parliament late last year. These laws were passed just three short months
ago. Obviously, we are continuing to learn more about this technology as it is
deployed across regional and remote Western Australia. It is a point of fact
that electronic monitoring equipment relies upon mobile coverage and sometimes that
will not provide sufficient support in some areas. That is just common sense. But
we know that judicial officers have ample options available to them. The
threshold question they have to answer is: Should this person be paroled or
bailed? Once they have answered that question, they then look at the options
and the opportunities to monitor that person in the community. If the judicial
officer has answered the question of whether a person should be bailed and has
formed the view that, yes, they should, the judicial officer then makes a call
about what arrangements should be put in place. Because of my government, they
now have the option of electronic monitoring. Because of my government's
investment—the largest investment in the state's history in family and
domestic violence—people are safer in the community today.
that the member opposite provided an ample preamble to his supplementary question,
a point that I noted Mr Speaker provided ample instruction on to both sides of
Parliament during the last sitting week, I can remind the member that we have
provided significant resources. This is not a question of resourcing; this is a
question of nation-leading laws being implemented after they were passed by
this Parliament late last year. These laws were passed just three short months
ago. Obviously, we are continuing to learn more about this technology as it is
deployed across regional and remote Western Australia. It is a point of fact
that electronic monitoring equipment relies upon mobile coverage and sometimes that
will not provide sufficient support in some areas. That is just common sense. But
we know that judicial officers have ample options available to them. The
threshold question they have to answer is: Should this person be paroled or
bailed? Once they have answered that question, they then look at the options
and the opportunities to monitor that person in the community. If the judicial
officer has answered the question of whether a person should be bailed and has
formed the view that, yes, they should, the judicial officer then makes a call
about what arrangements should be put in place. Because of my government, they
now have the option of electronic monitoring. Because of my government's
investment—the largest investment in the state's history in family and
domestic violence—people are safer in the community today.
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