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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-05-09 Daily Xml
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Oakden Mental Health Facility

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:44): To the Minister for Mental Health: given the seriousness of the allegations made by the Spriggs family whom you had met with, and the Chief Psychiatrist, and as you say triggered this report, didn't you think it important that you would say to the Premier, 'I have the report now. I have read it. We have either been completely exonerated or these are the things that need to be done'? Did you at any time consider that it might be important to do that before he went on leave?

The Hon. L.A. VLAHOS (Taylor—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:44): Can I firstly correct the deputy leader about something she just said. I didn't meet—

The Hon. P. Caica interjecting:

The Hon. L.A. VLAHOS: Yes, I know.

The SPEAKER: The member for Colton is called to order.

The Hon. L.A. VLAHOS: How could the waterboarder ever get anything wrong? What I would like to correct is that I met the Spriggs family the afternoon that I released the report. That is the first time I had the opportunity to speak to Mrs Spriggs and her children about the seriousness and apologised unconditionally on behalf of the South Australian government to the Spriggs family. It was important that when I went out and did the press conference that afternoon that I talked to them because they were the people who, with the support of the community visitor, were the ones who fought through the system to be able to bring this matter of elder abuse forward for our government and our state.

It is an important issue. It goes all the way up now to the commonwealth government, which has triggered a review into their aged-care accreditation processes. In fact, Ken Wyatt and I have discussed how we will work cooperatively in this space, and work to make sure that this is not happening anywhere else in Australia, because he has concerns that this is going on elsewhere across the country.

This is a matter that people who are contacting my electorate office say is not unique to Oakden, that this is a matter that happens in aged-care services around the country on a daily basis to their family and loved ones. We make no apologies for stepping into Oakden, closing it down, moving the residents to Northgate and ensuring that the people who are in the aged-care sector have the rights, the dignity and the respect that they deserve as older Australians.

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