Answers to Questions

CHILDREN IN STATE CARE

178 The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (26 November 2008). Can the Minister for Families and Communities advise, in relation to the tabling of reports associated with the Mullighan Inquiry, what arrangements will be made for out-of-session publication of the Children in State Care Report due on 25 December 2009 and the APY Lands Report due on 30 January 2010?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy): The Minister for Families and Communities has provided the following information:

Under section 11a(c) of the commission of inquiry (children in state care and children on apy lands) act 2004, I am required to table further responses updating the Parliament on the implementation of the Commission's recommendations annually for five years.

These responses must be tabled within three months of the end of the year and must state:

the recommendations of the Commissioner that have been wholly or partly carried out in the relevant year and the manner in which they have been carried out; and

if, during the relevant year, a decision has been made not to carry out a recommendation of the Commissioner that was to be carried out, the reasons for not carrying it out; and

if, during the relevant year, a decision has been made to carry out a recommendation of the Commissioner that was not to be carried out, the reasons for the decision and the manner in which the recommendation will be carried out.

I tabled the South Australian Government's full response to the Children in State Care Commission of Inquiry report on 25 September 2008 and to the Children on APY Lands Commission of Inquiry report on 30 October 2008.

The first of the annual responses to the Children in State Care and Children on APY Lands Commission of Inquiry reports are due on 25 December 2009 and 30 January 2010 respectively.

To ensure these reporting timeframes are met and the Government demonstrates its commitment to the recommendations of the Commissioner, I will table the response to the Children in State Care report and the Children on APY Lands report on or before the 3 December 2009, which is the last Parliamentary sitting day for 2009.