An urgent push to have Western Australia's former corruption watchdog reappointed to the role has been labelled "arrogance" by the opposition.
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The McGowan Labor government is set to use its unprecedented majority in both houses of parliament to rush through an amendment to reappoint John McKechnie as head of the Corruption and Crime Commission.
It says opposition MPs have used a parliamentary committee to block Mr McKechnie's return amid an ongoing CCC probe into the misuse of electoral allowances.
Mr McKechnie, a retired Supreme Court justice, had led the CCC for five years.
The government on Wednesday used its numbers in the Legislative Assembly to suspend standing orders so the house could rush through the amendment, which names Mr McKechnie and allows him to serve another five-year term.
Opposition Leader Mia Davies said the Nationals and Liberals would oppose the bill but had no prospect of stopping its passage.
She accused the government of abusing its power, saying the opposition had only been briefed overnight.
"A premier that is drunk on the power of this huge majority - that is what is happening today," Ms Davies told the chamber.
"We would object to this political manoeuvring whether it was Mr McKechnie or any other eminent, suitably qualified candidate."
Ms Davies said the "captain's pick" would taint the work of the CCC, which has been led by acting commissioner Scott Ellis since last April.
Liberal leader David Honey accused the government of "arrogance and hubris".
Attorney-General John Quigley said there had been an illness within the CCC which meant a permanent commissioner was "urgently required".
He said Mr McKechnie was WA's "most respected and decorated corruption fighter".
"This government will not be frustrated by people who vote in secrecy against his appointment," he said.
Mr McKechnie's return has twice been blocked in confidential deliberations by a parliamentary committee, the composition of which changed after the March election.
On both occasions the government claims opposition MPs voted against the reappointment.
The CCC last year made findings of serious misconduct against former upper house Liberal MPs Brian Ellis and Nigel Hallett.
They were accused of colluding with disgraced former colleague Phil Edman and warning others about the CCC investigation, causing evidence to be lost or destroyed.
A 2019 report revealed Mr Edman had used his electorate allowance for acting as a "sugar daddy" to women he met online, visiting strip clubs and paying speeding fines.
After the CCC raided his premises, Mr Edman got a former MP and a party official to warn various sitting members that a seized laptop contained damaging material.
"It's got everything, all the emails between all of us, Black Hand Gang dinners, it's got the video, there's enough stuff on that f***ing computer to bury f***ing a lot of people," he said to the former MP.
The powerful upper house Procedures and Privileges Committee subsequently reclaimed Mr Edman's laptop from investigators on the basis of parliamentary privilege.
Australian Associated Press