Private Email Accounts

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (15:17): My question is to the Premier. What action has the Premier taken to ensure that all ministers and ministerial staff are fully complying with the instructions of the ICAC commissioner, as detailed in his 2013-14 annual report?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (15:18): I thank the member for this question because for about four years we have asked the previous government repeatedly to recognise the significance of this alert that was given by Commissioner Lander, that was given—

Mr Picton: Yes, no private servers over here.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: I'm addressing the Speaker, as I am expected to.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Commissioner Lander's recommendation was to strongly look at the question of whether there is any practice of government—that is, referring to the former government—that utilised emails for the purposes of subverting the obligations under the State Records Act. He made a very clear indication in that report to the former government, and in reporting it to our parliament, that this matter needs to be adhered to and there needs to be compliance.

The issues surrounding the Debelle education inquiry reminded us in a very clear way of the obligation right at the top of the former government in relation to the use of private emails that then disappeared and were the subject of multiple questions in this parliament. The former premier made the claim at the time that his—I think chief of staff was the position—had not breached the records act. We had been through this in considerable detail, so nobody in this parliament who was here—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —under the previous government would have any concern about understanding the obligation in respect of the records act. One of them—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —was to assist by listening to Mr Lander's recommendation that if there is use of platforms outside telephone lines, faxes, government email addresses, etc.—that is, private phones, private accounts, emails through this parliament, electorate offices and the like—there needs to be a very clear understanding that, whatever the forum upon which any item of government business traverses, it still does not avoid the obligation of the person who is in government or works for government to ensure that they comply with that act. I urge any new members of parliament—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is called to order.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —to ensure that they also remind themselves of that obligation. Sometimes, people do contact us through different forums, like a home telephone. There might be other mechanisms by which this is conveyed and for which there needs to be a clear understanding that, whatever the motive for the transmission, if it is government business, it needs to be reported, documented, indexed and kept.

For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to go out to the records division, which we have primarily for public access out at Cavan, I urge you to go and have a look out there because it gives you an indication of the amount and bulk of material which we as governments need to record to comply with the law in that regard. I also indicate to members that the board that sits in respect of responsibility of records also provides an annual report to this parliament. It is well worth the read, and I am very pleased and proud to say that our Premier knows what is in that act. He has made it very clear to his own ministers what he expects of a standard of compliance in relation to all our obligations, including that one.