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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-06 Daily Xml
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Personal Explanation

Child Protection

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform) (11:02): I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Yesterday, in question time, I responded to questions about whether unsupervised trainees are working on cases of at-risk children. I wish to correct my response. While there has been a general direction and a number of specific directions issued by the chief executive to Families SA staff in response to the Coroner's recommendations, I was mistaken in my recollection that the department had issued a specific direction in respect of recommendation 22.22. There has, however, been a cabinet decision that the department will implement all recommendations other than recommendation 22.9, which is to be further investigated, and 22.13, which is supported in principle. Yesterday, I was also asked to provide a copy of the direction issued to staff from the chief executive that the paramount consideration must always be the wellbeing and welfare of children. I would like to table that direction and the others I referred to in my ministerial statement yesterday.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (11:03): I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

Leave granted.

Ms CHAPMAN: Yesterday, you, sir, tabled a letter of report and annexures from the Attorney-General and copies were provided, as I understand it, to those that sought. I was provided a copy and accordingly have no reason to believe my copy is not as per the original. It comprises the letter, as is indicated, two pages of transcript and, thirdly, a schedule, which is a page numbered 153 from the Coroner's report. That is a document which is my document, not the document that—if it is, I would like some explanation—but is in fact my document. Mr Speaker, you will see that I have written the words 'Attorney-General' in the margin and the words 'will consider', which are also handwritten on the document. It is the document that I delivered to your office at about 11.15 yesterday. I advised your assistant to bring it and the two recommendations to which I was referring to your attention. So, that document is not material provided by the Attorney-General; I am indicating that that last page is—

The SPEAKER: I am quite willing to accept that.

Ms CHAPMAN: Just for the record—

The SPEAKER: So what is the mischief?

Ms CHAPMAN: I am not suggesting there is any. I am simply making a personal explanation as you rejected my request to seek a point of clarification. I just want to place on the record that that is a document that I provided to your office at 11.15 yesterday.

The SPEAKER: It appears we have mistakenly circulated a document from you in addition to the Deputy Premier's document—

Ms CHAPMAN: Correct.

The SPEAKER: —which you were eager to have tabled in this place yesterday.

Ms CHAPMAN: No, sir. To be clear, I had not sought to tender anything yesterday. I had inquired about whether you had received the Attorney-General's report.

The SPEAKER: And I had, and I then shared it with the house, but it appears that I shared an extra page inadvertently with the house, which was of your authorship.

Ms CHAPMAN: Yes. Thank you, sir.

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