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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-30 Daily Xml
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Bills

Statutes Amendment (Recommendations of Independent Inquiry into Child Protection) Bill

Second Reading

Debate resumed.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning and Local Government) (11:58): I, too, acknowledge the former member for Heysen. She will be delighted to know that this morning we have passed your recommended sessional orders on maternity leave in the parliament and the right to be able to feed and breastfeed in this place—men or women who want to feed babies—so is that not terrific?

I thank members for their contribution. I acknowledge the opposition's indication of support for this bill. I place on the record that we did commit to provide legislation within 30 days. We gave notice within 29 days and presented the bill to the parliament. The rapidity with which legislation can be developed has been put to considerable test during the COVID period, and we have had to try to really abridge the opportunities, which might have been a more leisurely process of consultation and so on.

But, if we have to, it is possible to do things quickly, and when we receive a report like that of Mr Paul Rice it was important for the government to act; we did. It was important for the parliament to have the opportunity to act by quick provision and presentation of a bill, and I am pleased to say that within the same month we are now progressing this matter to its conclusion.

I do thank all concerned in our being able to achieve that as a parliament, to do two things: to increase a penalty in respect of the breach of any directions issued by the Chief Executive of the Department for Child Protection and, of course, to reverse the presumption in respect of bail by declaring such persons as a prescribed applicant and therefore not being available in terms of the presumption for bail.

I might also say that I am proud to sit in this chamber and in a cabinet room with the member for Adelaide, the Minister for Child Protection. We are committed as a government to recognising the significance of this issue and the failure, year after year, of the previous government. I can still recall the ringing words of the then member for Cheltenham, who went on to be Premier, when he was the minister in respect of the protection of children—I am sure the former member for Heysen would remember this too—when he said to this parliament that the operations of the Department of Community Welfare, as it was at that stage, had a culture of cover-up.

He was the minister in 2003, and in all the time and with all the opportunity the previous government had to fix this up, what did they do? They just kept putting in more and more ministers who were more and more exposed as being incompetent and ineffective in protecting the children of this state.

So I am very proud to sit in the cabinet room with the member for Adelaide, who is our Minister for Child Protection. We committed to having a dedicated minister, we have done that and we have maintained the significance of that. If ever I hear drop from the lips of a member in this house the words 'staffing crisis' in relation to the department we are talking about, all I think about is a very clear, ringing reminder of the previous government's employment of and continued provision of service via Shannon McCoole for years in that department and in agencies that provided services to children.

I shudder at the era in which pervaded an unacceptable and unsafe environment for the very children in this state who need our protection under the previous government. I do not in any way walk away from the responsibility that we have picked up, and we are continuing to be committed to doing that. In this regard, when it comes to a department failing to advise up to their chief executive, as happened in the McIntyre and McIntosh cases, which were the forerunners to this inquiry, then we need to have that identified and acted on.

I am very pleased to advise the house that with the Premier's assistance—not as some kind of demotion but with the Premier's assistance—at the Department for Correctional Services with a member of the Crown Solicitor's Office, which of course is in my department, bearing in mind this report was to me as Attorney-General, they are working diligently to deal with recommendations 1 and 2 of the Rice review to ensure that we get this right and that we understand exactly what procedure in simple language is going to be able to be affected to ensure that we have that compliance.

The era of anyone failing to protect children in this state, whether they work in a department or whether they work in this parliament, is over. I commend the bill to the house.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning and Local Government) (12:04): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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