Parliamentary Procedure

Child Protection

The SPEAKER (14:39): At the start of business today the member for Bragg raised what she said was a point of clarification but seemed to be an impromptu intervention. The member for Bragg's point was that the Coroner, in his findings in the Chloe Valentine case, wanted the Attorney to send to the house a couple of pages of transcript where the chief executive of the department was being examined about section 20(2) of the Children's Protection Act. The Coroner wanted that brought to the house's attention, because in his finding that subsection of legislation was not being applied or enforced.

The member for Bragg was asking whether that had been brought to my attention. Well, it was in an envelope on my desk and I went straight from a meeting of the parliamentary Labor Party to the house and I did not open the envelope. Had I opened the envelope, I would have found inside a letter from the Deputy Premier and Minister for Child Protection Reform drawing my attention, and therefore the house's attention, to recommendation 22.4 of the Coroner. I table that letter and that item of transcript.

Ms CHAPMAN: If I may, sir, on a further point of clarification, identify whether you have had anything in respect of recommendation 22.5 in particular, as it had been confirmed by the Attorney on 16 September that he would be requesting that be provided as well?

The SPEAKER: Yes, I do have a paragraph on that where the Minister for Child Protection Reform writes: 'I have investigated whether Families SA has, in any of its annual reports since 1 October 2006, reported on compliance with section 20(2) of the act. I am advised there has been no such reporting undertaken by Families South Australia.' I table that.