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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-28 Daily Xml
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van de Velde, Mr S.

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (14:39): I do have a question, and it is for the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney-General please inform the council about the outcome for the child sex offender from the Dutch volleyball team who wanted to compete in the Beach Volleyball World Championships happening here in Adelaide next month?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:39): I thank the honourable member for his question. As most members in this chamber will be aware, convicted child sex offender Steven van de Velde, who is a member of the Dutch volleyball team, planned to compete in the Beach Volleyball World Championships, which are happening in Adelaide from 14 to 23 November. Whilst I won't repeat all of the details of his horrific offending, members may recall from reporting that it was utterly deplorable conduct, and he is not a person that this government nor I think any reasonably minded South Australian would welcome or indeed want in this country or this state under any circumstances.

The granting of visas is a matter entirely for the federal government, so about a fortnight ago I wrote to the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, to convey the South Australian government's very firm view that Mr van de Velde was not welcome in South Australia and to urge consideration be given to not grant the visa application to allow entry to this country and travel to this state. I am pleased to share with the council that today it was announced that Mr van de Velde was denied a visa for entry into South Australia, so he will not be competing here in the Beach Volleyball World Championships.

This is a good outcome not only for the South Australian community as a whole but also for the Beach Volleyball World Championships. The championships are a fantastic event, celebrating the world's best volleyball talent and South Australia's beautiful natural surrounds, and I am pleased that this family event is no longer threatened or overshadowed by the potential presence of a vile child sex offender in the competition.

As a government we have brought in some of the toughest laws against child sex offenders in South Australia in this term. We have legislated to ensure serious repeat child sex offenders are locked up for the rest of their lives until they can prove they are no longer a danger to the community. We have increased penalties for a range of child sex offences, such as increasing the maximum penalty for gross indecency with or within the presence of a child from five to 15 years. We have passed legislation to allow for a child sex offender register, and we have banned child sex offenders from working in places that also hire children.

To be clear, if this person had come to South Australia and committed the same offences again, there is a very good chance he would be locked away for the rest of his life. This government will continue to do what we can to keep the community safe from child sex offenders, and these laws demonstrate how seriously we take that commitment.

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