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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-16 Daily Xml
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SCHOOLCHILDREN, INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR

Mr PISONI (Unley) (14:42): My question is for the Minister for Education. What evidence does she have to support her statement that it is not uncommon for boys from single parent families to need specific learning about the appropriate use of a urinal, and what does this statement have to do with concerns—

Members interjecting:

Mr PISONI: This is serious.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

Mr PISONI: Just listen, Tom. This is very serious. What does this statement have to do with the concerns raised by a parent about bullying incidents, including one student allegedly urinating on another? My colleague, the member for Hammond, wrote—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

Mr PISONI: This is serious, Attorney-General. You might think it is amusing, but it is serious.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PISONI: My colleague the member for Hammond wrote to the minister in December of last year relating the concerns of a constituent, which she replied to seven months later, I must say. The constituent was concerned with the lack of response by a school to her complaints that a five year old boy had an unusual sexual interest in other children. The constituent said that the five year old had been asking other boys for sex and had asked other children to touch his penis. This boy—

Members interjecting:

Mr PISONI: This is very serious and—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PISONI: —if you were a parent you would be—

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The chance to explain a question isn't a chance to lecture us.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I am following what the member is saying. I will—

Mr PISONI: The constituent said that the five year old had been asking boys for sex and had asked another child to touch his penis. This boy, it was alleged, had urinated on the constituent's son. In the minister's initial response to the member for Hammond she stated:

This child needed specific learning about the appropriate use of a urinal, which is not uncommon for boys from single parent families.

The complaint was not about the use of the urinal; the complaint was about the inappropriate sexual behaviour towards other children.

The SPEAKER: Order! Now the member has gone beyond the explanation. The Minister for Education.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH (Adelaide—Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:44): I will not engage in a discussion about private information that has come to me as minister. What I will say is that the member for Unley is picking up and is endorsing some really bad behaviour by backbenchers, or other members of his party, who make a complaint about a school and then when they are offered the opportunity to have a briefing do not take it up. Clearly, where there are serious allegations about a school or an individual—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley has asked his question.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: I think the member for Hammond might well think this is funny, but I take every letter and complaint—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PEDERICK: Point of order—127. I do not think this is funny. This is a very serious point, and the government obviously is not taking notice.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: I apologise, sir. I took the sniggering facial configuration to mean a smile.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: The reality is that, if a letter is received from a parent who is worried, it is important that it is taken very seriously.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: The letters often come from concerned parents and do not include one issue, one allegation or one problem. My observation—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: —is that it is important that every matter is looked into in a very—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: In fact, issues to do with sexuality between children in schools are taken very seriously, and every matter requires investigation. I will not comment publicly about the matters involving the specific children in this case because I think that is quite inappropriate. What we have said in relation to this matter, and other matters the member for Hammond has wished to make public and discuss in the media, is that we have offered briefings so that he can understand the particular matters in place. Did he take them up? Did he make approaches to the district director? No.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: Where there are complex and worrying issues, it is relevant that they be properly investigated, that proper actions take place and that due respect be given to those people who made the complaint. I think it is appropriate that, where these matters occur, we take them seriously. But actually to try to humiliate the families and drag it out publicly—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PISONI: Standing order 128, sir—irrelevant. This is entirely irrelevant. My question was quite clear.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley will take his seat.

Mr PISONI: I am interested in the evidence.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley will take his seat.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister must not debate in her answer.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: When matters of a serious nature are raised with any minister, they want to assure themselves that they have been dealt with properly by the department. Clearly, that has occurred in this case because there was information that was sought. Indeed, in relation to the school, the member for Hammond was offered a briefing to have the specific details described. Did he turn up? Did he make the phone call? Did he care enough? No; he released the data to the media. That is how much the member for Hammond cares about the children and the schools in his electorate.

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