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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-16 Daily Xml
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CHILD PROTECTION

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): My supplementary is to the Premier. When the Premier stated on radio this morning, 'It is a standard feature of the settlement of many claims that there are elements of confidentiality,' was he aware that the wrongly accused student asked for the confidentiality clause to be removed but the student's request was declined?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Sir, point of order. Can a supplementary question be asked of a different minister?

Ms Chapman: Anyone we like.

The SPEAKER: I call the deputy leader to order, and thank her for her advice, and I respectfully adopt it. My view is that, just as any minister can answer a question, an opposition member can direct a question to any minister as a supplementary, but it may be that that minister doesn't answer it and that it is answered by another minister. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:15): I thank the honourable member for his question. The first thing I want to say about this matter is that I have had a conversation with the young man in question, and he is obviously very distressed about the circumstances that he believes that he has been subjected to over an extended period of time. He is very angry and upset, and on the face of the material that I have seen I think he is entitled to feel that way.

The previous chief executive of the Department for Education had actually issued an unreserved apology to him concerning the events that occurred back in 2004 and 2005. He is now seeking to raise issues with the government, and he did so recently (a few weeks ago). They have been referred to the Minister for Education. The chief executive of the agency is assiduously working his way through those matters and has taken some steps today.

I have no specific knowledge of this matter. I was asked some questions on radio, generally, about confidentiality matters, and I made two broad remarks: that is, the confidentiality clauses within agreements of settlement of disputes between citizens and governments are commonplace; sometimes they are there to protect both sides of the equation.

I also expressed the view that I believe that they should be used sparingly, and in circumstances where there is somebody that has been the victim of an alleged wrongdoing, if they are insisting that there are matters that they want to speak about publicly, I do not think there is any role for government in seeking to censor that material.

So, I made that general remark in relation to the matter without knowing about the specific circumstances of this case. I have since had the opportunity to speak to the gentleman in question, and I have told him that it will certainly not be the position of this government that he should feel bound by any confidentiality agreement from saying what he needs to say about his case publicly.

Mr MARSHALL: A further supplementary, sir.

The SPEAKER: Well, that would be a fourth supplementary, and—

Mr MARSHALL: Fourth and final.

The SPEAKER: No, I think that is sufficient. The member for Mount Gambier.

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