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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-12-01 Daily Xml
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POLICE INVESTIGATIONS

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:22): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Last Thursday, the member for Bragg asked of me, as Minister for Education and Child Development, to:

...confirm whether the chief executive of her department or any officer of her department responsible for child protection is under investigation by the police or Families SA Special Investigations Unit currently...

I advised the house I would need to seek further advice on this matter. I also asked the member Bragg several times to forward to me or the appropriate authorities any information she had in her possession to substantiate the allegations. As far as I am aware no additional information has been provided by the member for Bragg.

Later that evening, I spoke with my chief executive and asked him if he was aware if he was under investigation or if he was aware of any circumstances that would cause him or any of his executives to be under investigation. The chief executive responded no to both questions. I suggested to him, given the gravity of the allegations made, that he should speak with Mr Jim Hallion, Chief Executive of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and/or Mr Warren McCann, the Commissioner for Public Employment.

The Commissioner for Public Employment made enquiries with both SAPOL and Families SA's Special Investigations Unit. I have been advised by the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment that the Families SA Special Investigations Unit is not currently investigating the chief executive nor any of his executives.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: The Commissioner for Public Employment also received the following advice from the Commissioner for Police, and I quote:

I can report there are currently no investigations recorded against the SAPOL Case Management System for the Chief Executive or his senior executive group of the Department of Education and Child Development.

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: She's like the Franca Arena of the South Australian parliament.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Bragg, you are warned!

Mr Pisoni: Others pay.

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister.

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Finniss, you are warned also.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: This information was again confirmed as late as this morning. It is now important that the member for Bragg either provide further information to the relevant authorities to support her allegations or make an unreserved apology—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will sit down until we have some quiet.

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Finniss, you are warned for the second time.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —or make an unreserved apology to the chief executive and his senior staff. We in this place—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —occupy positions of enormous privilege and we have to recognise that apparently unfounded allegations such as these cause significant embarrassment to—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! It is not question time. Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —and may damage the reputations of those about whom they are made. I again ask the member for Bragg to apologise or provide information to me or the appropriate authorities.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Bragg.

Ms CHAPMAN: I seek to give notice of making a personal explanation. I appreciate from the previous rulings that it will be at the end of question time.

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

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