CORONAVIRUS —
POLICE — G2G PASS
466. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Police:
Before I ask my question, on behalf
of the Leader of the Liberal Party, the member for Cottesloe, I welcome year 11
John XXIII College students who are here in the gallery today.
I
refer to the G2G PASS application process for entry into Western Australia and
the number of people being rejected multiple times when applying for
compassionate reasons, like Emma Potter, who wants to visit her dying mother.
(1) Does the
minister think it is acceptable that cases like Emma's get dealt with
only after the media exposes the failure of the system?
(2) Will the
minister publish the conditions people are required to meet to qualify for
entry under the category of ''extraordinary circumstances''?
Mr P.
PAPALIA replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for her question. As the member
knows, responsibility for the supervision of G2G passes lies with the
State Emergency Coordinator. He uses the police as his assets when responding
to requests for G2G passes. I have no idea about individual applications. I have
taken the time to seek advice from the Commissioner of Police, the acting
Commissioner of Police, and also the Operation Tide commander, Deputy Commissioner
Gary Dreibergs, on this matter. They have been absolutely clear in their
response. It is a matter of fact that when someone's initial
application is rejected, that is due to a lack of provision of evidence to
support their application for exemption under compassionate or any other
grounds. In the event that their application is rejected, they receive
notification—via email generally—which states that they have to provide further evidence. I do not
know about this particular case as I am not familiar with it, and nor
should I be. On a day-to-day basis, I am not aware of individual cases.
Invariably, people reapply without adjusting their application, and they
reapply again. They reapply multiple times without changing their application
and without referring to the advice that they have been provided by the police
in response to their initial applications. Consequently, their application gets
rejected. No matter how many times someone reapplies in the same fashion—that
is, by failing to supply additional information—it will be rejected. I absolutely support the police doing
that. They are defending the state against COVID. They are keeping us
all safe. The measures that are applied by the police and other authorities at
the borders and elsewhere around the state ensure that we are able to benefit
from the economic benefits that the Premier referred to and the lifestyle
benefits we enjoy. We are able to meet here without a mask and without social
distancing. All of those facts confirm that we benefit from the measures that
are taken. I do not resile in any way from supporting the police in the
performance of their duties.
With respect to the specific matter,
I confirm that there is no way that any appearance in the media or any
appearance on a talkback show has any impact at all on the police conducting
their G2G —
Several members interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA: I know that most of the time, the
police do not even know when these claims are made. I know that what remains of the Liberal Party in Western Australia
listens assiduously to Liam Bartlett's show on 6PR, but I can
guarantee them that not many other people do. I tell you this: the police
governing G2G do not.