Media Release | 2 May 2025
Basil Zempilas MLA
Leader of the Opposition
Adam Hort MLA
Shadow Minister for Police; Corrective Services; Youth
Correspondence has revealed deficiencies in the Cook Labor Government’s electronic monitoring system, leaving family and domestic violence victims across Western Australia without the protections they were promised.
A letter from the Commissioner of Corrective Services revealed the Department of Justice had formally advised the Police Commissioner it could “no longer support or recommend electronic monitoring (EM) outside the Perth metropolitan area under the Family Violence Legislation Reform Act.”
Under questioning in Parliament, a succession of Cook Government Ministers, could not answer whether they were aware of the correspondence between the Commissioner of Corrective Services and the Commissioner of Police.
Leader of the Opposition Basil Zempilas said the correspondence confirmed what had been said in regional courts by officers that GPS electronic monitoring could not be guaranteed to protect some of the most vulnerable people in the community in the regions and outer suburbs.
“For two weeks Premier Roger Cook and a succession of Ministers could not and would not answer questions about the validity of electronic monitoring and the safety of family and domestic violence victims,” he said.
“We now know through correspondence, and not answers from the Cook Government, that this crisis has spread into Perth’s outer suburbs, raising urgent questions about community safety across the entire state.”
In an email to WA Police, the Assistant Commissioner for Adult Community Corrections warned they did not recommend Electronic Monitoring in outer suburbs where a timely police response could not be guaranteed.
“The email from Justice to Police highlights that electronic monitoring isn’t even recommended on Perth’s outskirts, but what does ‘outskirts’ mean? Are we talking as close as Treeby or as far as Gidgegannup?,” Shadow Minister for Corrective Services Adam Hort said.
“It appears the Courts, the Prisoners Review Board, and police prosecutors have all been warned, but the government has kept the public in the dark.
“This is more than a policy failure – this is a cover-up that has left domestic violence victims
exposed, abandoned, and betrayed.”
Correspondence revealed the judiciary, the Prisoners Review Board, and the Commissioner for Victims of Crime have all been formally warned that the system was no longer reliable across most of WA.
Police prosecutors have been instructed to factor the system’s failure into their casework.
There were also serious concerns about weekend and after-hours breaches, particularly in family and domestic violence cases where swift action is critical to protect victims.
Media contact: Hayden Tognela – 0467 044 028
