Police Minister Must Front Up Over Firearms Portal Breach

Police Minister Reece Whitby needs to front up and explain a data breach in WA’s new firearms licensing portal and ensure that an independent investigation is undertaken by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Shadow Police Minister Adam Hort said an independent investigation was essential to ensure how the breach occurred, whether appropriate safeguards were ever in place and whether there needs to be any changes to protect licensed gun holders’ data.

“The Minister needs to explain when he knew about the data breach. Who has been affected, and how will they be told? And most importantly – what’s being done to make sure it never happens again,” Mr Hort said.

“Only weeks ago, the Minister told Parliament during Estimates that the system was improving every day. This breach tells a different story.”

Mr Hort said the situation called for urgent independent review.

“The Office of the Information Commissioner is responsible for upholding privacy protections and ensuring public agencies are held to account when things go wrong,” he said.

“Firearms reform is essential in Western Australia, but confidence in the reform process depends on getting the basics right.

“This $35 million portal is the mechanism through which those reforms are delivered. If the system itself isn’t functioning properly, the whole reform agenda is at risk.”

Mr Hort said his office had been inundated with complaints since day one of the portal going live.

“We’ve consistently heard concerns about system reliability – from crashes to delays in processing. Public confidence in the portal was already limited, and this breach has only added to those concerns,” he said.

“The Minister must take responsibility for this breach and stop shifting the burden onto frontline police.

“He needs to front up immediately. It’s not good enough to simply tell people to call a helpline. They’re already spending hours on hold, and it’s a poor use of police resources.”

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Graham Mason 0419 194 792