State Government cops criticism for not committing to release full report into problem-plagued election

A report into the problem-plagued State election has been handed to the Premier’s office but is unlikely to be made public for several weeks — and the Government will not commit to releasing it in full. The Opposition is demanding former governor Malcolm McCusker’s full report to be released — without any redactions — after concerns about how the March 8 poll was managed, including out-sourced staff recruitment and ballot paper shortages. “I’ve had an indication that they will not release it and I think that’s a disgrace,” Nationals leader Shane Love said on Tuesday. “The only basis I could imagine is to save people that might be named in the report from public embarrassment, which is hardly reasonable. “We need to get to the bottom of what went on and we need to know what’s being done to restore confidence in the Electoral Commission of Western Australia.” In a statement, the State Government committed to releasing the special inquiry’s report but would not say when and would not answer questions about whether it would be released in full. “It will be tabled in Parliament following its consideration by Cabinet, as is the customary practice,” a Government spokeswoman said. “Both the Opposition and public will be able to access the report at this time.” Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy has been on unplanned leave since March after a significant backlash in response to problems on polling day and revelations that staff recruitment was outsourced to PersolKelly. The recruitment firm’s subsidiary Programmed made donations totalling $40,000 to WA Labor. There has been no evidence that any minister had involvement in the election procurement process. “All Western Australians have a big stake in this,” Mr Love said. “It’s not just members of Parliament or political candidates or political parties, it’s all of the people of Western Australia have a right to expect that our Electoral Commission is conducting elections in a way that is truly effective and efficient.”