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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-10-31 Daily Xml
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CHILD PROTECTION

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:40): My question is again to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Now that the minister has had 24 hours to check, can the minister now advise whether her department has a policy on advising school communities about child sex offences that occur at schools and, if so, whether this policy was followed in the case of the western suburbs primary school which has been the subject of concern because of the sexual abuse of a child there by an employee?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:41): Let's be clear about, firstly, the situation in relation to the incident that has caused this discussion—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —and, that is, the details around this particular site in the western suburbs will be the subject of an independent investigation that I have now commissioned.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Clearly, we have a number of policies and a number of practices that seek to protect the children that are in our care. For instance, there is a memorandum—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: There is, importantly, a memorandum of administrative arrangement between SAPOL and my own agency in relation to these matters. We also have a critical incident reporting practice, procedure, policy, that is clearly articulated.

Ms Chapman: Where does it say, 'Don't tell the parents'?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I have to say, my preference is for full disclosure, then we go forward on the basis of the advice from the experts—that is very, very important. We act on the basis of the advice from experts. Who are the experts in this case? Our child protection people, SAPOL, people—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left will listen to the minister's answer. Order! Minister.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: There are the cases surrounding this particular incident and then there are the questions more generally. So, the experts are the people at the front line, for instance, at the site—the OSHC service or the school site—people in my head office, people in SAPOL. There are judgement calls that are made on a case-by-case basis on the basis of having to balance three very, very important things. The first thing is—

Ms Chapman: Which policy says, 'Don't tell the parents'?

The SPEAKER: Member for Bragg, order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: The first thing is that we need to ensure that the child in question is taken out of harm's way and actions won't jeopardise or subject him or her to any further harm. The second point is that our actions must not jeopardise a successful prosecution. The third question is this issue in relation to other parents or a community's right to know. These three elements will be the subject of this independent inquiry that I have commissioned—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: There are a number of ways that we demonstrate our commitment to keeping our children safe. Keeping them safe is a government policy that in fact was articulated when the now Premier was minister for families and communities—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: We have a number of policies in place, but I think what is most important—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —and what I am advised is that the experts make a call on the basis of specific incidents.

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