Paul Lilburne: Office of Labor’s Carine MP electorate office locked from public, tenant says

A tenant in the same building as Carine MP Paul Lilburne says the Labor politician’s electorate office is kept locked from the public, and the MP is rarely seen. Mr Lilburne won the affluent northern suburbs seat, long thought to be a Liberal stronghold, on the back of a wave of popular support, but is widely tipped to become a one-term wonder. His electorate office on Beach Road shares a building with nearly a dozen businesses, with one tenant claiming it is locked even during business hours. Members of the public must request access through an intercom and cannot see into the office. A staff member who works for a business in the same building said some constituents had gotten angry because Mr Lilburne was never available. “I’ve seen the local MP attend the offices about four times in the last year, and we’re at the premises all day, every day,” the tenant said. “They insist and force members of the public to speak through an intercom. They actually don’t have an open office to the community. So, you regularly have residents talking through an intercom. “More recently, there’s been disgruntled residents. Two different residents in the last week were there and getting cross because Paul was not there to talk to.” The neighbouring tenant said he had heard one resident “shouting and getting quite aggressive because Paul was evading communications”. “The rest of the building has completely opened tenancies with normal office doors,” he said. “The electorate office is fitted out with a glazed sliding door, so you cannot see in an out of it, and a special intercom only for that tendency. So, it’s specifically designed to avoid any interaction with the public. “They literally don’t allow people in the front door.” When The West visited Mr Lilburne’s office last week, it was locked. When we buzzed the intercom to ask why, a staff member said she was filling in and had been told to keep it locked while alone. The electorate offices of neighbouring Labor MPs Stuart Aubrey in Scarborough and Christine Tonkin in Churchlands were both open and unlocked when The West visited. The West contacted Mr Lilburne for comment, but he said he was “not available” and hung up the phone. The parliamentary electorate office handbook does not mandate how an office must operate, putting “operational and service level needs” at the MP’s discretion. This week, a community member posted on the Duncraig, Carine, Sorrento, and Surrounds Facebook page to complain that he had sent a voicemail to Mr Lilburne a month ago and had emailed him but had not heard back. Several members of the group responded and claimed similar experiences, including one person who said that they had sent three emails and phoned but “got nothing,” while another said their experience of going to him was “a waste of time”. Labor did not specifically target Carine at the 2021 State election, but the seat flipped red regardless due to pandemic-inspired Mark McGowan mania. Mr Lilburne defeated Liberal incumbent Tony Krsticevic, who ran for preselection to take back the seat in 2025 but lost to young corporate affairs professional Liam Staltari. Mr Krsticevic said the video intercom was installed during his 13-year stint as Carine MP after a man who did not live in the electorate threatened to “firebomb” the office. But the former MP said the office was unlocked “almost 100 per cent of the time” during his tenure after police had dealt with the deranged individual. “Unless there is a dangerous situation, the office should be open, and the door should be unlocked,” Mr Krsticevic said. “Electorate officers are provided by the parliament and should always be staffing the office during business hours.” WA Labor state secretary Ellie Whittaker declined to comment.