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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-13 Daily Xml
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BURNSIDE COUNCIL

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (15:00): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Police questions about the provision and investigation of the MacPherson report.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON: Mr President, as you would well remember, prior to the winter break much of this parliament's time, and in particular the Legislative Council's time, was dedicated to pressuring the Minister for State/Local Government Relations to refer the draft report by Mr MacPherson into the Burnside council to the Anti-Corruption Branch of the police for investigation.

The minister, determined to bury the report, held out for weeks, and it was only when the Commissioner of Police stated in a letter to me made public that he too was pressuring the minister to refer to the report to the Anti-Corruption Branch, that he relented, with the report being sent sometime in the last sitting week. The minister, as usual, was not exactly sure of the detail as to when.

In the following week the police commissioner did a radio interview on ABC 891 in which he confirmed that he had received the report, that it had been provided to the Anti-Corruption Branch, but that no investigation had been commenced due to uncertainty surrounding the suppression order. In the five weeks that have followed, the question of whether the Anti-Corruption Branch could look at the report and if so whether an investigation has commenced has been left unanswered. This ties in with the other unanswered question I previously directed to the Commissioner of Police concerning the limitations that were supposedly placed upon him by Mr MacPherson when he was provided an excerpt of the draft report in accordance with natural justice.

I questioned the commissioner as to whether he sought to be released from the restrictive conditions and, if so, what action he did take on the report and its findings. Unlike the commissioner's earlier letter, his response this time was less than helpful, stating in part, 'I am not prepared to make any further comment at this time.' My questions to the Minister for Police are:

1. How many pages is the report that was provided to the police commissioner by the Minister for State/Local Government Relations?

2. Is the report provided by the minister watermarked, and if so what does it read?

3 Was associated evidentiary material also provided by the Minister for State/Local Government Relations to the police as requested by the Commissioner of Police?

4. Has legal advice been received by the police commissioner concerning the ability of the Anti-Corruption Branch to investigate the alleged criminal acts in the report and, if so, has such an investigation commenced?

5. Did the Commissioner of Police seek to release himself from the confidentiality of the provisional draft report? If so, what action did he take on the report and its findings?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (15:02): I thank the honourable member for her questions. I will refer them to the Minister for Police in another place and bring back a response.

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