Burns, Commissioner Gary

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright) (15:44): Time constraints prevented my contribution to the motion before this house in the last sitting, so today I wish to place on record my appreciation of retired commissioner of police Gary Burns, wish him well in his retirement and offer my congratulations to our newly appointed police commissioner Grant Stevens and Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams. I have had the opportunity to work with Commissioner Stevens when I was Minister for Police and also at various at times when I had different ministries, particularly during the Shannon McCoole investigation.

I have also worked with our new Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams when she was the senior officer at the Holden Hill LSA. From a local member perspective, I found her to be professional and responsive, and I really appreciated the working relationship we were able to establish. Her appointment is particularly notable, being the highest appointment of a woman yet in the South Australian police force. Times have changed remarkably from when I first married into the ranks of the SAPOL family back in the very early 1970s. I well remember the ruckus when women officers became patrol officers working with their male counterparts.

I was the police minister at the time of the appointment of commissioner Gary Burns, and it was pleasing to see how warmly his appointment was received. There is no doubt Gary Burns was greatly respected for his extensive operational experience, which was the hallmark of his term as commissioner. I would like to place on record my appreciation for his dedication to our community, to SAPOL and his officers, and his good advice and assistance to me as his minister.

No community can function effectively without the highest level of ethical law enforcement. We expect our police to be the holders of truth in South Australia and we can accept nothing less. It is incumbent on each and every officer to fulfil their roles with the highest degree of honesty and integrity. Gary Burns operated in that vein throughout his career. When things went wrong or someone got something wrong, he never shied away from it, always reinforcing integrity and honesty with both his words and actions.

The situation I was confronted with in relation to the horrific abuse of children at the hands of Shannon McCoole was the most difficult and challenging I have had to face. The horror, quite frankly, is unimaginable and nothing prepares you for these circumstances. At all times, I was guided by senior officers in charge of the investigation about the information that could be publicly disclosed, bearing in mind the investigation was still underway and it involved other policing agencies in other states and countries. I was not able to share immediately all of the information to which I was privy.

Needless to say, I faced a barrage of criticisms and accusations as stories were published in The Advertiser. Knowing full well I could not divulge information, the Leader of the Opposition took full political capital to try to exploit this matter, asking something like 63 or 64 questions in this place over two days. In not one question did he ask about the welfare of the children. To her credit, the member for Adelaide at least did that. I was not prepared to say or do anything that would jeopardise this investigation or prejudice the court case.

Commissioner Burns returned from leave and on ABC radio told South Australians that a care concern from Families SA about McCoole had been referred to SAPOL and that they had determined, based on information they had at the time, that it did not warrant investigation. Commissioner Burns, in his very honest and forthright way, never shied away from the facts and never tried to divert or deflect responsibility for SAPOL's decisions. He made it very clear that I had done the right thing, that it was he as commissioner who was responsible for the investigation into Shannon McCoole and he would be the one who determined when and what information would and could be released publicly.

This was a torrid time and, when matters are concluded, I may take the opportunity to expand on these comments further. But, for now, I want to congratulate Gary Burns on his esteemed career in our South Australian police force, thank him for his leadership and for the example he set.