House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-05 Daily Xml

Contents

Child Protection Department

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:23): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Does the minister have full confidence in the Chief Executive of the Department for Child Protection, Cathy Taylor?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:23): Thank you to the member for his question. Can I also, please, congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your re-election and congratulate the member for Heysen on his re-election also.

Can I say first of all to the house that our government is deeply committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable children in our state are at the centre of our decision-making and at the centre of our actions. As minister, I am deeply committed to keeping children in care in my mind and also in my heart as I undertake my responsibilities, responsibilities that I am deeply honoured to have been given. As a government and as a community, we have to do everything that we possibly can to keep children safe. The biggest focus that I have had since becoming minister is to relentlessly ask questions of the—

Mr Tarzia: Lots of reading.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Pardon?

Mr Tarzia: Lots of reading.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: —department about procedures, systems, processes and resources to ensure that we have the best possible systems and processes in place, to ensure that those systems and processes are continuously considered and improved.

What is really clear is that asking these questions relentlessly and requiring the department to provide thematic reporting and ongoing analysis of what system improvements are needed is in very sharp contrast to what the previous Minister for Child Protection did. What I will absolutely say to this house is that I will keep asking those questions of the department and of the chief executive to make sure that we do have the best possible systems and processes in place.