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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-12-04 Daily Xml
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South Australia Police

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, representing the Minister for Police, on the topic of SAPOL compliance with the criminal intelligence act and the Police Act.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Members would be well aware, and I think most South Australians were well aware, that on 7 July of this year the front page of the Sunday Mail,with an article emblazoned with a red light and a big graphic, outlined accusations that a Franklin Street brothel had connections to bikies. I am now privy to a concerns notice sent to The Advertiser with regard to that article.

The concerns notice outlines that on 7 July The Advertiser published an article to the effect that a senior Rebels member from Sydney was establishing a new brothel, referred to as the Franklin Street brothel, in the CBD. The article separately said that the Franklin Street brothel was financed by a Sydney bikie. The article went on to say that the supervisor of the business had 'expensive, extensive experience in the industry'—I think that's meant to say 'extensive experience in the industry'—in Adelaide and was linked to another well-known Adelaide bikie.

The defamation concerns notice goes on to state with regard to the establishment, which was commonly referred to as the Franklin Street brothel, that their client would assume that anyone reading their publication would only conclude that it was the client's establishment, that the imputation is that the client's establishment is run by bikies. It further asserts that their business has no connection with bikies, was not established by bikies, is not financed by bikies, and the manager of the business is not linked to a well-known Adelaide bikie.

The client seeks an apology and a retraction. What I seek is clarity on the source used by Nigel Hunt for the article, referred to only as 'a source' but, I note, accompanied with quotes from the police commissioner in the article. My questions to the Minister for Police, through the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, are:

1. Did SAPOL provide evidence of criminal intelligence to Nigel Hunt, the journalist, for the preparation and publication of that article?

2. Did SAPOL assert that the Franklin Street brothel was run, managed, associated with and financed by bikies, or can SAPOL rule out that it provided such evidence to the journalist concerned?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for her questions. I will refer them to the Minister for Police and seek a response on her behalf.

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