CHILD PROTECTION INQUIRY

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:21): My further question to the Premier is: upon completing his role as education minister, on what date was the request made to wipe his office computers and who made this request—the request being consistent with the requirement of the State Records Act that official records made or received by a minister's office only be deleted with the permission of the manager of the State Records office?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (15:21): I thank the honourable member for her question. Of course, this policy that deals with computers has been in place since the 1980s and one only needs to actually for a small moment consider what it involves. If one were to send back a computer that is being used in a particular office, it would make sense to send that computer back in a way that did not contain confidential information. That is the simple proposition at the heart of the way in which this is managed. Of course, those opposite seem to be missing one rather rich point here: there was one computer that was retained and that was mine. It was not sent back, so it was capable of being fully searched.

An honourable member: And it was.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: And it was.