A Malcolm McCusker-led independent assessment of the issues that plagued the March State Election has concluded that the WA Electoral Commission was not fully staffed to do the job.
The final report from the months-long independent inquiry into the issues that plagued ballot stations at the March State Election was tabled in Parliament today.
Led by Malcolm McCusker, the inquiry’s report attributed much of the blame for the balloting issues at the March 8 election on a decision not to allocate a full $16 million to the WAEC at its request in October last year.
The WAEC was instead allocated an extra $4 million, with an instruction to come back to the WA Treasury for supplementary funding – if required, after the election – in what the government said was keeping with standard process.
The report found a senior WAEC director then opted to cut the temporary workforce to keep the commission’s costs within budget – from a forecast of 10,165, back to 7,113.
As a result, some polling booths reported lines as long as three hours and others ran out of ballot papers.
The inquiry also found that an incorrect assumption was made around the number of in-person attendees on election day, based on figures from 2021 at the height of the Covid pandemic.
The report lobbed 24 recommendations at the state government, relating to planning, management and resourcing of polling booths, ballot paper management, processing and counting of votes and the response to issues on election day.
The WA government has supported 23 in principle, but only noted a recommendation for legislative change that would give the WAEC a statutory right to draw down funds as needed.
Electoral Affairs Minister David Michael said work had already started to improve processes at the WAEC under acting commissioner Dennis O’Reilly, with electoral commissioner Robert Kennedy on leave until at least the end of 2025.
“I know the Acting Electoral Commissioner has already begun working on improving the WAEC's structure and processes to strengthen internal capability and ensure the effective and efficient delivery of future elections for the WA community,” he said.
"I look forward to continuing to support him as he now considers the findings of the report and looks to implement its recommendations and I will provide regular updates to parliament on his progress.”
The line was similar from the WAEC, which said it would engage a corporate governance manager and contracts manager to improve procurement and supplier management.
“We understand the importance of public trust in the electoral process,” Mr O’Reilly said.
“The people of Western Australia deserve confidence in how their elections are conducted, and we are determined to earn and uphold that trust through meaningful change.”
Mr O’Reilly is expected to face the media in the coming days.
In question time today, Nationals Leader Shane Love, who has been critical of the WAEC’s performance and engagement of Singapore-based recruiter PersolKelly, asked whether the state government would seek the electoral commissioner’s resignation.
Premier Roger Cook said the WAEC was not short-changed in the lead up to the ballot, and that he would not compromise the independence of the body by interfering with its leadership or contractor arrangements.
“We should conduct ourselves very carefully before we start passing comment or suggesting by way of questions, actions the government should take which would interfere with the independent umpire,” he said.
