CHILD PROTECTION

Mr PISONI (Unley) (15:00): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development—and, please, take your time. Why was the file relating to the youth worker charged with the rape of a student sitting on the minister's desk unread for more than two weeks?

The SPEAKER: Is the member for Unley quite certain he wants to use the term 'rape' for the record?

Mr PISONI: Certainly.

The SPEAKER: I see. The Minister for Education.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:00): Every situation that is going to occur is going to be unique and different. This government expects the department to move as swiftly as it can in providing information to those parents who should receive it. We believe parents should be the first to know.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Bragg.

Ms CHAPMAN: This question is nothing to do with advice to parents. The question was: why didn't the minister deal with this for two weeks?

The SPEAKER: The member for Bragg is out of order. That is not a point of order. The minister is actually addressing the substance of the question, as I noted it when the member for Unley asked it, and that is why the file was (as he put it) sitting on the minister's desk. The Minister for Education.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: The important thing in all of this is what action was being taken to protect the victim in this case, a victim about whom someone has been charged with unlawful sexual intercourse and indecent assault offences. I am concerned that the member for Unley continues to misquote the public statements that have been made by police in relation to these offences. There is no charge of rape, and these families are facing enough concerns without politicising and repeating this misinformation. I think this is incredibly concerning.

Mr Pisoni: Splitting hairs. Can she give permission at 16?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I am sorry, are you prepared—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Will the minister please be seated. The member for Unley is warned for the second time. The minister.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I think it is important that parents and the public have correct information. There is no charge of rape. That does not lessen the importance of these charges. This person has been charged with unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of consent, and that is incredibly concerning. There is no doubt about that. As soon as the department was made aware of these charges, as I understand it, action and steps were put in place. The first thing was to ensure that the young victim was protected.

The SPEAKER: Minister, there is a point of order from the member for Davenport.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: While the minister's answer is interesting, she is not addressing the substance of the question, which is why the file sat on her desk for two weeks.

The SPEAKER: Member for Davenport, the way I am hearing the answer is that the minister is addressing precisely that point—the length of time before parents receive notice.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Mr Speaker; you may be confused about the question. The question was not about the length of time it took to notify the parents. The question was why the file sat on the minister's desk for two weeks unread.

The SPEAKER: The minister.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: The file was not sitting on my desk for two weeks. The file was in the office. The department provided the file. My staff were across the file. We had meetings with officials of the department and, importantly—most importantly—actions were being taken to support the victim, to identify other children who may have been in contact with this person, confirm their addresses, ensure that appropriate correspondence was prepared with factual information to go out to parents, and that correspondence was prepared and ready to go out last week.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Heysen is warned for the second time. The member for Port Adelaide.