The man set to become the newest member of WA's Parliament is now facing being booted from his own party, after pleading guilty to more than 40 charges of breaching a family violence restraining order.
Lawyer Ben Dawkins is destined to take up the upper house seat left vacant by the departure of Labor veteran Alannah MacTiernan.
A quirk in WA's electoral laws means that, rather than trigger a by-election, Ms MacTiernan's resignation started a process which effectively offers the seat to the person who was next in line on the Labor Party's ticket in the South West electorate at the 2021 election.
That's Bunbury sign writer John Mondy, but he has indicated he won't take up the seat.
It then falls to the fifth person on Labor's ticket – Mr Dawkins – who has said he will take up the vacant spot in Parliament.
Guilty plea to family violence
On Tuesday Mr Dawkins pleaded guilty to 42 counts of breaching a family violence restraining order, which related to communications beyond the allowed topics of visiting his children and finances with his former partner.
Another charge was discontinued by police.
He had been suspended from the party as a result of the charges, but WA Labor has now started the process of removing him from the party entirely.
It means if Mr Dawkins does enter Parliament it will almost certainly be as an independent – but that will not affect Labor's ability to pass legislation, thanks to its massive majority.
"In light of Mr Dawkins pleading guilty to 42 counts of breaching a family violence restraining order, WA Labor State Secretary Ellie Whiteaker has now brought a charge against Mr Dawkins under the WA Labor rules, recommending that Mr Dawkins be expelled from the party," a statement read.
"A decision will ultimately be made by the State Executive of the party in coming weeks."
It's understood that under WA Labor rules, once a charge has been brought it is investigated by the party's Disputes Committee, which makes a finding and recommendation on a penalty to the Administrative Committee.
The Administrative Committee then makes a recommendation to the State Executive, which has the final say.
Breaches 'technical', says Dawkins
When Mr Dawkins was approached for comment, he reiterated comments made previously that the breaches did not involve allegations of any kind of violence, describing them as "technical".
"The alleged breach is relating to an email, or some emails, that I'm allowed to send about my kids and about the property and so on," he said earlier this month.
"The allegation is that maybe I went off topic and potentially I got emotional about not seeing my kids, which I think most dads would be the same."
At the time Mr Dawkins said he was not guilty and would contest the charges, before pleading guilty earlier this week.
Premier Mark McGowan said he supported the actions of the party.
"He was suspended last year and the process for expelling him has commence today," he said.
"I'll let those processes run their course, but whether or not he comes into the Parliament is a process that's yet to conclude so that's something that will play out over the next few weeks."
