Question Without Notice No. 172 asked in the Legislative Council on 28 March 2018 by Hon Michael Mischin
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
CORRUPTION AND CRIME COMMISSION — REPORT INTO TASERING INCIDENT — FREMANTLE
172. Hon MICHAEL MISCHIN to the Leader of the House representing the Attorney General:
I refer to the Attorney General's answer in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, 22 March 2018, to question without notice 194, asked by Mr Simon Millman MLA, member for Mount Lawley, about the Corruption and Crime Commission's ''Report into a Tasering Incident on 31 March 2017 at Fremantle'', in which the Attorney General advised that the government was seeking legal advice on whether any criminal or disciplinary offences have been committed by police, and suggested that Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr Nick Anticich, had been ''misbriefed'' and ''caused some perhaps embarrassment for himself''.
(1) Did the Attorney General or anyone in his office have a hand in drafting Mr Millman's question; and, if so, what was that involvement, and did he alert the Minister for Police to the proposed question and his proposed response?
(2) Did the Attorney General raise his concerns with the Minister for Police before he made his comments in Parliament; and, if so, when and what was her response?
(3) If no to (2), why not; has he done so since; and what was the minister's response?
(4) Did the Attorney General raise his concerns with the Premier before he made his comments in Parliament; and, if so, when and what was the Premier's response?
(5) If no to (4), why not; has he done so since; what was the Premier's response?
(6) Has the Attorney General written formally to the Commissioner of Police to raise his concerns; and, if he has, will he table that correspondence?
(7) If no to (6), why not; and does he intend to do so?
(8) Was the decision for the government to seek legal advice from the State Solicitor's Office prompted by Mr Anticich's comments, or following discussion with other ministers; and, if so, which?
The PRESIDENT: Before you answer that, Leader of the House, I have been listening to some of the questions over the last couple of days and I will say, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, that today's and yesterday's questions would not actually fit in with what is described as being concise, so I think you might give some thought to how you craft your questions so that they actually fit with what is necessarily concise. I hope the answer that is provided is in a much more concise form than the question was.
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
It is! Thanks, Madam President, and I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(8) On Wednesday, 21 March 2018, the Attorney General and the Minister for Police, Hon Michelle Roberts, MLA, addressed the media and advised that the government would be seeking legal advice from the State Solicitor on the steps the government may take in response to the reports tabled by the Corruption and Crime Commission that day. When that advice is received, the government will consider it in due course and may choose to inform the Parliament of any action taken, if it is appropriate to do so.