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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-04-11 Daily Xml
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Child Protection, Baby Removals

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Why and on what grounds has removal occurred in the circumstances that are the subject of the report?

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) (15:02): I am not sure which report you are referring to, but I can speak generally. In relation to the media report today, again there were a series of concerning issues that were raised, and I paid attention to those issues.

As I said, I cannot respond in relation to a particular circumstance on a particular day about a particular issue because the issues that were aired don't include that detail, but I can say, as I said in my previous answer, that very, very comprehensive risk assessment processes that are focused on the safety, the well-being, of that particular child are undertaken. It is my expectation, as minister, that those assessments are undertaken in a very comprehensive way, so that we have the best possible opportunity to secure the safety and the wellbeing of that child.

That is my expectation, that those processes are undertaken, contemplating all of the particular issues that exist for that particular child and family. As I said in my previous answer, it is also, of course, my expectation that in every dealing that the department has with a particular family, those family members are treated with respect.

In a broader sense, the Department for Child Protection is working with the Department for Health and Wellbeing in an ongoing way about processes. They are reviewing those processes, as they rightly should, to identify any opportunities for improvement in those risk assessment processes, in those steps that are undertaken when that very distressing decision is made to remove a particular child, having assessed that the risk for that child not being removed is too great in terms of our expectation as a community that we do what we can to ensure the safety, wellbeing and support for particularly vulnerable children.

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