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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-20 Daily Xml
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MANOCK, DR C.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (15:09): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police, representing the Attorney-General, a question about forensic pathologists.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON: I am aware that two books have been published setting out in detail faulty evidence given by Dr Manock in a series of South Australian cases. The first, A State of Injustice, deals with around a dozen cases over some 25 years. The second, Losing Their Grip: the case of Henry Keogh, deals more specifically with the Keogh case, but it also corrects a number of errors made by the Attorney-General in his parliamentary statements.

It is appropriate to advise the council that a report was commissioned by the Inquiry into Paediatric Forensic Pathology in Toronto (which was chaired by the Hon. Justice Goudge) in relation to what has become known as 'the baby deaths in South Australia'. The report, which concerns the deaths of three infants where the cause of death was misdiagnosed by Dr Colin Manock, has been published by the inquiry and can be found on the website at http://www.goudgeinquiry.ca/policy_research/pdf/MOLES_SANGHA.pdf.

As can be seen from that website, similar concerns have arisen in Canada with regard to Dr Charles Smith. The government of Ontario brought together a panel of five eminent international experts to examine some of Dr Smith's cases and, upon finding that a number of them contained serious errors, then established this judicial commission to investigate the causes of such errors and to provide advice about the way in which they could be avoided in the future. My questions are:

1. Will the Attorney-General take steps to examine the correct credentials in South Australia of forensic pathologist, Dr Colin Manock?

2. Will he make the findings of that inquiry known to the parliament of South Australia?

3. Will he urge the South Australian government to establish a panel of international experts to examine cases handled by a forensic pathologist in South Australia, namely, Dr Colin Manock; if so, when?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:10): I am aware that there have been a number of investigations into cases handled by Dr Manock. If I recall correctly, they began when Trevor Griffin was attorney-general. I know that these issues, including the case of Henry Keogh and others, have been investigated or re-investigated. I will refer the questions to the Attorney-General and bring back a reply.

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