Brand MHR taken to task over lack of responses

Brand MHR Madeleine King says her office strives to respond to locals who raise legitimate concerns after a Cooloongup man claimed he had been ignored for more than 18 months.

Hank Velda told the Sound Telegraph he had recently written three letters to Mrs King’s office, most recently just before Christmas, and despite explicitly asking for a written response, had received none.

Mr Velda also said when he took matters into his own hands and visited Mrs King’s office in person to inquire, he was “treated like a pest”.

“I’ve received no response to any letter. I even hand-delivered another to her office and asked why I hadn’t heard back,” he said.

“You get disappointed and at the end of your tether. She’s supposed to be our representative, why can’t she answer straight-out questions?”

Mrs King said all constituents living in the electorate who contacted her office were entitled to a response, but sometimes it wasn’t possible to respond to every request and even a response might not be to a person’s satisfaction.

“Sometimes, given the volume of correspondence or the complexity of issues raised, it may take a little while. However my office strives to ensure every local with a legitimate concern receives a response,” she said.

“Enquiries made by constituents that are not from my electorate, not portfolio related, or not federal in nature are forwarded onto the appropriate office for a response. This may include state offices or federal offices interstate.

“Sometimes people getting in contact with my office don’t receive the response they might have hoped for and they might feel unhappy about this. While we always try to resolve every enquiry made of this office, sometimes it is not possible.”

Mrs King stressed she welcomed interaction with constituents and encouraged people to contact her office when the need arose on 9527 9377 or at madeleine.king.mp@aph.gov.au.