Liberal leader Libby Mettam granted car and driver after campaign security concerns ahead of State election

Liberal leader Libby Mettam will be offered a car and taxpayer-funded driver for the upcoming election campaign after The West Australian reported that senior party figures were concerned for her safety on the trail. Speaking at a press conference in Balcatta on Tuesday morning, Premier Roger Cook revealed that his office had called Ms Mettam’s team on Monday to make the formal offer of a vehicle and driver. But Mr Cook refused to be drawn on the operation matters over whether the Liberal leader would be offered security. “These things are entirely operational matters,” he said. “I don’t even discuss my security arrangements with the police. “I leave it up to them based upon the risk assessment and based upon the needs to make sure that our officials are kept safe. “But yesterday we contacted the office of the leader of the Liberal Party to offer her a car and driver for the campaign period. “We think that’s appropriate from a safety perspective and we’re very happy to extend that.” Ms Mettam said she had expressed gratitude to Mr Cook for the offer, but refused to be drawn on security arrangements, speaking only about the positive working relationship she shared with the Nationals. “We present our policies separately in the lead up to the election, as has always been the case, we’ve always worked cooperatively in opposition. We will work co-operatively in government. I will leave my comments there,” she said. It came as Opposition Leader Shane Love issued a statement calling for Ms Mettam to be provided protection officers during the campaign, as he revealed he was due to have a briefing with the Dignitary Protection Unit on Wednesday. “Everyone is entitled to feel safe at work and the Liberal leader is no exception,” he said. “I firmly believe any political leader who is under threat and requires protection should be entitled to it. “The matter of who and who does not receive dignitary protection is a decision for the Premier and his Dignitary Protection Unit, not for opposition leaders or political parties. “Tomorrow I am having a briefing with the Dignitary Protection Unit regarding my own protection requirements. The Liberal leader should be afforded the same briefing.” Mr Love’s status as the official Opposition leader will see him granted the protection after the Nationals won more seats than the Liberals at the last election. It is said to have been a sore point for the Liberals, whose failure to form an Opposition has seen them denied a full complement of office staff and meant Ms Mettam has had to drive herself. Speaking to The West Australian, a senior Liberal raised concerns about the lack of protection during what is expected to be a heated campaign. “It’s a situation where you’ve got the alternative premier, on the election campaign, attending events, sometimes late at night, by herself ... you never know what can happen out there,” they said “It’s about risk mitigation — you have these systems in place to prevent incidents before they happen. “We’ve been relatively lucky in Australia but there’s certainly examples in the UK and the US where there’s been incidents.”