Commissioner Robert Kennedy told he will be sacked if he doesn’t quit over bungled March 8 State election

The Cook Government has told WA’s Electoral Commissioner that he will be sacked by a special vote in State Parliament if he fails to resign over this year’s bungled election. The unprecedented ultimatum given to Commissioner Robert Kennedy comes after he refused to resign over the gaffe-prone poll on March 8. Voters faced long waits and were turned away from polling booths which ran out of ballot papers after the WA Election Commission was caught flat-footed. An independent inquiry by prominent Perth lawyer Malcolm McCusker blamed budget cuts for “completely inadequate” staffing of polling booths, and urged a reconsideration of outsourced recruitment and training of electoral workers. Mr Kennedy went on leave soon after the election and has been fighting for his job ever since Mr McCusker handed down his report in August. Mr Kennedy has dug his heels in, arguing he was the victim of penny-pinching by Treasury. It is understood he was given until midday Tuesday to make his decision. If he continues to resist, both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council will vote on sacking him. MPs will be forced to get their hands dirty because commissioners hold such politically sensitive positions they are afforded special protection from the executive arm of government. While directors-general of government departments and chief executives of various agencies can be removed relatively easily, commissioners can only be forced out by parliamentary decree. It is likely a dismissal motion would be carried by both chambers because the State Opposition, when led by Nationals Leader Shane Love, had led the charge for accountability. The Cook Government declined comment on the last-minute negotiations with Mr Kennedy. “Robert Kennedy, the WA Electoral Commissioner, is currently on leave,” a spokesperson for Electoral Affairs Minister David Michael said. “Dennis O’Reilly is acting in the role of WA Electoral Commissioner.” Mr Kennedy was appointed to the role in 2020. At the time, then-Electoral Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson said the career bureaucrat would “bring a wealth of experience and insights to the role of Electoral Commissioner”. Mr Kennedy told the McCusker inquiry he was never warned staff numbers supplied by private contractor PersolKelly would be “dramatically lower” than required. The report said election operations director Shani Wood, who has since resigned, assured him all polling places would be adequately resourced. But Treasury provided funding “significantly less” than requested and was warned by the WAEC and former minister John Quigley of the “likelihood of problems” if funds were not fully allocated, it said.