Latest news with #WAElectoralCommission
ABC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Reputation fears caused WAEC to outsource election recruitment, documents suggest
The WA Electoral Commission took the unprecedented step of outsourcing almost all of its election workforce recruitment, in part because it was concerned the previous state election had damaged its reputation.
ABC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Documents suggest WA election staff recruitment was outsourced after a hit to WAEC's reputation in the 2021 poll.
The WA Electoral Commission took the unprecedented step of outsourcing almost all of its election workforce recruitment, in part because it was concerned the previous state election had damaged its reputation.
The Age
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
WA Nationals leader frustrated by lack of answers over state election debacle
Shadow Electoral Affairs Minister and Nationals Leader Shane Love has called on the WA government to immediately release the report into the state election debacle, after clashing with Electoral Affairs Minister David Michael in budget estimates on Wednesday night. 'The lack of any concrete answers during Budget Estimates has only reinforced the urgent need for the premier to immediately release the final report of the Special Inquiry into the 2025 State Election,' Love said. Love took particular interest in the $86 million contract the WA Electoral Commission struck with recruitment agency PersolKelly without the knowledge of cabinet ministers. 'Despite an hour of questioning the minister for electoral affairs, we are still no closer to knowing who authorised this $86 million contract or how it was allowed to proceed in the shadows,' Love said. Love has previously ascribed some of the blame for the WA election debacle to the outsourcing of election functions to PersolKelly, and the contract was probed during the inquiry undertaken by former WA Governor Malcolm McCusker. The inquiry report is currently with WA Premier Roger Cook, who told estimates on Thursday it would be tabled in parliament when it returns from the winter break in early August. In the WAEC estimates meeting on Tuesday, Michael said the commission had paid PersolKelly between $19 million and $20 million. He revealed PersolKelly will remain engaged by the electoral commission to help run the local government elections due in October. Michael also revealed the cabinet was not made aware of the WAEC's decision to enter into the $86 million contract with PersolKelly.
Sydney Morning Herald
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA Nationals leader frustrated by lack of answers over state election debacle
Shadow Electoral Affairs Minister and Nationals Leader Shane Love has called on the WA government to immediately release the report into the state election debacle, after clashing with Electoral Affairs Minister David Michael in budget estimates on Wednesday night. 'The lack of any concrete answers during Budget Estimates has only reinforced the urgent need for the premier to immediately release the final report of the Special Inquiry into the 2025 State Election,' Love said. Love took particular interest in the $86 million contract the WA Electoral Commission struck with recruitment agency PersolKelly without the knowledge of cabinet ministers. 'Despite an hour of questioning the minister for electoral affairs, we are still no closer to knowing who authorised this $86 million contract or how it was allowed to proceed in the shadows,' Love said. Love has previously ascribed some of the blame for the WA election debacle to the outsourcing of election functions to PersolKelly, and the contract was probed during the inquiry undertaken by former WA Governor Malcolm McCusker. The inquiry report is currently with WA Premier Roger Cook, who told estimates on Thursday it would be tabled in parliament when it returns from the winter break in early August. In the WAEC estimates meeting on Tuesday, Michael said the commission had paid PersolKelly between $19 million and $20 million. He revealed PersolKelly will remain engaged by the electoral commission to help run the local government elections due in October. Michael also revealed the cabinet was not made aware of the WAEC's decision to enter into the $86 million contract with PersolKelly.
ABC News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Australian Electoral Commission confident election day in Western Australia will run smoothly
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has promised to avoid the mistakes that plagued WA's recent state election, assuring voters the federal poll will be a different story. In a bid to restore the public confidence, the federal agency has emphasised its independence from the WA Electoral Commission. The WAEC has been in the spotlight after long queues and low staff numbers at polling booths plagued the March 8 state election. People vote in the WA election on March 8. ( ABC News: Andrew O'Connor ) The alleged mismanagement prompted the state government to launch a special inquiry, a decision backed by all major parties. This inquiry will be tasked with assessing what went wrong, with the final report due by June 30. WA Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy took leave while voting continued in the state election. ( ABC News: Ruby Littler ) There have been calls, primarily by Nationals Leader Shane Love, for WA Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy to step down. He is Organisations independent AEC Electoral Officer Anita Ratcliffe understands why some of the WA public would harbour concerns after their last experience at the polls. But she wanted to stress the separation between the state and federal agency. "I will acknowledge we're a very similar line of business ... (but) the WA Electoral Commission, they are a state agency," Ms Ratcliffe said. Photo shows People voting at Dalkeith pollling station. Western Australia is in unchartered territory after the decision to hold a special inquiry into the management of the state election, writes Nicolas Perpitch. "Their responsibility is the delivery of state elections as well as local government elections. " We operate completely independently from (one) another. " Ms Ratcliffe said the AEC "had a very good look" at what may have gone wrong at the state election and used it to inform their federal election management in WA. "We've made sure we've checked our data and forecasting numbers against the voter turnout in certain locations to make sure that we've got that covered with queues," she said. "Liaison officers will be rotating through locations to monitor queue lengths and ballot paper stock, with the ability to print on-demand if necessary." Avoiding early voting hiccups Record numbers of Western Australians are set to head the polls prior to election day on May 3, with early polling opening on Tuesday. Ms Ratcliffe expects about half of West Australians will choose to vote early — a trend that's rising nationwide. "I think early voting is becoming more popular because people are getting increasingly busy, and it's a good convenience option for people to be able to cast their vote early," she said. Crowds headed to early polling booths across the state, with a large queue seen at Main Street in Osborne Park. People queuing to vote early at an early polling centre in the Perth suburb of Osborne Park on Tuesday. ( Supplied: Sarah Knight ) And it's not just in-person voting that's seen an uptick in use. "We've just ticked over 200,000 applications for postal votes," Ms Ratcliffe said. "So that's just over 10 per cent of our total WA voter population, which is 1.9 million people." Ms Ratcliffe said four-wheel drive and light plane crews have been deployed to provide early polling access to remote and indigenous communities in WA. Loading
