Western Power: 563 work laptops worth $1 million stolen over two and half years | Brigades stretc…

Explore the latest developments concerning Western Power: 563.

Western Power: 563 work laptops worth $1 million stolen over two and half years

More than a million dollars worth of computers belonging to Western Power have been stolen or lost in just two and half years, it has been revealed.

From July 2023 to December last year the agency responsible for the state’s electricity network lost or had stolen 563 computers, laptops and tablets — the equivalent of one for every five employees — raising questions about its ability to manage the security of taxpayer funded electronic equipment.

“If this is the standard at which we’re operating it’s a wonder the government gets by at all,” Shadow Energy Minister Steve Thomas said.

In the same period 198 Western Power-owned mobile phones were reported lost or stolen, costing taxpayers $143,000.

Brigades stretched 'babysitting' pole-top fires for Western Power

Regional shires and volunteer firefighters are frustrated over the time spent monitoring pole-top fires. (Supplied: Evan Lawrence)

The Gingin shire president says volunteer firefighters are frustrated about the amount of time spent monitoring pole-top fires waiting for Western Power to confirm isolation. 

Emergency services are unable to extinguish a pole-top fire until a Western Power worker can travel to the site and confirm power isolation.

WA Local Government Association president Karen Chappel says Western Power and regional councils need to work together to find a better solution.

Regional shires in Western Australia say Western Power's slow response time to pole-top fires is stretching local resources and putting stress on already fatigued volunteer firefighters.

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