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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-07-03 Daily Xml
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HOUSING SA

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:46): Is the Minister for Housing aware of who are the lawful tenants of the Elizabeth Housing SA property that was occupied by the mother of seven who has now been charged with criminal neglect, which has now been referred to today as an investigation by the minister in relation to the criminal activity of child neglect? Has an investigation been undertaken as to why those tenants allowed the other family to reside in the house?

During estimates this week the minister confirmed that this family was actually in a Families SA house. I note today in the ministerial statement given by the minister that there will be an inquiry in relation to why the Department of Education and his Department for Families and Communities did not pick up this issue, but I am asking why Housing SA knew nothing about it.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member has gone way beyond an explanation. The Minister for Families and Communities.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (14:47): Of course, all of that amounted to a misrepresentation of my ministerial statement, but I will leave people to read it. I did take some care in setting out that I was constrained about what I could say, because—

Ms Chapman: What a weak excuse.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: No, it is not a weak excuse. Those who have followed the debate would realise that I have been out on almost every day of this event seeking to provide as much information as possible in the public sphere, because I knew that there was public interest in this information. We went as far as we possibly could. You would have noticed that most of the information was not about the family of seven, because that is the family that has been the subject of a criminal neglect charge, and it has also been the subject of Youth Court proceedings about which there are orders about what can and cannot be said. And, now, of course, we have an entire review, which is not confined to the activities of Families SA, Housing SA, the Education Department, the Health Department, or any other agency. It concerns any agency, government or non-government, that may have come in contact with the family.

Those matters will be fully traversed. If the Deputy Leader of the Opposition thinks that it is appropriate for me to come in here and start discussing details about matters that police are currently investigating, where there are criminal charges and where I could say things that would prejudice that matter, I think she is sadly mistaken.

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