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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-03-23 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Anglicare Foster Care

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:00): I seek leave to make a brief and very polite explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Education and Child Development a question about a current Anglicare advertising campaign.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: It has come to my attention, and I am sure the attention of some other members, that Anglicare has recently started a new advertising campaign to find new foster carers. That ad campaign features Spiderman and uses the catchcry, 'Anyone can be a hero to a child.' As you may be aware, Mr President, I am sure, Spiderman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: He's fictional?

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I was shocked too. I was so disappointed. That was my career plan blown up right there. As you may be aware—or may not, apparently—he is fictional and he features in Marvel Comics, and is also known as Peter Parker. Peter Parker is an orphaned young man raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. As a teenager, he has to deal with the normal struggles of adolescence in addition to those of a costumed crime fighter. He has superhuman strength and the ability to climb most surfaces, as well as shoot baddies with his web-shooters and sense evil using his famous spider sense, which I am sure the Hon. Mr Hunter shares with him. I have also received some interesting feedback about his recent appearance in this ad for new foster carers. My questions are:

1. Is the minister aware of the current Anglicare campaign recruiting foster carers featuring Spiderman?

2. Does the minister consider the current advertising campaign used by Anglicare to recruit foster carers to be an appropriate one?

3. Given the high publicity of photos of three-year-old missing child William Tyrell, often featuring him in a Spiderman outfit, does the minister believe that the use of Spiderman in these advertising campaigns is appropriate?

4. What processes are in place to monitor and/or approve the advertising used to recruit foster carers of vulnerable and at-risk children in particular?

5. In recruiting people to become foster carers, would the minister consider that a person in a Spiderman costume is an appropriate role model?

6. Is the minister aware that the term 'rock spider' is often used to describe a paedophile?

7. Is it appropriate that Anglicare seeks 'superheroes', or should they be looking for strong community-minded men and women who can provide appropriate support for children and young people?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for her most intriguing questions. I will ensure that the Hon. Susan Close in another place gets her questions and I will seek a response on her behalf.

Can I just say that in terms of fictional stories (and I am heartbroken to hear that it is a fictional story), it might be best directed to the Hon. Robert Brokenshire, who believes in these fairy stories and does not like to take the advice of scientists. In passing, I might say that I think Tobey Maguire made the best Spiderman ever and that if he were doing the advocacy for foster carers I think he would do a very good job.

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