CORRUPTION AND CRIME
COMMISSIONER — REAPPOINTMENT
589. Hon PETER COLLIER to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer to the letter from the
Premier to the Leader of the Opposition dated 7 April 2020 regarding the
appointment of a Corruption and Crime Commissioner, wherein the Premier said —
We have been supplied with a list of
the ongoing and emerging operational activities of the Commission which would
be interrupted by a change of Commissioner at this time, or by the absence of
any Commissioner (with an acting Commissioner stepping into the role).
(1) Why has the
government now chosen to leave the post of commissioner vacant and have only an
acting commissioner in place until sometime after the March 2021 election?
(2) Given the
alleged importance of having a Corruption and Crime Commissioner, why has the
government refused to appoint either of the other candidates who were
recommended as suitable?
(3) What operational activities is
the government concerned a new commissioner will not pursue?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The
honourable member is mistaken. The government has not chosen to leave the post
of commissioner vacant; rather, the government's efforts to reappoint
Hon John McKechnie, QC, have been frustrated and blocked by the Parliamentary
Liberal Party.
(2) I draw the
honourable member's attention to a quote from the letter from the Chief
Justice of Western Australia, Hon Peter Quinlan, on behalf of the CCC
nominating committee, which states —
� in the Committee's view,
the Hon John McKechnie QC is the outstanding nominee for the position. He has extensive experience and a demonstrated
capacity in the role, which he has carried out independently and with
great integrity. Indeed, this appointment is required only because of Mr McKechnie's
current term expiry. His reappointment will also provide continuity in the
position.
I firmly believe that Western Australia
should not be denied the outstanding candidate.
(3) Not
applicable. Given the statement in the answer to (2), the Premier believes that
the interests of Western Australia and, indeed, the CCC would be best served by
the institutional continuity that would be delivered by the reappointment of
Hon John McKechnie, QC.