D'Orazio forced to resign as Police Minister

Western Australian Minister for Justice, Police and Community Safety, John D'Orazio, has today been forced to resign his ministerial position, after being caught by police allegedly driving without a licence.

Mr D'Orazio's ministerial duties will be shared among other ministers and it is believed he will be offered other portfolios in the government, although there have been calls from some of his colleagues for him to be dumped all together.

John Kobelke will add Police, Emergency Services and Community Safety to his existing portfolios; Margaret Quirk will become Minister for Justice, as well as retaining Women's Interests and assisting with Federal Affairs; and David Templeman will relinquish Seniors and Volunteering while retaining Community Development; Youth and assisting Minister for Planning and Infrastructure.

Premier Alan Carpenter said he had removed Mr D'Orazio from the Police and Justice portfolios.

"I believe the action was necessary because of a situation that has arisen involving
non-payment of traffic fines, which resulted in the Minister losing his driver's licence temporarily," Mr Carpenter said.

ABC radio has reported that it believes Mr D'Orazio will contest the allegation in the courts.

He said Mr D'Orazio will stay a minister, but with the new responsibilities of Disability Services; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests; Seniors and Volunteers.

Mr Carpenter said Mr D'Orazio blamed administrative failings and processes on the fact that he had lost his licence due to unpaid fines.

While the matter may be a relatively small one, the former minister had been under increasing fire for his private business dealings, mainly relating to the period that he served as Small Business minister.

The nature of his involvement, when in local government, in dealings which were investigated as part of an anti-corruption inquiry, had also led to question marks over his selection as a senior cabinet player.

Below is are statements from Premier Alan Carpenter received by WA Business News at 4.01pm and Opposition leader Paul Omodei received at 5.02pm:

Today I have removed John D'Orazio from the Police and Justice portfolios in State Cabinet.

I believe the action was necessary because of a situation that has arisen involving
non-payment of traffic fines, which resulted in the Minister losing his driver's licence temporarily.

Mr D'Orazio will stay a Minister, but with the new responsibilities of Disability Services; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests; Seniors and Volunteers.

Late last week, Mr D'Orazio informed me he had received a letter from the Fines Enforcement section of his own Justice portfolio confirming that he had lost his licence for an unpaid $100 speeding fine incurred in August last year.

He told me he had sent a late cheque to pay the fine.

The Minister was unaware the cheque had not been accepted because payment was too late. He received no follow up advice that the fine remained unpaid because the reminder notices were being sent to his old address in Noranda.

Mr D'Orazio says the problem centres on an administrative failure to record a change of address notification he had lodged by telephone with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure in 2003.

The fine was eventually paid on April 24 this year, when Mr D'Orazio's wife went to pay another outstanding $100 fine, this one from last October.

The D'Orazios were alerted to the fine by the occupant of their old Noranda address - where the reminder notices were being sent.

It was then that Mr D'Orazio discovered his licence had been suspended in relation to both occurrences. The suspension had dated from February 22 this year.

Payment of the fine meant that the licence was automatically restored, but the Minister had been unwittingly driving without a licence for two months.

To compound the problem, he was involved in a traffic accident on April 21, which he had quite properly reported to the police.

Mr D'Orazio is appealing against the cancellation of his licence through the courts.

Despite that, I believe he had a clear responsibility to ensure his fines were paid on time, especially given his portfolio responsibilities.

In September last year as Minister for Justice, he launched a campaign that targeted 40,000 Western Australians who had lost their driver's licences through non-payment of fines.

In my view, and after careful consideration of the matter, I do not believe Mr D'Orazio can continue as Minister with responsibilities for fines enforcement and road traffic matters.

I have therefore made the change announced earlier.

Minister John Kobelke will add Police, Emergency Services and Community Safety to his existing portfolios; Margaret Quirk will become Minister for Justice, as well as retaining Women's Interests and assisting with Federal Affairs; and David Templeman will relinquish Seniors and Volunteering while retaining Community Development; Youth and assisting Minister for Planning and Infrastructure.
 

Below is a statement from the Opposition leader Paul Omodei:

Opposition Leader Paul Omodei today called for John D'Orazio to be dumped from Cabinet.

"This is yet another test for Alan Carpenter. Mr D'Orazio's position as a Minister of the Crown is now untenable," Mr Omodei said.

"The Premier must sack him to ensure the community has confidence in the integrity of his Ministers and his Government.

"Mr D'Orazio shouldn't just be pushed sideways, like Alannah MacTiernan was. He is incompetent. He has set a poor example to the community. He must go."

Mr Omodei said the Premier could no longer continue to protect his "rising star".

"Alan Carpenter can't keep defending the indefensible," he said.

"Mr D'Orazio doesn't pay his speeding fines. He didn't pay his employees' superannuation. What does this man pay for?

"There is only one law for the people of Western Australia. There is not a separate one for John D'Orazio."

Mr Omodei said Mr D'Orazio's actions and Labor's handling of the saga made a mockery of the Government's commitment to road safety in WA.

"Two Labor road safety ministers have now set a poor example to the WA community," he said.

"John D'Orazio announced a new campaign last year to get people to check if their licenses were suspended, which cost taxpayers about $300,000.

"He should have practised what he was preaching. John D'Orazio must go."