Coroner's Court

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General regarding the Coroner.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: A government adviser to the child protection minister was quoted on radio this morning in an excerpt regarding the death of a three-year-old girl in Whyalla. When asked if he could confirm if the child was in care or not at the time of her death, the adviser said, 'We can confirm this child was not in care.' But when asked by the journalist, 'Can you confirm was this child's family, as reported by the ABC, in contact with the child protection department?', the adviser said, 'Oh, I can't confirm that.' When asked why the adviser was unable to confirm that, he said, 'Because the matter has been referred to the Coroner.' To quote the journalist, the government is picking and choosing what it can and can't confirm.

My question to the Attorney-General is: can the Attorney-General advise why the government is picking and choosing what it can and can't confirm about the death of a child by using the defence that the matter has been referred to the Coroner?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:25): I don't know the details of what the honourable member is referring to. I am happy to have a look at the transcript of what was said, but without knowing the actual circumstances I don't think I could make a comment that would be particularly useful.