Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup has spent his first few weeks as a member of state parliament asking almost 600 questions of newly elected Labor ministers, setting a parliamentary record.
Although many are familiar with the question-time broadcast on television where ministers and the opposition battle it out off the cuff, members of parliament can also ask questions on notice, usually when answers must be researched before being delivered.
Mr Kirkup has asked a total of 596 questions on notice since he was sworn in on May 11.
The questions relate to topics as diverse as ministers’ meetings, contact between Premier Mark McGowan and the City of Perth, government information security, and local issues which had been raised with him by residents.
“I have to be realistic here, I know the Liberal party has a very small number of people in the parliament,” Mr Kirkup said.
“We lost government and Labor had a victory – an emphatic win – and I think it’s important that, even though there is a small team now in the Liberal party, where we can we get back up off the floor and start fighting again and doing our job as an opposition to hold them to account.”
But Mr Kirkup denied the number of questions he was asking was wasting government resources.
“It’s not to be negative, the stuff I’m seeking is genuinely important public information,” he said.
“For example, I had a meeting with a resident of Halls Head who spoke to me about the fees they pay for jetty licences, then went from that meeting and asked six or seven questions about the Jetties Act.”
“When I have a chance to meet with the community I take the issues they raise with me and I take those conversations and where I can I make sure we hold the government to account for things that are a concern for people in the district I represent.”
After he was elected at the March state election, Mr Kirkup launched a website where residents could suggest parliamentary questions he could ask of the government, believed to be the first of its type in the country.
“We have to work as hard as a team double that size and that’s what I'm going to do, work hard on behalf of the people who elected me,” he said.
Premier Mark McGowan’s office has been contacted for comment.