Child Protection

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (14:14): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. How many, if any, abuse reports or notifications have been made to the Department for Child Protection by SAPOL in the last 12 months?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:14): I thank the member for the question. As I have spoken about at length before in this house, sadly, for children and young people and their families who are engaged with the child protection and family support system, there are many, many very difficult and very complex issues that they confront. Often, they are issues that span across generations and that speak to intergenerational trauma and also to, sometimes, mental ill health, substance misuse and a number of other stressors that occur in their family life.

Children and young people who are in contact with the child protection and family support system also are often vulnerable to particular sorts of harm and abuse. What we find, as I have spoken about in this place before, is that sometimes those children and young people find themselves in particular situations that do attract particular police attention. I am really proud to say that the Department for Child Protection works very closely with SAPOL when these matters do occur. We are also undertaking work within the Department for Child Protection, and also right across government, to look at how we can best protect children and young people from those particular influences, those particular harms, and we will continue to do that.

Certainly, amongst our $450 million investment—since coming into government—into the child protection and family support system, there are a number of strategies that we engage to keep children and young people safe, and I'm really happy to provide a fulsome list of those strategies today in this place and also, as I do so, to basically put a question into this house for the member to think about. That is, we have an enormous comprehensive list of strategies that we have taken forward utilising that $450 million and what I would really like to start hearing, given the political games that the member for Heysen plays—

Mr BATTY: Point of order, sir.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: —I would like to understand which ones of those they don't support.

The SPEAKER: Sit down please, there is a point of order. If the minister would resume her seat.

Mr BATTY: Standing order 98: the minister is debating. It's a very simple question. If she doesn't know the answer she should just say so.

The SPEAKER: Minister, if you can continue your remarks.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: What I will say first of all, and it's something else I have tried to explain to the member for Heysen before, is that we don't comment, rightly so, on any matters that involve police in relation to children and young people who are engaged with the child protection and family support system. It would be wrong to do so when there are particular investigations, so that's certainly not something I am going to do, and that is the right thing. But I will talk about, very importantly, the ways that we are supporting and empowering children and young people who do face particular vulnerabilities: those children and young people engaged with the system.

I will provide again the very long list of steps forward that we are taking, utilising that significant $450 million investment. Again, I will put it to the member: which of those policies, which of those decisions, which of those investments do they not agree with, because I have not heard one policy, I have not heard one particular argument about whether they don't support family group conferencing, whether they don't support intensive family support services, whether they don't support our investment.

The SPEAKER: Time has expired, minister.