House of Assembly: Thursday, June 23, 2011

Contents

CHILD'S DEATH

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (15:19): My question is to the Minister for Families and Communities. Was the legal advice to 'be incredibly cautious' in respect of the five-year-old boy who died at Modbury Heights two weeks ago to ensure that there would be no interference with the pending criminal case or to protect against self-incrimination, or to avoid embarrassment to the minister, or all of the above?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (15:20): The member for Bragg—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: The member for Bragg is supposed to be a lawyer. She should know the difficulty that I would face if I actually spoke about the circumstances of this case while the trial is underway and, in fact, the advice that I received was in relation to prejudicing a trial.