CHILD PROTECTION INQUIRY

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:46): My question is to the Premier. Did the Premier request that Simon Blewett investigate how representations could be made to the Parole Board in relation to the sexual assault case at the western suburbs school at the centre of the Debelle inquiry?

The SPEAKER: Could the deputy leader repeat the question?

Ms CHAPMAN: Did the Premier request that Simon Blewett investigate how representations could be made to the Parole Board in relation to the sexual assault case at the western suburbs school at the centre of the Debelle inquiry?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:47): I think we dealt with this last time. If you recall, this was the preparation of material for cabinet deliberations so that, when we were considering the Debelle report, all of cabinet was capable of being appraised of all of the relevant issues associated with that particular matter. I recall giving no particular direction, but this is the sort of information that one would expect should be gathered for ministers and for cabinet so that they can be ready to answer questions that we anticipated would occur.

Because this was a notorious matter and because there was a conviction concerning it, it was natural that there may be questions about what the fate of the parole of any person associated with it would be, and so it was proper that ministerial advisers and chiefs of staff were gathering information. This was just one of the inputs into the cabinet process that dealt with the response to the Debelle inquiry.

The SPEAKER: Supplementary, if it be a supplementary.