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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-06-03 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Safeguarding Taskforce

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Human Services a question about disability services.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: In the other place yesterday, the Premier said of a recently established task force:

…we want to keep the scope of this task force broad. There are people on this task force with great lived experience and, quite frankly, they want to get to the bottom of a sickening case in South Australia.

I will repeat that last bit: the Premier wanted them 'to get to the bottom of a sickening case in South Australia'. This morning on ABC radio, a member of that task force said, 'We can't look into Ann Marie Smith.' Today on radio, the Minister for Human Services said about the task force:

It has been characterised as an inquiry into the death of Ann Marie Smith. Now, they don't have access to that information, that's never been the case.

Yesterday in this chamber, the minister said:

The task force is independent. I am not seeking to limit them in any way. I do not wish to limit the scope of the task force.

All of these statements can't be true. In fact, the minister's own statements from one day to the next are contradictory. My questions to the minister are:

1. Will this task force be looking into the circumstances of the death of Ann Marie Smith?

2. Who is telling the truth about this issue: the Premier, the minister or the task force member?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:23): There are so many semantics that the Labor Party would like to point to in all of this, being excited in the last 24 hours about the terms of reference for a task force, when clearly those terms of reference for the task force—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —did exist and had been in the form of a range of iterations.

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: They are specific questions that you should be able to answer to the people of South Australia. You should be able to answer them.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven, listen to the answer, please, in silence.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: If we were given one, we would.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: There are now semantics going on about the purpose of the task force.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: They are not semantics; they are facts.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Sit down, minister. Would the opposition like to hear the answer?

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: I would like to hear an answer.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven, in silence. Minister.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: The purpose of the task force, as I have outlined a number of times and once again on talkback radio this morning, was established to consider gaps in safeguarding. We have a number of well-credentialled people with lived experience, people who understand the landscape, and we believe they have great experience—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —in terms of knowing where there are gaps in safeguards. I have received a lot of very heartfelt personal contacts, I have received phone calls and I have received emails and letters from a number of people within the disability community in South Australia, whether they are people with lived experience themselves, parents or service providers, who have found this whole process genuinely distressing. They are looking for answers and that is what the government is rapidly seeking to do in terms of trying to close those gaps in safeguarding.

The task force has its role, it has met very quickly and it is independent. It has already met and its work continues, consulting a large range of South Australians who have a range of views about how we can improve these services, which is our focus. At the same time, there are other inquiries taking place. There is one through the South Australia Police, who have declared this terrible situation a major crime. We also have a Federal Court judge who is doing an investigation on behalf of the commonwealth, and we will have a coronial inquiry as well.

So there is a range of inquiries looking at the circumstances. There are some matters in the public domain, which I have referred to previously, but we are absolutely determined as a government to get to the bottom of this. At the same time, the Labor Party has engaged in fear and hubris, which I might note is being—

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: How can you say that with a straight face? We're talking about someone's death.

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Scriven!

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: You think we shouldn't be upset about someone's death?

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: The Labor Party has engaged in hubris. It is almost salivating at this situation where we have had a tragic death of a South Australian who clearly deserved a lot better.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I can't hear the minister.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Point of order: I take particular offence at the comments by the minister that we are salivating over this tragic and heartbreaking episode. I think she should withdraw—

The PRESIDENT: 'Salivating' is hardly an offensive word. There is no point of order.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Salivating would mean—no point of order?

The PRESIDENT: No point of order. Sit down. Minister, continue.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I am happy to withdraw that specific comment and say that South Australians have said to me that they find the behaviour of the Labor Party, in terms of their—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —response to this, salivating at this issue, which quite frankly is completely disgraceful. We want answers to this. The Labor Party has been busy undermining the integrity of the workforce which, with the task force, has been working hard. Might I add that there are a number of people—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —on that task force with lived experience who are going through their own grief. We should be grateful that South Australians are stepping into this space so that we can try to ensure that these gaps in safeguarding do not exist into the future.

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