EASLING, MR T.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:57): My question is to the Minister for Families and Communities. Does the minister stand by her department's letter to me, dated 25 March 2010, that her department accepted the Ombudsman's finding that the department held no documents relating to any report of a public servant having attended the residence of Tom Easling and found semi-naked boys in his bed?

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: Boys, plural.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: The Attorney quite rightly interjects, 'Boys, plural'.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Families and Communities.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop and the Leader of the Opposition, you are both warned.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (14:58): There has been a concerted push by the member for Davenport and Mr Easling and his lawyers to have an inquiry into the investigation that was conducted by the Department for Families and Communities Special Investigations Unit. The Crown Solicitor undertook a comprehensive review of all the issues and complaints raised by Mr Easling and his solicitors on the basis of whether a further inquiry was warranted.

The conclusion of the Crown Solicitor's review was that neither trial evidence, nor the submissions of Mr Easling's lawyers, provide any basis for any further inquiry into the objectivity or propriety of the investigation, the decision to prosecute or the conduct of the prosecution.

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: This is totally irrelevant to the question, which was: does the minister stand by the correspondence that her department wrote to the member, or does she not?

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister can choose to answer it how she chooses. If she considers this is part of her answer then I uphold that.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. This goes to the crux of the questioning that has gone on in this place over some considerable amount of time. There was—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: There was an extensive inquiry by our Crown Solicitor who found that there was no justification for any further inquiry into—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Mr Easling has now issued defamation proceedings and all of those issues, I expect, will be canvassed during that process.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!