Question Time

POLICE COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police, and Leader of the Government in this place, a question about the Police Complaints Authority.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: The opposition has proposed a model for an independent commission against corruption that would subsume the Police Complaints Authority and change the relevant law. However, the government told the House of Assembly on 12 February this year that it does not need an independent anti-corruption body because, as the Attorney-General, said, 'South Australia has several very good anti-corruption bodies, including the Ombudsman, the Anti-Corruption Branch of the police, the Auditor-General and the Police Complaints Authority...' In his inquest into the death of Christopher Wilson, the State Coroner Mark Johns handed out a recommendation that the secrecy provisions of the Police Complaints Act be amended so that relevant evidence is disclosed to the court.

It is interesting to note that there are a number of prominent South Australians who have aired their support for an independent commission against corruption, including the former auditor-general, Mr Ken MacPherson, Professor Dean Jaensch and, of course, the retiring Police Association President Peter Alexander. Does the Minister for Police accept the Coroner's concerns made yesterday in respect of the Wilson case about the need to review the effectiveness of the Police Complaints Authority, and how does the Coroner's finding impact upon his personal opposition to an independent commission against corruption?

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I do not know whether or not the Hon. Mr Ridgway would like to hear the answer, but if he keeps on interjecting the minister will not have the opportunity to answer the question.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:26): Yesterday, the State Coroner did, in fact, hand down his findings into the death of Christopher Stuart Wilson. Christopher Wilson was, of course, 23 years of age when he died at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on 28 February 2004 as a result of gunshot wounds to the head.

First, I think it would be appropriate to again offer my condolences to Julie Wilson and the family and friends of Christopher Wilson. I know that nothing can fully assuage the pain and grief of the loss of Christopher; however, I offer them my sincere sympathy.

Having looked at the Coroner's report, I can assure the honourable member that we will carefully consider—as we always do—his recommendations. In regard to the 49 conclusions identified by the Coroner, these have already been addressed by SAPOL, and they include improvements to the general orders on crime reporting. The police, indeed, identified the need for these improvements well before the Coroner's hearing, and the changes were implemented before the conclusion of this hearing.

There is no doubt that this case presented opportunities for greater leadership to be demonstrated. I certainly agree with Deputy Commissioner Burns' comments that greater leadership should have been shown during police involvement in the incidents that were examined during this inquest. However, it is important to remember that no police officer intentionally set out that day to make the mistakes that were made. In fact, the Coroner, in his findings, said the following:

I have not found that the death of Christopher Wilson was caused by any of the deficiencies in policing which I have identified in these findings.

The people of South Australia should have full confidence in SAPOL's ability to deal professionally with these types of situations; they do so every day. However, in this case, there is no doubt that the matter should have been accorded greater urgency and priority, and it should have been treated as a serious offence. Lessons have been learnt, and SAPOL has implemented changes to practices, procedures, policies and general orders that should assist in preventing a repetition of the shortcomings identified.

Our police force is not perfect, but it does continuously aim to improve its internal and external service delivery. The police force does recognise that the community is its first priority and that its services should meet the community's needs and expectations. The reality is that there are thousands of police officers doing an excellent job on a daily basis. They have millions of public contacts and, on the whole, they provide quality service to the people of South Australia, which is borne out by independent studies.

The opposition has chosen to link the findings of the Coroner in some way to its call for an independent commission against corruption. That is a blatant misrepresentation of the Coroner's findings. The Coroner did not find any act of corruption or criminality by the police officers involved in this investigation, and it is disgraceful that the member should seek to imply that. There was no act of corruption or criminality by the police officers concerned, and it is absolutely outrageous that he should suggest otherwise. I would suggest that nothing whatsoever in the Coroner's report would suggest the need for an independent commission against corruption, because there was no evidence whatsoever. As has been indicated, the government always gives close consideration to the findings of the Coroner, and certainly we will be examining those findings very closely.

The honourable member also referred to section 48 of the Police Complaints Act in relation to secrecy. I have answered questions on this case before; in fact, the Hon. Nick Xenophon asked me a question in relation to this matter back on 29 May 2007, almost a year ago. The issue was raised at the time about the attendance of Mrs Wilson at a disciplinary hearing. A number of issues have come up in relation to the Coroner's Court's findings operating concurrently, as it was at the time, with those of the Police Complaints Authority; obviously, that is an issue that needs to be addressed and will be addressed by this government. However, nothing in this case would in any way suggest corruption or illegality on behalf of anybody other than the perpetrator of the tragic death of Mr Wilson.