Electronic monitoring
84. Ms Libby Mettam to the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the decision by the Commissioner of Corrective Services that corrections will not recommend or support the use of electronic monitoring in any location other than the Perth metropolitan area.
(1) Was the minister aware of this decision and, if so, when?
(2) If yes, who made the minister aware of this decision?
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the question. The member has now been advised by the Attorney General and the Minister for Corrective Services and the Minister for Police. Are you okay? All right.
Western Australians are safer now that this legislation has passed. The Attorney General explained in detail in his statement to Parliament that electronic monitoring is not a substitute for bail. Bail is done before electronic monitoring is put in place and then electronic monitoring is a bail condition for certain accused people, including those accused of family and domestic violence. The member has also been advised as of today that there is more recent information that has gone out. So the letter that the member is referencing—
Ms Libby Mettam: Are you aware of this decision?
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski: What decision? There has not been a decision.
Ms Libby Mettam: You have been advised—
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski: I am advising you that they have just advised you that more advice has already gone out.
Several members interjected.
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski: Members have been advised repeatedly today that they have already been given supplementary letters to make more advice on this.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Table the advice.
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski: It is not my letter.
The Speaker: Members! Carry on, minister.
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski: Across the state, breaches are monitored 24/7 by corrections officers, alongside police. They are responded to 24/7—seven days a week. Similar technical issues with electronic monitoring such as faulty equipment are also responded to 24/7 in both the metropolitan area and in regional WA. But in case it has slipped the member's notice, regional WA is a very large place and sometimes the response times are not instantaneous because they have to travel to wherever it is. These laws allow police to arrest without a warrant—not like the member was stating the other day—and we have invested almost $42 million into the Department of Justice and the Western Australia Police Force to implement this act. These laws are the toughest in the nation, but have only been in place for a few months, and I encourage the opposition to get behind them and stop fearmongering. I know the opposition is really good at it. I know it really likes it. But stop fearmongering because we have ensured, with this legislation, that we are the safest state in nation.
85. Ms Libby Mettamto theMinister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence:
I have a supplementary question. When was the new advice provided?
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski replied: The real question here is whether the member supports her member's disallowance motion around gun laws designed to protect FDV victims, and does her leader?
Several members interjected.
Point of order
Ms Libby Mettam: The minister is clearly not answering what is a very simple question.
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Minister, just wait, please. I am going to give the member for Vasse the same response that she has heard from me before. I will not uphold that point of order. The minister is responding to the question and she can do so as she sees fit. Carry on, minister.
Questions without notice resumed
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski: Thank you, Speaker. As I see fit is to see if the member and her leader support the motion brought by the members on the disallowance for gun laws—
Several members interjected.
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski: I am done!
