Speeches

The Hon. R. SANDERSON (Adelaide—Minister for Child Protection) (19:56): I would like to first thank the member for Badcoe for her words and for her cooperation and understanding of the need that we have to get the bill through the house quickly, ready for 22 October for its full enactment. As noted, these changes really are rats and mice. It is drafting errors, improvements or transitional changes that are required for the bill to be workable and to protect our children in the way it was intended.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON (Adelaide—Minister for Child Protection) (12:38): I rise to speak on the National Redress Scheme for victims of institutional child sexual abuse bill 2018. I commend both the Premier and the Attorney-General for formally opting into the National Redress Scheme on behalf of South Australia in May of this year.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON: I rise to correct a series of inaccurate statements that have been made in the media today regarding a visit I undertook to a residential care facility for children in state care in my capacity as the Minister for Child Protection. This morning, the member for Badcoe told ABC radio:

Various sources have told me that the minister was repeatedly advised that it wasn't a good idea to go into this residential care facility.

I can inform the house that I did not receive any advice from my department that I should not visit this facility.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON (Adelaide—Minister for Child Protection) (11:12): I rise to support this very important motion to recognise the 10^th anniversary of the formal apology offered by the government of South Australia to children abused in state care. At the time of the apology 10 years ago, it was widely acknowledged that the importance of an apology should not and could not be underestimated, and that is still very true today.

The Department for Child Protection has recently made public that the electronic Child Abuse Report Line (known as eCARL) account holders had a large volume of reports left in draft form and not submitted.

It is with great pleasure that we were elected on a platform of more jobs, lower costs and better services for South Australians, and this is part of our key platform. It is wonderful to be delivering on that in our first 100 days.

On Thursday 14 June 2018, this government released its response to the final report of the commonwealth's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The royal commission has importantly uncovered shocking cases of institutional abuse of children.

I rise to speak on the Criminal Law Consolidation (Children and Vulnerable Adults) Amendment Bill 2018, and commend the Attorney-General for her swift action in bringing this very important bill to the house. It is a shame that Labor did not progress this further last year; it went through the lower house and the Liberal Party was happy to pass it through the upper house but it sat on the Notice Paper and was not progressed prior to the election.

I am pleased to advise the house that today I met with the Chief Executive Officer of Grandparents for Grandchildren, Peter Biber, and was able to advise him on behalf of the Marshall Liberal government—I was able to advise him on behalf of the Marshall Liberal government that budget funding of $369,000 over three years has been approved

I rise today to speak on the Address In Reply, which sets out the Liberal government's reform agenda for the 54^th parliament.