Question Time

Minister for Child Protection

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:10): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier have confidence in the Minister for Child Protection and, if so, why? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Almost 50 people have been charged with sexual offences against children in state care since March 2022, two resulting in pregnancies. One in five calls to the Child Abuse Report Line go unanswered. Executive staffing in the department is in disarray, and today, the minister has refused to answer questions in relation to the tragic death of a three-year-old Whyalla girl.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:11): The answer to the question is absolutely. As to the why, it is because the Minister for Child Protection is doing all the work that you didn't. In fact, the very reason why the Leader of the Opposition is even able to recite those statistics—

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leader, do you wish to stay in the chamber at the moment? Allow the Premier to respond.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The reason why the Leader of the Opposition is even able to recite those statistics is that this government is measuring them, which is something that no government prior has done in a sophisticated and organised way. This minister values not just measuring performance but also having a degree of transparency. When the member for Frome was the Chief of Staff to the former Minister for Child Protection, this was the sort of data that no-one could get near. This was the sort of data that was not even measured, and this is just an example of the initiatives that are substantial—

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: He didn't either, but this government is, under this minister. So when you ask whether or not we have confidence in a minister who is doing things that no-one else before has done, you better believe we do. More than that, what I see from this minister in regard to the child protection portfolio, apart from demonstrating initiative, is also sincere compassion to actually drive change where others were not willing to do so.

I can think of a range of examples that this government has led under the stewardship of the minister, but also, we know that money talks. When it comes to the Department for Child Protection, it has enjoyed an unprecedented level of funding during the course of the life of this government. We continue to invest in these areas because we know it matters, but more than that, there is a long-term question at play when it comes to child protection.

I think it is well known, and even those opposite would acknowledge the fact, that in many respects the child protection system is the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. What we have to have the courage to do is lift our eyes, look over the horizon and invest in the initiatives that might make a difference in the long term, which is exactly why this government—with the support of the Minister for Child Protection, I might add—is investing so heavily in the early years, a serious policy underpinned by none other than a royal commission to drive change for all children across our state in terms of the early years, but that is particularly true for people growing up in more disadvantaged and vulnerable circumstances.

We know if we can get to these kids early we can actually put them on a trajectory to have a better life that may in turn result in their own children not ending up in the child protection system. These things matter. So the government has a broad policy, a long-term agenda, to give children, particularly disadvantaged children from disadvantaged circumstances, the best possible hope of not needing to engage the child protection system itself. But where it does, it does so with a government that is committed to transparency, which is the very reason why the Leader of the Opposition can even ask the question that he is today.