❓ A parliamentary question regarding the Minister for Education's handling of child sexual abuse allegations within schools, specifically addressing her perceived lack of personal interest and the Department's role. The Minister defends her position by citing legal obligations and departmental responsibilities.
AnsweredQoN 884Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING - ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT
I refer the minister to her reply to question without notice 75 given on 22 March 2006, again dealing with the 16 staff removed from schools due to serious allegations, wherein the minister said that, . . . this is an operational matter and, as such, it is being dealt with by the department. Does the minister’s statement demonstrating her willingness to leave these matters to the department without taking a personal interest reflect her judgment that child sexual abuse allegations are not matters of concern for the minister; and, if not, how does the minister explain her lack of personal interest? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH
I refer the minister to her reply to question without notice 75 given on 22 March 2006, again dealing with the 16 staff removed from schools due to serious allegations, wherein the minister said that, . . . this is an operational matter and, as such, it is being dealt with by the department. Does the minister’s statement demonstrating her willingness to leave these matters to the department without taking a personal interest reflect her judgment that child sexual abuse allegations are not matters of concern for the minister; and, if not, how does the minister explain her lack of personal interest? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
. . . this is an operational matter and, as such, it is being dealt with by the department. Does the minister’s statement demonstrating her willingness to leave these matters to the department without taking a personal interest reflect her judgment that child sexual abuse allegations are not matters of concern for the minister; and, if not, how does the minister explain her lack of personal interest? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
Does the minister’s statement demonstrating her willingness to leave these matters to the department without taking a personal interest reflect her judgment that child sexual abuse allegations are not matters of concern for the minister; and, if not, how does the minister explain her lack of personal interest? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
. . . this is an operational matter and, as such, it is being dealt with by the department. Does the minister’s statement demonstrating her willingness to leave these matters to the department without taking a personal interest reflect her judgment that child sexual abuse allegations are not matters of concern for the minister; and, if not, how does the minister explain her lack of personal interest? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
Does the minister’s statement demonstrating her willingness to leave these matters to the department without taking a personal interest reflect her judgment that child sexual abuse allegations are not matters of concern for the minister; and, if not, how does the minister explain her lack of personal interest? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. Anything less than a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct by teachers is totally unacceptable in Western Australian schools. I have made my views very clear on that. However, like all ministers, I am aware that the day - to - day administration of the department is the responsibility of the Director General of the Department of Education and Training. It is not simply a matter of leaving it to the department; this is a requirement of the law. Indeed, section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 empowers the director general to perform all functions, including those functions relevant to the discipline process, in accordance with that act. Section 8(2) of the act further states that the employing authority is not subject to any direction, whether under any written law or otherwise, from the minister and shall act independently in matters relating to selection, appointment, transfer, secondment, classification, remuneration, redeployment, redundancy or termination of employment. I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
I confirm that I did request advice from the Department of Education and Training in relation to those 16 matters. I was advised on 17 November 2005 that the police child protection squad had been informed of all the cases that involved the alleged sexual assault of students and that the department’s prime consideration is the safety and welfare of students.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.