CAVAN TRAINING CENTRE

The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:07): I ask the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion:

1. As the response to the mass escape at Cavan enters its fourth day, how much has the recapture of Monday night's mass breakout from Cavan cost the taxpayers of South Australia so far?

2. Will his department reimburse SA Police and other agencies involved in the recapture?

3. Wouldn't it have been cheaper for the government to raise the six-foot high perimeter fence and implement effective security at Cavan rather then deploy hundreds of police to recapture offenders who were already in custody?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:08): I thank the honourable member for his very important questions regarding the costs to the taxpayer. I will undertake to take that question to the Minister for Police in another place and bring back a response. With regard to his question about hindsight, I can only say that hindsight is a wonderful thing. What I am concerned about though is having an investigation into this escape and finding out how we can prevent such escapes in the future. That is what I am interested in.