Cook accuses Zempilas of playing victim but agrees leak should be investigated

Premier Roger Cook has accused Perth Lord mayor and Liberal Churchlands candidate Basil Zempilas of “playing the victim” over a leak of a local government standards panel order on him to this masthead, but agreed it should be investigated.

The panel ordered Zempilas to issue a public apology after using his council-linked social media profile to campaign for higher office, in a minor breach of local government rules that it said blurred the line between his mayoral and candidate roles.

WA Premier Roger Cook, Perth Lord Mayor and Liberal candidate Basil Zempilas.

The order was handed down just hours before Zempilas’ campaign launch in Churchlands on Tuesday and was leaked to WAtoday before Zempilas had seen it.

Zempilas said he would cop the breach order and apologise but lashed the leaker and said it prompted him to phone the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries director general Lanie Chopping for an explanation.

Cook criticised Zempilas and urged him to publicly apologise as the panel had ordered.

“He should publish an apology on one of these various social media platforms that he gets so confused on at the moment because he can’t remember if he’s the Lord Mayor or a Liberal candidate – but he should post a written apology to the people of Western Australia,” he said.

Cook said the leak had nothing to do with him or his party and said Zempilas was trying to play the victim but in the same press conference he agreed it should be investigated.

“No leaking of a report is right, but this has got nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my government, nothing to do with my party,” he said.

“The report’s out there, and if Mr Zempilas has got a complaint about the fact that maybe this leak, this report, has found its way into the public domain illegitimately, well, then that should be investigated.”

WAtoday understands the complaint was lodged in early 2024 by Naijiao “Jason” Bo, a former City of Perth candidate who ran alongside Zempilas’ lord mayoral opponent Sandy Anghie.

Zempilas declined to respond to Cook’s comments but on 6PR on Wednesday he described the leak as outrageous and highly irregular.

“I accept [the findings], and it was a mistake … but for this confidential information, which I should have 28 days to consider before further action, to be given to a media organisation in this environment and at this time is outrageous — I will not stand for that,” he said.

The panel deemed the breach to be at the lower end of seriousness, attributing it to a genuine misunderstanding on Zempilas’ part, for which he had shown remorse.

He also told the panel he took the responsibilities of his position as lord mayor seriously and prided himself on the leadership role for the city and the local government sector.

Labor has revelled in the order being made public, with the party’s official Youtube page starting a counter detailing how long it had been since he was asked to apologise.

WAtoday understands Zempilas intends to refer the leak to the department and the Corruption and Crime Commission for investigation.

A department spokeswoman said it had not yet received a written complaint.

“Should a complaint be received, it will be assessed and referred to relevant integrity agencies as is the standard operating procedure for allegations of this nature,” she said.