Latest news with #RogerCook
West Australian
3 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Adam Hort says Labor's budget boost to hire new staff for GPS tracking an admission the scheme failed
The Opposition has seized on a $23 million funding boost for GPS tracking of family violence offenders as proof the scheme was previously under-resourced. The State Government insists the cash injection — to hire an extra 38 staff — is nothing unusual. But Shadow Police Minister Adam Hort called it an admission of failure. 'We had leaked letters, we had all sorts of information coming out from a system that was stretched, saying that this monitoring was not working and time and again Roger Cook said that the system was working,' he said. 'Now what we've seen is an admission by this Government in the Budget. They can spin it all they like, the Budget doesn't lie. He called it a 'final win' for the community, but said the Government should have 'come clean' in April when it was revealed magistrates in Bunbury and Albany were told GPS monitors could not be used in regional WA — where 41 of 107 repeat offenders were being monitored A leaked letter from the Justice Department to WA Police warned that community corrections would stop recommending electronic monitoring for regional offenders, due to an 'unacceptable risk' when equipment failed. At the time, Premier Roger Cook blamed 'technical limitations' and 'black spots' and denied there was any resourcing shortfall. On Thursday, Minister for Child Protection Jessica Stojkovski said the staffing boost was part of normal Budget processes. 'Whenever we bring in new programs, as they develop we look at how we adapt and fund them to meet the need that we're seeing,' she said. 'The two year trial was only limited to certain areas and it didn't include the whole State. 'So rolling the program out across the State, obviously, we were going to have some learnings, even as we started to roll it out. It's not even a 12 month old program.' Laws mandating the installation of GPS monitors on repeat domestic violence offenders came into effect last December. Ms Stojkovski denied victims of domestic violence were left unprotected, if GPS monitors didn't work. 'Western Australians have some of the strongest legislation in the country to protect victim survivors of domestic violence,' she said. 'This has been part of what we're doing, it is not the whole of what we're doing. 'Electronic monitoring was a bail condition, it was only ever required on a perpetrator if they had met other bail conditions so they were being allowed out on bail and were deemed to not be a risk to the community of to their victim survivor.'
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Dozens of extra staff hired to manage GPS tracking of domestic violence offenders months after issues emerged
The WA government will spend tens of millions of dollars hiring extra staff to manage the GPS tracking of some of the state's most serious domestic violence offenders. Under laws that took effect late last year, it has been effectively mandatory for serious, repeat family and domestic violence offenders to be electronically monitored when out in the community. Since then, 70 people have been charged over 94 breaches, according to WA Police. The Justice Department initially struggled to implement the laws, with the ABC revealing a court had been told monitoring outside of Perth was not possible. The government continued to play down the problems, saying magistrates should only release serious, repeat offenders on bail when it was safe to do so, with or without monitoring. At the time, Premier Roger Cook said he had not been advised staffing was behind the issues, despite the Justice Department recruiting for an extra 12 full-time equivalent positions. It has now emerged that an extra 38 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff will be added to the ranks of WA Police and the Justice Department, at a cost of around $23 million over the next four years. The opposition's corrective services spokesperson, Adam Hort, said that showed the government had not been up-front about issues with the mandatory monitoring and was now playing catch-up. "It's an admission by this government that they've rolled out a system undercooked, that needs extra resources," Mr Hort said. "We clearly haven't seen enough investment into this really, really important reform, and instead when it's called out they've said there's nothing to see here. "Well, the budget doesn't lie, the budget has the facts." The Justice Department said, as part of its $19.1 million boost, another 12 FTE positions would be added on top of those announced earlier in the year. "These additional funds will enhance monitoring and response capabilities in regional locations, as well as supporting victim-survivors through the court process," a spokesperson said. "The department has monitored implementation of the [legislation] since it came into effect to inform funding requests to government." Of those staff, six will be regionally based community corrections officers. Earlier in the year, the WA Police Union had raised concerns that its officers were being called on for routine maintenance in regional areas, including replacing flat batteries, when Justice officers could not respond. In an early-April letter explaining the decision not to support electronic monitoring in the regions at that stage, Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce wrote there could be delayed responses to "administrative issues" without police support, which he said created an "unacceptable risk". Mt Hort said that was "an admission that regional electronic monitoring was undercooked, understaffed and didn't have the resources that it needed from the beginning". WA Police will benefit from an extra $14 million, which it said would go towards 26 extra FTE staff. Police Minister Reece Whitby told parliament those funds had been requested "well before" issues became public earlier this year. Police Commissioner Col Blanch told budget estimates this month that police usually only got involved after a breach. Mr Blanch said the new staff would primarily support detectives, by doing tasks like preparing evidence for disclosure to the accused. "Having more family violence electronic monitors in the community no doubt results in more breaches of those monitors, or breaching of other offences that are now in the new act," he said. "So the team that we have focused on is the prosecution team, so our frontline police can remain in the field." The Justice Department said as of early July, 159 family and domestic violence offenders were being monitored under the legislation, with 38 living outside Perth. Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams said those police positions would help teams working in Perth on behalf of regionally based officers. "They also take a very proactive effort into engaging lawyers around prosecutions and trying to get earlier pleas, and working with investigators and defence lawyers to try and reduce the time taken to compile briefs and the like," he told estimates. In response to questions from Mr Hort, Commissioner Blanch said officers were not routinely changing batteries in trackers, but acknowledged they could be called on for those kinds of tasks. "The first thing we will do with the [Justice Department] is a risk assessment as to whether any administrative response needs to be done within the time frame prior to its arrival," he said. "We are purely there as a backup should a risk be assessed for other reasons. "If a battery runs out or there is a technical issue and we are concerned for the victim of that relationship, we may respond, but we will do our risk assessment first, noting that victim safety will always be our priority." Do you know more about this story? Contact Keane Bourke.
