Western Australia's police state has been exposed

After 963 days in a State of Emergency (SoE), Western Australia is finally returned to some semblance of normalcy on the 4th of November with the SoE finally expiring.

However, this does not mean that it’s over for good. Premier Mark McGowan and his Labor government used their majority in the Upper and Lower Houses to force replacement legislation through parliament in October. This was in spite of vehement pushback from the opposition, the crossbench, and the public.

In what is essentially a rebranding of the Public Health Act 2016 SoE powers, the new Emergency Management Amendment (Temporary COVID-19 Provisions) Bill 2022 allows the government to renew its emergency powers on a thrice-monthly basis over the next two years.