Libby Mettam: Cook Labor Government moves to protect itself as State suffers

Mahatma Gandhi put it simply when he said: “Action expresses priorities”.

The work of the Cook Labor Government this week was a clear expression of its number one priority: itself.

The priorities of the people of WA — health, housing, safety and making the household budget stretch — were pushed aside with lightning speed to make way for self-serving legislation to prioritise the Cook Government’s own political survival.

Without consultation and with the distraction of the Melbourne Cup and an election in the United States, the Cook Government introduced the Electoral Amendment (Naming of Registered Political Parties) Bill 2024 for the sole purpose of protecting its own name.

The legislation is retrospective. It will reach back in time to reverse a decision of the independent WA Electoral Commission.

The commission’s decision last week to approve the registration of the Democratic Labour Party ahead of the March State election sent the Cook Government into a tailspin, fuelled by fear the new party would cause confusion among Australian Labor Party voters.

The legislation will reverse the Commission’s approval. This will be the fourth time in four years that WA Labor has fiddled with electoral laws to suit Roger Cook’s own ends.

All have been cynical ploys to manipulate the system and ensure their continued hold on power, rather than serve the true needs of West Australians.

So frantic was the Government’s haste this week to have this legislation passed, the Speaker threw out the typical rule book so they could ram the legislation through Parliament before the election.

On the one hand, the Cook Government can move with vulgar speed to enact laws to protect itself.

But on the other, they have left laws designed to protect West Australians from domestic violence on the backburner, they’ve failed to ensure fair compensation for the victims of crime, and are simply failing to implement laws to track violent offenders who breach restraining orders?

The Premier this week called the final sitting days of Parliament before an election “precious moments”. Too precious it seems to be used to bother passing promised legislation to criminalise coercive control.

There has been a 44 per cent increase in family and domestic violence since Labor came to office in WA but the Government has been unable to find time to even draft the laws which would empower our legal system to take proactive criminal action against those who subject their partners to manipulation, fear and control.

Both Queensland and Victoria have coercive control laws but despite WA being the most dangerous state in the country in which to be a woman, the WA Labor Government has repeatedly delayed introducing corresponding legislation and now says it will not happen until after the March election.

Every day the Cook Government delays is another day vulnerable people are left without the full protection of the law. It’s a matter of life and death, but this Government has other priorities.

If you need protection, you can keep waiting.

Consider also the tragic case of Danny Hodgson, a victim of a violent one-punch attack that forever changed his life.

Danny suffered catastrophic injuries when he was attacked in 2021 by a teenager who was on bail despite facing 23 charges, relating to 13 separate incidents.

Danny was forced to take legal action against the State Government, arguing negligence and breach of duty to try and get meaningful compensation for his horrific injuries.

Roger Cook’s Government has fought to have Danny’s legal action struck out to deny him compensation.

In Western Australia, victims of crime can apply for compensation from the State Government to cover a variety of circumstances, including medical expenses, however the maximum payment is $75,000 — just a drop in the ocean of medical expenses that continue to overwhelm Danny and his family.

Premier Cook, where is the quick action to provide Danny and his family with the financial support and reassurance they desperately need?

Spending “precious moments” helping the ALP protect its brand rather than helping victims like Danny sends a clear message: if you’re a victim, you’re on your own.

Danny’s plight should serve as a reminder of the Government’s duty to stand by its citizens, especially those who fall victim to such brutal acts.

This is not the leadership our State deserves. It’s time to hold this Government accountable for its choices and demand it put people before politics.

West Australians deserve a government that shares their priorities.

A government that understands they want to feel safe in their communities, they want to be able to see a doctor and get medical care when they need it, that knows they want accessible and affordable long-term housing, and they want to be able to meet their household expenses.

A government that not only knows those priorities but will work tirelessly to meet them.

That is not Roger Cook’s Government.

West Australians deserve a government that will fight for them — not just for its own survival.

Libby Mettam is the leader of the Liberals