WA Police used SafeWA contact-tracing data during investigation into Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin’s execution

Detectives investigating the assassination of former Rebels boss Nick Martin demanded supposedly confidential contact-tracing data as part of their high-stakes probe. The move — one of two instances in which police served warrants on the Health Department requesting SafeWA check-in data — prompted the McGowan Government to today introduce emergency laws closing the loophole in a bid to preserve public confidence in the app. State emergency coordinator Chris Dawson, who is also the police commissioner, mandated the use of the SafeWA app for venue check-ins from December 5. At the time, Premier Mark McGowan and Health Minister Roger Cook were at pains to assure the public the information would only be accessible to contact-tracing personnel. But police subsequently twice demanded access to the information: once after what Attorney-General John Quigley described as a “very high-profile murder” and again after “a stabbing which (police) thought was going to turn into a murder”. The West Australian can reveal that the murder was that of Martin, who was fatally shot among a crowd of innocent spectators at the Perth Motorplex on December 12 — just a week after use of the SafeWA app became compulsory. The bullet that killed Martin was fired from a high-precision rifle and, after passing through the 51-year-old’s torso, lodged itself in the arm of Bandidos member Ricky Chapman. WA Police confirmed they served an order to produce records from the Health Department requesting SafeWA data on December 24. Just under three months later detectives arrested and charged a 34-year-old Waikiki man — a former solider and member of the Shadows of Hope mercenary group — over the slaying. It is not known whether police requested a register of everyone in attendance at the Perth Motorplex on December 12 or for any check-ins by the alleged perpetrator as part of efforts to map his movements before and after the slaying. The stabbing occurred in broad daylight at an Albany Highway cafe in East Victoria Park on February 26. The victim, a man in his 40s, was at the venue when he became involved in a verbal altercation with another man. The war-of-words turned physical and the victim was stabbed several times. A second order to produce was then served on the Health Department on March 10. The alleged perpetrator has also been arrested and is currently before the courts. Mr McGowan told Parliament he became aware of the two warrants in April and met with Mr Dawson, who refused a request that officers stop the practice. “But the police commissioner advised me that under the law his officers are exercising their rights… so they're just doing their job,” Mr McGowan said. “I have no difficulty that police officers do their jobs but our view is the SafeWA app should only be used for contact tracing purposes. “So… we then resolved to draft legislation in order to put it beyond doubt that the app could no longer be used for investigations.” Attorney-General John Quigley announced emergency laws would be introduced today ensuring that in future nobody besides the Health Department — including police or the Corruption and Crime Commission — would be able to access the data. Mr Quigley said the pursuit of the warrants was currently permitted under law and he made “no criticism of the police for having done so”. “But we've had to do a balancing act between the public interest in maintaining the integrity and sanctity of the information provided to SafeWA and any other agency accessing that, which will undermine public confidence,” Mr Quigley said. A WA Police spokeswoman said Mr Dawson did not personally oversee the warrant applications and was not aware of them at the time. “But he fully supports the lawfulness and reasons for the police investigators to seek authority from a Justice of the Peace for orders to produce records,” she said.