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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-06-03 Daily Xml
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Smith, Ms A.M.

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (14:54): My question is to the Attorney-General. Should the Attorney-General have been informed by the Public Advocate regarding the death of Ann Marie Smith, and did the Attorney-General make inquiries of the Public Advocate in relation to Ann Marie Smith's death?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (14:54): I'll assume that the question means that before the public announcement is the time that clarification is being sought for. Just to remind members, the Public Advocate office had received an inquiry from the paramedic—I think by email; this is all in the transcript from the inquiry the other day, which she attended—to let them know. As she said publicly, Ms Smith wasn't a client of the Public Advocate office and nor is she under her guardianship in her role as Acting Principal Community Visitor. Incidentally, neither is the Public Trustee, which is another agency which I am responsible for. She made a recommendation to the paramedic that it was important that they advised the necessary authorities, particularly the police.

I think it's again a matter of record that that's precisely what happened. The police were advised, the public protection unit, in addition to the paramedic I think advising his own agency within Health—that is, SA Ambulance—that further there was notification, or at least inquiry, by the Public Advocate as to whether the national Quality and Safeguards Commission had received advice, and she was assured of that.

So should I receive notice of inquiries that might be made of agencies under my responsibility? Yes, certainly, if they are clients of ours. In fact, I think I said yesterday that I regularly, as Attorney-General, receive notice of people who are under the guardianship of the state, for example, or who might be incarcerated or murdered. In fact, a couple of weeks ago there was a senior male homicide, for which someone has been charged of murder, who was under the guardianship of the state.

These are the types of matters about which I do receive regular reports. But do I receive, or should I receive, advice of every inquiry made to a state agency when they need to be referred to another agency or the police? No, and nor should I.

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