Premier Roger Cook’s ‘integrity’ warning to Labor MPs after enquiry into electoral staff duties management

Premier Roger Cook has urged Labor MPs to maintain “integrity” in their offices, a week after an inquiry was announced into how electorate staff duties are managed. The review, sparked by a corruption probe that warned of a “serious misconduct risk”, will be led by former Federal Liberal MP Ben Morton but won’t report back until after the March State election. When asked if the delay effectively “kicked the can down the road”, Mr Cook said the extra time was necessary to “do this properly”. “We want to get the balance right,” he said. “We want to make sure that Western Australian taxpayers have confidence that their member of Parliament is conducting themselves and their offices in a way which meets community expectations and which meets the expectations of the taxpayers.” A report by the Corruption and Crime Commission in November found the use of electorate officers to do party political work amounted to a “serious misconduct risk” and found there was no adequate time keeping of campaign work done during taxpayer-funded office hours. Staff were trained in campaign tactics at WA Labor’s headquarters and harvested personal information about voters for a Labor database. “The lack of time recording made it impossible for the commission to identify what was and was not being done on the public purse,” the report stated. “There is no evidence to contradict the explanation given by the witnesses that they made up for time spent campaigning by performing their public duties outside office hours.” The six-month review, announced last week, will consider whether the “employment framework” for electorate officers is fit for purpose. Mr Cook said his message was clear in the meantime. “I remind my team all the time that being a member of Parliament is a privilege and you need to make sure that you conduct yourself with integrity and you need to conduct yourself in a way which protects the State taxpayer,” he said.