WA premier praises police transparency in wake of Floreat murders probe

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Premier Roger Cook has praised WA Police for its “transparency” in detailing the mistakes made in the lead-up to the Floreat murders, while warning a Liberal-National government would weaken gun laws.

WARNING: This story contains details that may distress some readers.

Mr Cook made the comments after an internal investigation into the actions of officers in the weeks before Mark Bombara shot dead his wife’s best friend, Jennifer Petelczyc, and her teenage daughter Gretl before turning the gun on himself.

Bombara, who was licensed to own 13 guns, was looking for his wife and his daughter Ariel, who had for weeks been trying to warn police he was a real and imminent threat.

Jennifer and Gretl Petelczyc were killed by Mark Bombara who came to their home looking for his ex-wife. (Supplied)

On Friday, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said an internal investigation had found eight officers did not perform their duty and internal disciplinary action had been finalised.

It also found insufficient action was taken regarding whether Bombara was a fit and proper person to hold a firearms license.

The WA government has since passed new firearm laws restricting license holders to between five and 10 firearms, and introducing the requirement for mental health checks and mandatory safety training.

The reforms also allow for the immediate removal of a person’s firearms when a report of domestic or family violence has been made against them, removing the ability for officers to use discretion to assess whether the risk threshold has been met.

While answering questions about the report, Mr Cook first expressed his admiration for Ariel Bombara as “an incredibly brave woman” and thanked police for its “transparent investigation”.

Ariel Bombara speaking at a press conference

The premier praised Ariel Bombara for her courage in highlighting police failures. (ABC news: Keane Bourke )

“This report laid it out there for the public, warts and all, and made sure that people understood where the mistakes took place and how they’re going to learn from that,” he said.

Gun laws warning

The premier’s comments then took on a more political tone.

A side on view of Roger Cook as he addresses media wearing a white business shirt

The premier has warned the Liberals would weaken gun laws if elected. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)

“I know there’s been a lot of debate about the merits of the gun laws, but the fundamental premise here, the most important part of our gun law reform process, is to keep people safe,” he said.

“The Liberals and the Nationals oppose our gun laws … so if people risk their vote on the Liberals and Nationals, they risk weakening our gun laws.”

While the WA Nationals, who are officially the state’s opposition and hold an alliance with the Liberals, have announced they will repeal the laws, the WA Liberals have not.

“To be clear, the WA Liberals will not repeal these laws,” Liberal leader Libby Mettam states on her website.

“The WA Liberals firmly believe rushing the bill through the upper house prevented thorough consideration, leaving the legislation riddled with errors and unintended consequences.

 “A Liberal government will ensure this legislation receives the thorough scrutiny needed to address flaws, enhance community safety, and protect the rights of law-abiding firearms owners.”

The fact the Nationals and the Liberals do not agree on the gun laws has already caused some difficult conversations for the alliance, and will likely continue to do so. 

WA ‘most unsafe state to be a woman’

At a media event today, Ms Mettam also took the opportunity for some political point-scoring, making the claim that WA was the “most unsafe state to be a woman”.

Libby Mettam addresses media while wearing a white shirt

Libby Mettam has promised to add more police officers to the family and domestic violence unit. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)

“We know under Roger Cook there has not been a full complement of police officers in the family and domestic violence unit within WA Police,” she said.

“Under a Liberal government, there will be an additional 300 officers from day one as well as 500 officers over four years, which means there will be a full complement of police within the family and domestic violence unit. 

“We will allow for overtime provisions to be able to deliver [the additional officers] … and will also be making efforts to retain our police officers with a boost to superannuation as well as mental health supports.

“Western Australia is the most unsafe state to be a woman. Violent assaults are up 46 per cent while we’ve seen an exodus of police under Roger Cook.”

Ms Mettam also said she hoped the report from the internal investigation did “not just sit on the shelf”.

“It is important that we see significant change, not only within police but across our whole community.”

Many lessons to be learned

A total of 18 recommendations from the internal investigation into the Floreat murders were made, with 11 of them already complete and the others in progress.

The premier said Police Commissioner Col Blanch — who has stated no officers will be sacked, partly because it was the system that failed — has his full confidence.

“I just want to thank the police for the work they did in being so transparent and lay it out there for the public about what went wrong and what they’ve learned from that experience,” he said.

“I also want to just reach out to Ariel Bombara, her comments yesterday were very powerful and very important to remind people that we don’t want this to happen again, and that’s what we need to learn from these experiences.”

In her powerful address to WA Police, Ms Bombara again stressed how she and her mother had tried everything they could to keep themselves safe, including reaching out to police multiple times.

She also pointed out that family and domestic violence was about more than guns.

“We know that most domestic violence homicides don’t involve guns. Women get stabbed, choked, burnt to death,” she said.

“I hope that the recommendations from this report are a good first step in fixing a broken system that failed multiple families and eight police officers, and continues to fail women and children today.”

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