13 hours ago
WAEC without half of leadership team from state election months out from local government polls
The WA Electoral Commission is without half of the leadership team it had at the problem-plagued state election, four months out from local government elections.
The ABC has confirmed Deputy Electoral Commissioner Courtney Barron has taken leave and Election Operations Director Shani Wood has resigned from her role.
The organisation continues to be led by an acting commissioner after then-commissioner Robert Kennedy took unplanned leave earlier this year, before counting had been completed.
Former governor Malcolm McCusker has been preparing a review of problems at the election, including reports of ballot paper shortages and long wait times at polling booths, which is due to be handed to government by the end of the month.
Ms Barron initially stepped into the acting commissioner role to finalise the count for the problem-plagued election.
She had been appointed deputy commissioner in November 2021, according to the commission's website, having previously served as director of executive government services at the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Ms Wood's LinkedIn shows she began work as a principal project manager at the WAEC in July 2021 after working in a number of event-management roles, before moving into the director position in mid-2022.
The WAEC's most recent annual report noted Ms Wood's division managed "planning, procurement, logistics and resourcing arrangements" for all commission-run elections.
"Managing elections is complex and this division is responsible for ensuring the commission meets high standards through all stages of the electoral process," the report said.
Last month, the government appointed Dennis O'Reilly — who at the time had been deputy director at the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation — as acting commissioner.
"October's local government elections are important for communities across our state and Mr O'Reilly will be working hard with his team to ensure they run smoothly," Electoral Affairs Minister David Michael said at the time.
"There will also be work to do to ensure the difficulties experienced in the March election are not repeated, and Mr O'Reilly will lead this after the government has considered the report."
It comes after last week's budget revealed the election cost $4 million more than had been budgeted to execute.
The average cost per elector of running the election also rose significantly from $14.43 for the 2021 election to $23.70 for the 2025 election.
"This was necessary to ensure the election was conducted securely, accurately and in line with legislative requirements," a spokesperson said.
