Robert Kennedy resigns amid fallout from problem-plagued March 8 state election

“On behalf of the Government of Western Australia, I would like to thank Mr Kennedy for his service to the community.

“The appointment of the new Electoral Commissioner and Deputy Electoral Commissioner will be made in due course in consultation with other parties in parliament.”

The love shined less brightly in Kennedy’s statement following his resignation.

“I welcome the decision to resign by the WA election commissioner. This is something I have consistently called for following the results of the state election,” he said.

“The WA Electoral Commission (WAEC) did not have the stable leadership required to implement the findings of the latest special investigation into the planning and conduct of the 2025 state election.

“Had the Cook Labor government acted more urgently in sacking the commissioner, it might have given voters some reassurance that the government was serious about fixing the numerous flaws identified in the state election.”

Love said the next task was to ensure stable leadership at the WA Electoral Commission and the government should set up a parliamentary oversight committee and look at how the commission was funded.

Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Roger Cook refused to answer questions about Kennedy’s future.

“I’m not going to go into the conversations that took place between the Public Sector Commissioner and the Electoral Commissioner, these are sensitive issues and obviously it’s important that they are handled in that way,” he said.

“We are currently carrying out a series of processes, there is a motion in the parliament and we are meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament regarding that motion.”