Hon. Julie Freeman MLC

Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Hon Julie Freeman MLC, has slammed the government for continuing to ignore regional health concerns, following repeated delays in transferring patients with serious medical conditions, including children.

“Yesterday we heard the shocking story of a ten-year-old Karratha boy who had already spent six days in hospital waiting for an RFDS flight to Perth for surgery. Today, another alarming case has emerged: an eight-year-old East Kimberley boy with serious head injuries took two days to get to Perth, after similar delays.”

These examples expose the Cook Labor Government’s failure to resource regional health and patient retrieval services. Ms Freeman said regional families should be able to expect timely access to care, regardless of where they live.

“Any delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment results in prolonged suffering and delayed recovery. The Cook Labor Government must prioritise either ensuring the medical treatment regional families need is available where they live, or ensuring prompt transfer to the nearest facility with the expertise required.

“Anything less is unacceptable. Regional Western Australians are tired of being an afterthought for this government. They deserve a health system that gets them the care they need, when they need it, just like in Perth.”

Ms Freeman said these two cases were symptomatic of a broader failure to deliver adequate regional health services.

“For families in regional WA, distance can already mean the difference between accessing care locally and having to travel hundreds or thousands of kilometres. Regional families should not be left waiting days for the care their children need.”

Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Hon Rob Horstman MLC said the delay pointed to a retrieval system stretched well beyond its capacity.

“This is not about blaming the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Their crews do extraordinary work every single day across an enormous State,” Mr Horstman said.

“This is about asking whether they have been given the resources and capacity necessary to meet the demands being placed upon them. The State Government needs to explain what it is doing to ensure RFDS and regional patient retrieval services have sufficient aircraft, crews, backup capacity and funding to meet demand.”

Shadow Minister for Road Safety Hon Julie Freeman MLC has today questioned the Minister for Police on whether WA Police have the resources to prosecute the growing number of disputed fines generated by the Cook Labor Government’s AI road safety camera rollout.

Ms Freeman said the decision by police prosecutors to abandon hundreds of cases because there was “no reasonable prospect” of securing a conviction raises serious questions about the Government’s management of the program.

“Today I asked the Minister to explain how many AI camera infringements have been withdrawn after motorists challenged them in court, why prosecutors concluded some cases had no reasonable prospect of conviction, what evidentiary flaws were identified, and what safeguards are now in place to stop unsupported infringements being issued in the future.

“The Minister’s response, or lack of, was very concerning. I asked a straightforward question about how many of these matters are being abandoned, yet the Minister says an answer cannot be provided because of ‘… the complexity of the question’.

“If the Government cannot provide basic information about how many cases are being withdrawn and why, how can Western Australians have confidence in this system?” Ms Freeman said.

WA Police are already under significant pressure, and this is another indication of the demands being placed on an already stretched Police Force.

“The Cook Labor Government must ensure road users are not paying the price for an enforcement system that places additional pressure on police and court resources.

“If police prosecutors are deciding these matters cannot be successfully prosecuted, motorists are entitled to ask why the fines were issued in the first place. And if these fines cannot stand up in court, what does the Government say to the thousands of Western Australians who simply paid up rather than challenge them?

“Those motorists followed the rules, paid their fine and accepted the consequences. Now they are watching others having identical fines withdrawn. That’s a serious question of fairness the Government cannot ignore.”

The latest revelations add to mounting scrutiny of the Cook Labor Government’s AI road safety camera program. In April 2026, authorities confirmed that about 2,000 seatbelt infringements worth more than $1.1 million had been withdrawn within six months of the cameras being introduced, with most appeals succeeding. During that period, more than 53,000 seatbelt infringement notices were issued.

A significant number of withdrawn fines involved claims that passengers, including children and people with disabilities, were not wearing seatbelts correctly. Critics described the appeals process as lengthy and burdensome, arguing it placed an unfair strain on motorists seeking to overturn disputed infringements.

“These cameras were sold as a road safety solution, but thousands of overturned fines and hundreds of abandoned prosecutions tell a different story. Western Australians deserve a system that is fair, accurate and focused on saving lives, not one that leaves motorists and taxpayers paying the price for Government failures.”

Shadow Minister for Road Safety Julie Freeman MLC says WA Police are being forced to drop hundreds of AI camera seatbelt fines exposing the Cook Labor Government’s failure to properly manage the rollout.

“Police Commissioner Col Blanch has confirmed that hundreds of AI camera seatbelt infringements have been abandoned because there was ‘no reasonable prospect’ of securing a conviction,” Ms Freeman said.

“That is not a failure of policing. It is police exercising sound judgement with the laws and resources they have been given.

“The failure sits squarely with the Cook Labor Government, which rolled out this system without properly addressing the practical and legal issues that are now emerging.”

More than 81,000 seatbelt infringements have been issued since the AI cameras were switched on, with around 5,700 already overturned through the review process. WA Police have now confirmed hundreds more are being dropped after they are challenged.

“At what point does the Government admit this is more than a teething problem?” Ms Freeman said.

“With thousands of fines overturned and hundreds more abandoned, Western Australians are entitled to question whether this system was ready for rollout.

Ms Freeman said the consequences were being felt far beyond individual motorists.

“The Cook Labor Government has poured more than $100 million from the Road Trauma Trust Account into processing and administering the flood of infringements generated by these cameras.

“That is Road Trauma Trust Account money that could have gone to black spot upgrades, regional road improvements and driver education. Instead, it is being swallowed up by bureaucracy processing fines and appeals.”

Ms Freeman said the revelation is the latest sign of a Road Safety portfolio without direction.

“Jessica Stojkovski is now the fifth Minister for Road Safety this Government has had since 2017, and Western Australians are still waiting to hear what she intends to do differently to her predecessors to bring the road toll down.

“Rolling out more cameras is clearly not the answer when the Government can’t get the basics right on the cameras it already has.

“Western Australians support fair and effective road safety enforcement, not lengthy reviews and court battles over fines the Government ultimately cannot defend.

“The Minister must explain why police, court and Road Trauma Trust Account resources are being diverted to fix problems created by this rollout instead of supporting frontline road safety measures.

“Road safety policy should be about saving lives, not burdening drivers, police and the courts with the consequences of poor Government decision-making.”

Shadow Minister for Road Safety Hon Julie Freeman MLC says Western Australians deserve answers from the Minister for Road Safety, Labor’s fifth, on what action she will take to address a road toll that continues to rise.

“Western Australia’s road toll stands at 146 deaths this year, well above the five-year average of 108 for the same period. Every one of those deaths represents a tragedy, and the growing gap above the average shows the road safety crisis is deepening,” Ms Freeman said.

“The Minister has now had more than six weeks in this portfolio. That is enough time to be briefed, to read herself into the detail, and to understand exactly what has and hasn’t worked. But West Australians are still waiting to hear what she plans to do about the tragic road toll that just keeps rising.”

Ms Freeman said Minister Stojkowski was the fifth person to hold the Road Safety portfolio since Labor came to government in 2017, following Michelle Roberts, Paul Papalia, David Michael and Reece Whitby.

“Four ministers before her have come and gone while road deaths continue to climb. Western Australians don’t need a fifth minister repeating the same announcements that have already failed four times over.

“This Minister really only has one KPI: reduce road deaths and start closing the gap on our shocking road safety record.

“Western Australia has the worst road toll per capita of any state in the nation, and that is not a statistic you can spin your way out of,” Ms Freeman said.

“West Australians don’t want to hear that the Minister is still getting across her portfolio. They want to know what she is going to do that four ministers before her could not — and they want to know now.”