Legislative Council: Thursday, May 05, 2022

Contents

SafeWork SA

The Hon. C. BONAROS (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Attorney a question about SafeWork SA and the decision not to prosecute in the Gayle Woodford case.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: I refer to my earlier comments and those of the Hon. Ms Centofanti and indicate that, far from not wanting to revisit this issue as the Attorney has indicated, the Woodforde family are absolutely devastated by the decision not to prosecute in this matter and are now seeking a review into the operations of SafeWork SA and the investigation into Mrs Woodford's case specifically.

Just this week the Attorney was quoted as saying, 'Every South Australian and their family members should be able to go to work with the expectation and knowledge that they expect to come home safely at night.' Well, Gayle didn't come home. She was brutally murdered; she was abducted, raped and brutally murdered. My question to the minister is: will you give serious consideration to the request of the Woodford family in relation to a review into the SafeWork SA investigation?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for her question. As I outlined in response to a question earlier, it is a commitment of the new Labor government to review the practices and procedures of SafeWork SA generally. If there is any reason to review how this investigation was conducted, I am happy to receive that information to look at it. Certainly, based on the senior counsel's advice that SafeWork SA took into account, there wasn't a reasonable prospect of a successful prosecution based on the evidence.