Age of Consent

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General regarding the age of consent in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: It has recently been reported that a South Australian woman known as Jenna, who was allegedly groomed by a former teacher, has approached the Attorney-General calling for changes to our state's consent laws. Jenna has told The Advertiser that years after her former teacher groomed her at the age of 17, she reported the incident but no charges could be laid as the alleged predator was no longer teaching at the school she was attending when the offence is said to have occurred.

In response to Jenna's correspondence raising her concerns, the Attorney-General conceded that under a 'strict interpretation' of the law, the conduct of sexual activity between a teacher and a former student who is 17 years of age may not be captured by the current provisions. The Attorney-General further stated:

Noting the concerns you have raised, I have instructed my department to consider this issue further as part of the review (of consent laws).

My question to the Attorney-General is: given the consultation on the state government's review of consent laws in South Australia closed on 12 February this year, what progress has the government made on fixing this loophole, and when can we expect to see something before the parliament?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for his question. He is quite right that we have had a review into a number of issues that relate to laws of consent in South Australia. That has now closed. All the submissions are being assessed. I know that within my department, work has already started on the policy work as a result of those submissions. I would expect there would be more that I can say about any changes probably sometime later this year.