Ministerial Accountability

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (14:32): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Does the minister agree with the Premier's public remarks regarding ministerial accountability? With your leave, Mr Speaker, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms HILDYARD: On Friday 14 February 2018, the Premier stated:

I've told my ministers they cannot expect to remain in cabinet if they see nothing, hear nothing and question nothing. Ministers have to be inquisitive, inquiring and challenging. Responsibility ends—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, Minister for Education! The member for Reynell has the call.

Ms HILDYARD: It continues:

Responsibility ends on the minister’s desk, not at the departmental door.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:32): I did make it very clear that we needed to have new standards of ministerial accountability when we formed government in March 2018. Since that time, I have seen nothing from the Minister for Child Protection other than absolute dedication to her portfolio.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Badcoe!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: At every single opportunity, she has been inquisitive. She has looked at every single detail of her portfolio and of course she has been in a unique position to do this because she is dedicated to this area, a very tough area of public policy. Under the previous government's regime, we know that this was an add-on to various ministers, and at some periods of time we had two ministers with accountability for the one portfolio. This didn't lead to the reform. It didn't lead to the protections that we must afford to the most vulnerable citizens that we have here in South Australia.

There were widespread failures of accountability in most of the social portfolios that the previous government presided over. By contrast, since coming to government we have taken accountability in each of those areas, and I commend the Minister for Child Protection for the outstanding work that she has done. She has come into cabinet—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and she has argued for improved conditions and very important reform. Since coming to government, we now have a single dedicated—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: You've got to be joking.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for West Torrens!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —Minister for Child Protection. We have extended payments to foster carers in South Australia from looking after children to the age of 18 right through to 21 because that was an important reform that needed to be made. We have seen a massive increase in the responses to the Child Abuse Report Line, the CARL line. When we came to government, people were left sometimes for hours and hours waiting to make a report. This was completely and utterly unacceptable.

There have been very significant improvements in terms of the workforce in this area, with a change to the qualifications acceptable in this department so that we could expand the workforce in this area. We have re-established much better relations with foster carers, who play such a vital role in caring for the most vulnerable people in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Under the previous government, we had a terrible situation with many of our foster carers in South Australia. What we have seen—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will resume his seat for one moment. I am loath to interrupt any minister in the course of an answer. Interjections are disorderly and they will cease. I remind the member for West Torrens he is on two warnings. I don't wish to exclude members from the chamber. It is the opportunity for questions to be asked and answers to be given. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: As I was saying, one of the critical areas of reform in this area is re-establishing a much better working relationship with foster carers in South Australia, who play such an important role in caring for our most vulnerable younger people. What we have seen under this minister's stewardship of this important portfolio is an increase—an increase every year—in terms of the number of foster carers.

I would make the point that there is still much more work to be done. One of the areas we need to be focused on is making sure that we have the right therapeutic supports for those people who are doing it very, very tough. We need to make sure that we have the right settings for those people who come into our care. One of the things that this minister has presided over is moving young people out of the larger platform residences that were commonplace under the previous government and commonplace in other jurisdictions around the country. There is much more work to be done, but what we have in the current minister is a hardworking and dedicated minister and a minister who takes responsibility.