Forensic Science SA Awards

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:43): My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the minister inform the council about the recipients of the Forensic Science SA annual awards?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:43): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in these institutions in South Australia. A few weeks ago, on 22 August, it was an honour to acknowledge the exceptional work of the many dedicated and brilliant minds working at Forensic Science SA. It was a time to reflect on the organisation's many successes over the past year, and also a wonderful opportunity to formally welcome the new incoming director, Mr John Doherty, to the team.

Mr Doherty has come at a very important time in the history of Forensic Science SA. Between my attendance at last year's awards and my attendance at this year's awards, I have had the opportunity, as I have mentioned in this place before, to spend some time at the headquarters at Divett Place. It is truly remarkable work that the team do in what can be difficult circumstances.

That's why I was pleased at the awards to talk about the fact that, as part of this year's state budget, we have announced the government is allocating just under $350 million to establish a new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility for Forensic Science SA. We want Forensic Science SA to keep its well-deserved reputation as a pioneer and leader in the field and an organisation that attracts some of the best minds globally in this area.

South Australia's forensic science services have operated out of Divett Place for more than four decades now. There is a tremendous amount of history in that building. Unfortunately, it's a building that is not as capable as it could be of serving the needs of a team like Forensic Science SA. Our investment will help ensure that Forensic Science SA have the facilities to help them carry out the work in an effective and efficient manner for many years to come and to also provide an enduring contribution both to the research and the practice of forensic science.

Our hope is that this investment will ensure our talented forensic scientists have the technology at their fingertips to continue exploring new frontiers of forensic science and keep South Australia at the forefront of this very complex and challenging field. It will also highlight the important role that students play in the work of Forensic Science SA, the research undertaken through Forensic Science SA and the many papers that are published by staff in collaboration with researchers, either based here in South Australia or interstate or overseas. It's vital that we continue to foster that work and collaboration and the roles played by the staff and the students who work in Forensic Science SA.

It is in that spirit of innovation, research and our ongoing commitment to excellence with Forensic Science SA that we gathered to recognise some of the outstanding work that has been undertaken by staff over the past 12 months and award those who have excelled and gone above and beyond. This year, the Foundation Award was awarded to Ian Beckwith for his focus on continual improvement both in the chemistry group and Forensic Science SA as a whole, notably in the areas of validation through his work with the illicit drugs group and with Forensic Science SA's working group on validation.

The Customer Service/Public Relations Award was awarded to Stephen Trobbiani for his development of an automated workflow for coronial toxicology cases, which has reduced errors and rework and significantly reduced the turnaround times for coronial reports.

Finally, the Special Award was awarded to the Toxicology Group within Forensic Science SA for their work in keeping up with the new psychoactive substances that are continually emerging. Their development of sophisticated analytical techniques and local information-sharing networks has resulted in the detection and early warning of new opioids during the course of the last 12 months. Once again, I would like to place on record my thanks for the perseverance and dedication of the team at Forensic Science SA.