The State Government says it has "100 per cent confidence" in WA Police implementing key recommendations from a scathing internal report into last May's Floreat murders. While thanking police for their "transparency" in detailing the mistakes of officers, the Premier has also taken aim at the Opposition for opposing its reformed gun laws.
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00:00Eight police officers failed to properly assess the risk Mark Bombara posed last May, but
00:09the government is confident police have learnt from the tragedy.
00:12I absolutely have 100% confidence in the police commissioner and his handling of this difficult
00:18issue.
00:19Yesterday, a scathing review handed down about the handling of one of the state's worst domestic
00:24violence incidents.
00:25Jennifer and Gretel Patelchus were gunned down in their Florette home by Mark Bombara,
00:31who was looking for his ex-partner.
00:33He then turned the gun on himself.
00:36Bombara's daughter and ex-partner tried to warn police on three occasions he was an imminent
00:42threat, but say they were ignored.
00:44So did you not believe us, or did you just not give a shit?
00:50I can have empathy for human beings making mistakes, but that is a lot of human beings
00:56making a lot of mistakes.
00:58A review of the police response put forward 18 recommendations, including seizing guns
01:04sooner and better coordination with specialist services.
01:08We don't want this to happen again, and that's what we need to learn from these experiences.
01:12Today, the government praised police for their transparency, but not detailing the specifics
01:18of the disciplinary action against the eight officers.
01:22Since the May murders, the government has beefed up new firearm laws by automatically
01:27removing guns as soon as a domestic violence complaint is made.
01:31It says though, under a liberal national government, those measures would be at risk of being weakened.
01:37That is certainly not the case.
01:39What we are seeking is a proper review of the firearm laws to ensure that community
01:46safety is prioritised and that there are no unintended consequences.
01:51Lessons to be learned, while the scars for many remain.