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Record-breaking NAIDOC basketball carnival at Bendat centre
A record-breaking 106 teams from across WA have just wrapped up a special tournament at the Bendat Basketball Centre, a three-day celebration of culture, community and connection through the power of sport. Players travelled from as far as the Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields, Kununurra, Leonora, Albany, Bunbury and other Great Southern regions to take part in the ninth — and easily the biggest — iteration of the NAIDOC Basketball Carnival. Boys, girls, men and women took the courts to compete in categories from under-10s to under 23s, but the event wasn't just about sport. Jayden Stack in the under-12 boys game for Binar. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian The event is put on by Basketball WA and Binar Futures, which is a not-for-profit charity that works with disadvantaged youth. Binar Futures founder and executive director Adam Desmond said this year's numbers were an incredible rise on last year, when they had just nine teams. 'This is the biggest NAIDOC basketball carnival we've ever seen here in WA; it's a massive milestone,' he said. Jean Coyle, 16 and Shayla Hart, 14, from Bunbury. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian Mr Desmond said the carnival was structured and competitive, with fixtures running over three full days, but it was as much about connection. 'We've had kids waiting all month to play,' he said. 'Some even showed up on the day hoping to get into a team. We try to make it work. 'NAIDOC is a very important time for Aboriginal people, and everyone, to come together and celebrate culture. This event brings hundreds of young people together in a positive space.' Northern Star Resources helped provide accommodation for some of the people who travelled long distances. Premier Roger Cook pays the carnival a visit. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian Premier Roger Cook was among politicians and other guests who attended the opening ceremony, which featured a welcome to country and cultural performances. The carnival also included family-friendly activations for all ages and an elder's room, a peaceful space offering a moment of rest, reflection and reconnection, as well as free health checks from more than 14 organisations. The event has become a key feature on WA's community sport calendar.
West Australian
4 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Hands off': Premier Roger Cooks says PBS not a bargaining chip amid Donald Trump's latest tariff threat
Premier Roger Cook has warned Donald Trump to keep his 'hands off' Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, saying the government's subsidies are 'not up for negotiation' amid the latest round of tariff threats from the US president. Mr Trump overnight Tuesday signalled pharmaceutical imports to the US would 'probably' be taxed at the end of the month, adding the tariffs will start low to give companies a year to adapt before an expected sharper rise in the rates. Last week, he flagged medicine exports to the US could face duties of up to 200 per cent. Since Mr Trump's inauguration, the powerful Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America lobby group has been pushing the president to punish Australia for its PBS. The medical giants have previously labelled the scheme as an 'egregious and discriminatory' threat to market competitiveness. The $17 billion scheme allows Australians to buy life-saving drugs worth thousands of dollars for as little as $31.60, or $7.70 for concession card holders. Costs are kept low because the government negotiates with the drug company. But Mr Cook warned against using the PBS in any trade negotiations. 'It's not up for negotiation. Hands off. The pharmaceutical benefit scheme is Australia's, and it will remain Australia's,' he told reporters on Wednesday. 'And quite frankly, I can see that being a hard stop, a deal breaker for the Albanese administration. 'Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is world-leading distribution and equity-driven creative program for making sure that everyone, regardless of their needs, can get access to quality pharmaceuticals, particularly in targeted sectors.' Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has already ruled out negotiating the scheme away. 'I want to make it really clear once again, as we have on a number of occasions before, our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is not something that we're willing to trade away or do deals on. That won't change,' Mr Chalmers said last week.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Tragic new details emerge after a baby was found dead at a suburban home in Balcatta, Perth
The tragic death of a six-month-old baby boy is being treated as an alleged family violence homicide, Western Australia 's top cop has revealed. Emergency responders were confronted with traumatic scenes after being called to a home on Campion Avenue in Balcatta, northern Perth, early on Monday. It's understood the baby boy was found with stab wounds and died in front of other family members, including a teenage girl. A woman in her 30s was taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital where she underwent a mental health assessment under police guard. She was released from hospital on Monday night but remains in police custody. No charges have yet been laid as police try to piece together what happened. Harrowing new details emerged when WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch fronted a press conference on Tuesday. 'This is a trauma that no one will ever recover from, and I think the family are just deeply affected,' he told reporters. 'There would be very few cases where you would have a crime scene of such a horrific nature for our officers and all first responders involved. 'And certainly those officers would be entitled to their critical incident leave, but that's something that will most likely haunt them for the rest of their careers.' Other family members are assisting homicide detectives with their inquiries. 'It's very confined to the members of that household,' Commissioner Blanch said. 'It's a very sad story, obviously with the death of such a young baby.' Premier Roger Cook said that his thoughts were with everyone impacted by the 'dreadful' tragedy. 'Obviously, there are family and friends who are impacted by the information that is now coming through and it's incredibly sad and horrible stuff,' he said. 'I also want to extend my thoughts to first responders who would have gone into that scene, confronted by some very difficult circumstances.' The suburban street remained in lockdown for most of Monday as police, homicide detectives and forensic officers examined the crime scene. The tragedy has rocked the family's neighbours, who described the woman who lived at the home as a kind, sweet person who loved her kids. 'I know she had been struggling lately with the new baby and her own personal stuff... When I heard that one of the kids had died, I just felt sick to my stomach,' a neighbour told The West Australian. Another man added: 'Just for the (police) forensics to have to go to a job and deal with that is just, you know, there is nothing worse'.
