CCC exposes WA misuse
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WA Labor’s electioneering, funded by taxpayers, has drawn fire from the state’s corruption watchdog.
The Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) has censured the state’s Labor Party for its use of taxpayer-funded electorate office staff, describing the practice as “fundamentally undemocratic” and a potential avenue for serious misconduct.
The CCC's investigation concluded that WA Labor encouraged electorate officers to work on political campaigns, raising concerns about the misuse of public resources for partisan activities.
While the CCC did not make formal findings of misconduct against specific individuals, the report exposed systemic issues within WA Labor’s handling of electorate office resources, which lacked adequate record-keeping and monitoring.
This lack of oversight made it difficult to verify claims that any partisan work done by electorate staff during official hours was compensated through additional, unpaid hours later.
The CCC found that the electorate staff, funded by taxpayer dollars, were supposed to serve their MPs’ constituents rather than support political campaigning.
However, CCC Commissioner John McKechnie stated that any elected official or party deploying these public resources for electioneering purposes risks “serious misconduct”.
McKechnie cited a WA Labor training slide, which asserted that “everything we do in electorate offices is campaigning”, as evidence of the party's attitude toward electorate work.
The report further noted that WA Labor’s Campaign Central database, officially listed as a “constituent management system”, functioned primarily as an electoral tool.
This system tracked voter preferences and campaign metrics, ostensibly to bolster Labor’s re-election efforts.
“Its name betrays its true purpose,” the report claimed, describing Campaign Central as a “powerful election campaigning tool” that created a significant risk that public resources could be misappropriated to serve the party’s political interests.
In response to the CCC’s recommendations, the Commission called for more robust guidelines clarifying that electorate officers should not engage in political work during office hours, alongside the establishment of a dedicated data management system for constituent interactions.
A monitoring system to track the time allocations of electorate officers was also suggested to ensure greater transparency.
WA Premier Roger Cook said that he would “carefully consider the report’s findings”.
The CCC investigation stemmed from claims by a former electorate officer in Cook’s office, who alleged that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was tasked with expediting travel applications for Labor party affiliates.
The CCC found no evidence to support these specific claims but expressed broader concerns about the ethical risks inherent in WA Labor’s current practices.
With an annual public investment exceeding $17 million for 190 full-time electorate officers, the CCC said there is a strong need for transparency to avoid “a misuse of public funds” that might confer an “unfair advantage” on sitting Labor MPs over their competitors.
