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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-03-09 Daily Xml
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Child Protection Case Management System

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Were any vulnerable children unaccounted for during the recent outage failure of the case management system, and did any serious or critical incidents occur during that time?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: The Leader of Government Business on a point of order, which I am bound to hear under 134 before turning to the minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 97: the question involved argument and debate, sir.

The SPEAKER: The member for Heysen, addressing me on the same point of order.

Mr TEAGUE: I just highlight the context in which the question was raised. It wasn't a supplementary but it has followed on from an answer that has been given in the course of question time.

The SPEAKER: Well, that may be, but I think the pragmatic way to resolve the matter is to allow the member for Heysen to recast the question.

Mr TEAGUE: In case the Child Protection Case Management System was unavailable last week, during that time were any vulnerable children—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order from the member for West Torrens—I anticipate 97.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, 97; and Erskine May, hypothetical question, sir.

The SPEAKER: Yes.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The shadow minister is asking 'if' an event occurred and did something else subsequently happen.

The SPEAKER: Yes.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It is Erskine May. He might have used it once or twice.

The SPEAKER: I would be—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Hartley! I would be inclined to uphold the point of order, but I am going to give the member for Heysen one final opportunity to recast the question. 'In case' certainly invites speculation, and if it is the case that it is hypothetical because, for instance, certain circumstances are to be speculated on or hypothesised on then, of course, it is the invitation to do so. So, it does seem to me to be a question that is likely to be problematic, cast in the terms that it has been. Member for Heysen.

Mr TEAGUE: My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Was the Child Protection Case Management System unavailable last week and, if so, were any vulnerable children unaccounted for during that time, and did any serious or critical incidents occur during that time?

The SPEAKER: That question is just within the standing orders, although it is possible to argue that it is multiple questions in one; nevertheless, I am going to allow it.

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) (14:40): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thank you again to the member for his question. As I said in my earlier answer, the department, rightly, has really strong business continuity processes in place to work around any disruptions that occur to the system, and information is recorded in secure ways in those circumstances.

I am going to take this opportunity again to offer my wholehearted thanks to the incredible Department for Child Protection workers who work every day with really complex and challenging issues that, unfortunately, children and young people in our community experience. They do work incredibly hard. They go into these roles because of their commitment to children and young people and trying to make a difference and trying to improve their lives and offer them support and care where needed. So I do thank them, and I also thank them for their work to ensure that any records are up to date.

The safety of children and young people, of course, remains a priority, and I understand that the department is working really closely with local officers to ensure that those incredible child protection workers are able to discharge their responsibilities for keeping children and young people safe. On this topic, I will say again that we are developing a comprehensive business case in relation to C3MS. I must say that I was really disappointed to find that, despite the previous government knowing about these issues for the entirety—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please be seated. There is a point of order. Member for Morialta.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order: repetition and debate.

The SPEAKER: I will keep that point of order well in mind and listen closely. Minister.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: Just in terms of the need that has been raised to make sure that system issues with C3MS are addressed, I will reiterate again that we rightly are getting on with the job of developing that business case for improvements to the case management system. That work is progressing well. I do wish that it had been started when the previous government was made aware of it but, unfortunately, it wasn't a priority for them—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: —but we certainly will make it a priority—

The SPEAKER: Minister, I'm going to turn to the member for Heysen.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: —because it is incredibly important—

The SPEAKER: Minister, please be seated.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: —that we do make it a priority.

The SPEAKER: Minister, you will be seated. Member for Heysen on a point of order.

Mr TEAGUE: Standing order 98A prohibits debate. It has continued. It has persisted. The question in the end was quite straightforward as to time frames and response.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Frome is warned. There is some context of course that is permissible, and that context can come not only at the start of the answer but also towards the middle or the end. I am not certain that necessarily the fact that the same material is revisited is in and of itself a transgression of standing order 98(1), but nevertheless—member for Hartley.

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