Forensic Science SA

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (15:15): Supplementary: will additional funding be committed to Forensic SA in the upcoming budget to ensure that the state has appropriate and secure facilities available?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:15): I thank the honourable member for her question. The honourable member will be very pleased that there are only a couple of days to go until the budget is released this year.

What I can say, though, is that as recently as the Mid-Year Budget Review extra funding was provided to Forensic Science SA in terms of a number of areas: employing additional mortuary staff, looking at investigation of options to increase mortuary services in the short term and also looking at activating offsite storage facilities, which are currently utilised in the recent Mid-Year Budget Review, and that is in addition to funding that has previously been provided to look at the exact issues the honourable member has been talking about.