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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-20 Daily Xml
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Latouche Mazzei, Lucas

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (14:07): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: Today, I have released the South Australian government's response to the findings of inquest made by the Deputy State Coroner, Mr Ian Lansell White, into the tragic death of Lucas Latouche Mazzei. Lucas was a five-year-old student at Henley Beach Primary School who died as a result of a choking incident that occurred at the school in 2017. I would like to once again extend my condolences to Lucas's parents, Mr Miguel Latouche and Ms Daniela Mazzei.

The Deputy Coroner made five recommendations to me and the Department for Education, which have been accepted. Two recommendations made in relation to the Minister for Health and SA Health have also been accepted. Importantly, the Department for Education is adopting a phased approach to ensure that all staff, not just teachers, who work in special education settings have first aid training. The provision of first aid training in other settings will also be increased.

Initially, this will see a ratio of one qualified first aider for every 50 adults and students on any site. This is inclusive of staff, students and volunteers, and will include the requirement that those first aiders hold current qualifications, including an annual CPR refresher. This 1:50 ratio will require approximately an additional 2,740 trained first aiders in government schools and preschools. This training will be completed in 2025.

The Department for Education has also undertaken a range of other actions, outside those recommended by the Deputy Coroner, to provide safer environments for all students and provide guidance to better support families, school communities and staff following any severe incident that might occur in the future.

In developing the response to the Deputy Coroner's recommendations, Department for Education officers have been greatly assisted by Lucas's parents who, despite their grief, have worked with them, reviewing documents and making suggestions for improvement. Not so much as Minister for Education, but as a father, I cannot imagine the depth of the grief and devastation that Lucas's parents have endured, and I am full of admiration and gratitude for their capacity to use this situation to contribute so meaningfully to the improvement of safety for other children in our community. The new suite of policies and procedures will be an important step forward in keeping our children safe, and it will be a lasting legacy for Lucas.

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