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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-06-19 Daily Xml
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Violence Against Women

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:13): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General, representing the Premier, a question about violence against women.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I commend the government and the Premier for their call to conduct a royal commission into domestic violence and violence against women. The Premier's government is also drafting legislation into coercive control, which is aimed at protecting women caught in abusive and violent relationships.

Yesterday, I raised extremely serious allegations of predatory behaviour and the egregious sexual assault of a non-sworn SAPOL female police employee by then Chief Inspector Wade Burns, the head of a taskforce reporting to the police commissioner (ironically) on sexual discrimination, harassment and predatory behaviour in South Australia Police. There were several witnesses to the alleged indecent assault at a public venue in 2017 which, I am informed, included a degree of force against the alleged victim.

Following an investigation, Mr Burns pleaded guilty to a list of agreed facts and he was demoted from chief inspector to senior sergeant, a big fall from grace. Despite an objection by police commissioner Stevens on integrity grounds, Mr Burns was promoted to inspector on 6 July 2020, after an order of the Police Review Tribunal on 16 June 2020. The reason behind that decision remains a mystery, a secret.

Mr Burns recently sought promotion again to chief inspector but that was rejected on integrity grounds, and it hasn't been appealed. Mr Burns is currently deputy president of the powerful police union and a frontrunner in current elections for the presidency of the Police Association of South Australia. SAPOL has a fifty-fifty gender target. At present, around 34 per cent of about 5,000 sworn officers are female, and around 80 per cent of SAPOL's non-sworn staff are female. My questions to the Premier are:

1. Will the police commissioner now authorise the release of the full report into the matter concerning Mr Burns, from the powers he has under the Police Complaints and Discipline Act, and which he has exercised on several occasions in the past when serious police discipline matters were raised in the media?

2. Considering the serious charges levelled against Mr Burns, and his own government's strong policies to protect women in our community from sexual violence, abuse and harassment, does the Premier believe Mr Burns's current position as Deputy President of PASA is now untenable and that he should stand down?

3. Does the Premier still have confidence in the executive of PASA, and will he and his government still be able to continue to work with Mr Burns in light of the allegations of being a sexual predator, which have not been denied, and should he be elected as president of PASA when voting concludes early next month?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his question. In relation to the elements of the question that talk about this government's very strong stance against family and domestic violence, that is, of course, the case. We have established a royal commission that will commence in a matter of weeks, with Natasha Stott Despoja as the royal commissioner looking into family and domestic violence.

We have instituted, and this chamber has supported, a range of new laws to support victim survivors of family and domestic violence, to increase penalties to make victim survivors safer for things like a presumption against bail for violent breaches of intervention orders. In relation to the specifics as they relate to the police, I am happy to refer them to the minister responsible, the police minister, and add to the questions that were asked by the honourable member yesterday. As I said yesterday, if there is anything that can reasonably and appropriately be brought back, I will bring it back from the police minister.

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