House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-11-29 Daily Xml

Contents

Child Protection

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:37): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier apologise to the children who have been left in vulnerable and dangerous situations because the South Australian child protection system is broken?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:38): I certainly will, and it is appropriate that I apologise to those children, and to the family members and anybody who loves them and cares for them, that we have not been able to protect them in all circumstances. It is heartbreaking that, when we take a child away from a family to provide them with greater care, in some cases, sadly, predators have also decided to descend upon those children and commit awful crimes. That is at the heart of the Nyland royal commission and it's appalling. I am sorry that we have been unable to protect every one of those children. I have apologised in the past for that and I repeat that apology.