1045. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the Minister for Police:
I refer to the WAtoday article of 14 September 2020, “Scores of WA sex assault victims will never be heard after lost emails were deleted, WA Police confirms”.
(1) Is the article’s claim that Ms Callanan was lied to by police, who told her the email address on the website had always been correct, true?
(2) If yes to (1), has any action been taken against the WA Police Force staff who —
(a) lied to Ms Callanan; and
(b) provided this same incorrect information to the minister?
(3) If yes to (2)(a) or (2)(b), what action has been taken?
(4) If no to (2)(a) or (2)(b), why not?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Minister for Police. The Western Australia Police Force advises the following.
(1) No.
(2)–(4) Police provided information, which was subsequently identified as being incorrect, to Ms Callanan in good faith. The incorrect information was also provided by police to the minister. Senior police apologised to Ms Callanan for their error, and reviewed the matter.