CHILD PROTECTION

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (14:38): My question is to the—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr McFetridge: You should have talked to them.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Morphett!

Mr GARDNER: My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development with responsibility for child protection. Four years after the police discovered the 'house of horrors' and a year after the perpetrators were sent to jail, why has the review announced by then minister Weatherill in July 2008 not been completed?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:39): Very simply because we had to wait for the criminal and court proceedings to conclude—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —and the Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee has been doing a very thorough job, I am sure you would appreciate.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I think all of us would do well to keep politics out of child protection issues. It is a serious question and I am answering it in good faith. In fact, I think within days of becoming minister I met with Deej Eszenyi, the chair of the committee, and they flagged that soon they would be undertaking that work. We gave a commitment to support that committee. In fact, we gave extra funding and extra resources to that committee to enable them to undertake the very thorough work that they needed to undertake, and they are doing that.

Mr GARDNER: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: If it is a supplementary, yes.