Child Protection, Rice Inquiry

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (14:17): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Has the minister now provided written instructions to her chief executive and her department that she must be told about criminal offending against children in care?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Point of order: I suggest that there's actually information in that but I am happy to take the answer.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: I am just saying—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left! The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning and Local Government) (14:18): Thank you, sir. The question raises the—

Ms Stinson: But she just called a point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: I raised what the issue is, and I said I will take the answer.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The leader on a point of order.

Mr MALINAUSKAS: Mr Speaker, I would just like to seek some clarification as to what your adjudication was on the minister's point of order.

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier has sought the call. The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: As I understood the question in relation to—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned. The member for West Torrens is warned for a second time. The member for Wright is warned. The deputy leader has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Thank you, Mr Speaker. It may not be immediately apparent to members in the house but perhaps I will just make this clear. The chief executive of all of the departments is employed by the Premier. As announced today, in relation to the obligations that are recommended to be undertaken for duties to be undertaken by the chief executive, they include specifically recommendations 1 and 2 in relation to serious criminal offences and also matters which (No. 2) might raise the attention of the media.

Both of those recommendations suggest that it's appropriate for the chief executive of the department, employed by the Premier, to undertake a review and republication of certain procedures and guidelines. That has been fully accepted by the government and is being undertaken. Indeed, I am aware that the Premier has issued a letter to all chief executives in respect of any incident procedure in relation to their departments to undertake that.

But in relation to this specific inquiry by Mr Rice, which was to obviously assess the circumstances surrounding the incidents resulting in the McIntyre and McIntosh sentencing and imprisonment in relation to the teenage girls involved, that issue was under scrutiny by Mr Rice, he gave the recommendations and those recommendations are being implemented in full.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: Nothing to see here, all okay. Minister has done a great job.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lee is called to order.