Community lawyer Ben Dawkins has been chosen as the replacement for veteran Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan, despite facing expulsion from his party as he defends a string of charges of breaching a family violence restraining order.
A recount by the WA Electoral Commission this afternoon confirmed Mr Dawkins would take the upper house seat left vacant by Ms MacTiernan's retirement earlier this year.
Her spot would ordinarily fall to the person who was next in line on Labor's ticket for the South West electorate at the 2021 election.
That was Bunbury signwriter John Mondy, but he declined to nominate for the spot.
As a result it went to the next person, Mr Dawkins, who was number five on Labor's ticket.
"I'm grateful for any opportunity that comes my way, and I don't have a lot to say today," he said after the recount.
Speaking before the recount this morning, senior minister Rita Saffioti said the party was "very keen for him not to be a Labor Party member in that chamber".
Fellow cabinet member Sue Ellery said she was supportive of efforts to remove Mr Dawkins from the party because of the allegations made against him.
"He'll sit on the crossbench and he will deal with legislation in the same way that other members of the crossbench have to work, and we'll get on with the business of the government," Ms Ellery said.
Change of plea on family violence order charges
Labor last month started the process of expelling Mr Dawkins from the party, having already suspended him.
That was a result of him pleading guilty to 42 counts of breaching a family violence restraining order, which he said related to communications beyond the allowed topics of visiting his children and finances with his former partner.
"The allegation is that maybe I went off topic and potentially I got emotional about not seeing my kids, which I think most dads would be the same," he said outside court last month.
But when he returned to court the following week he made an application to change his pleas from guilty to not guilty, telling reporters afterwards he had initially made a "plea of convenience".
"I'm innocent of everything and guilty of nothing," he said.
'I've done nothing wrong'
Speaking after the recount today, Mr Dawkins said those charges should have no bearing over how he's perceived.
"You have a blue with the missus over the house and the kids, that shouldn't be a criminal offence in any jurisdiction," he said today.
"People go through this every day, I've just been to Joondalup Court this morning representing a client, pro bono, who had the same issues.
"I've [got] nothing to be worried about in that regard, I'll just deal with those things in the Magi's [Magistrates] court.
"If you're going to sit there and make moral judgements about someone who's had a disagreement with their wife about possession of a marital home after a 20-year marriage, then you do so at your own risk.
"I've done nothing wrong … there's no question about my integrity or my character."
When asked why he nominated for the recount, Mr Dawkins said: "I'm eligible and I think I can do a good job, so you'll just have to wait and see."
"I reckon I can bring a few things but I'm not going to go into that sort of detail today.
"Today's just about running the process."
Mr Dawkins is due back in court tomorrow for the Magistrate to consider the application to change his pleas.
If he succeeds, its unclear what impact that would have on the process of expelling him from the party.
Loss of seat won't slow legislation
That process began last month when party secretary Ellie Whiteaker brought a charge against Mr Dawkins under the party's rules, following his initial guilty plea.
It's understood that charge is currently being investigated by the party's Disputes Committee, which will make a finding and recommendation on a penalty to the Administrative Committee.
A final decision is then made by the party's State Executive, based on the Administrative Committee's recommendation.
As it stands, when Mr Dawkins takes his seat in Parliament he will almost certainly sit as an independent, leaving Labor with one less seat in the Legislative Council than it had after the 2021 election.
But that will not affect the government's ability to pass legislation though, with Labor still holding 21 of the 36 seats.
Mr Dawkins will sit on the crossbench with fellow independents Wilson Tucker, whose Daylight Savings Party was recently deregistered for not meeting refreshed electoral laws, and former Nationals MP James Hayward who is awaiting trial for child sex offences.
