❓ Question regarding the burial timeframe for unclaimed bodies leads to a heated exchange, with the Minister accusing the opposition of hypocrisy due to unclaimed bodies during their term.
AnsweredQoN 1161Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
MORGUES — UNCLAIMED BODIES
Hon Sue Ellery on ABC radio today suggested that a time frame be imposed for the burial of an unclaimed body. Can the minister respond to this statement? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY
Hon Sue Ellery on ABC radio today suggested that a time frame be imposed for the burial of an unclaimed body. Can the minister respond to this statement? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for his interest in this subject. I did indeed see the comment that Hon Sue Ellery made. She was also asked whether there were any unclaimed bodies in the morgue when she was minister. This is what she said — Maybe there were, I… I can’t… I can’t say because nobody brought that to my attention. Why could Hon Sue Ellery not give an answer? Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied: I thank the honourable member for his interest in this subject. I did indeed see the comment that Hon Sue Ellery made. She was also asked whether there were any unclaimed bodies in the morgue when she was minister. This is what she said — Maybe there were, I… I can’t… I can’t say because nobody brought that to my attention. Why could Hon Sue Ellery not give an answer? Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
I thank the honourable member for his interest in this subject. I did indeed see the comment that Hon Sue Ellery made. She was also asked whether there were any unclaimed bodies in the morgue when she was minister. This is what she said — Maybe there were, I… I can’t… I can’t say because nobody brought that to my attention. Why could Hon Sue Ellery not give an answer? Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
I did indeed see the comment that Hon Sue Ellery made. She was also asked whether there were any unclaimed bodies in the morgue when she was minister. This is what she said — Maybe there were, I… I can’t… I can’t say because nobody brought that to my attention. Why could Hon Sue Ellery not give an answer? Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
“Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day.
“Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day.
The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied: I thank the honourable member for his interest in this subject. I did indeed see the comment that Hon Sue Ellery made. She was also asked whether there were any unclaimed bodies in the morgue when she was minister. This is what she said — Maybe there were, I… I can’t… I can’t say because nobody brought that to my attention. Why could Hon Sue Ellery not give an answer? Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
I thank the honourable member for his interest in this subject. I did indeed see the comment that Hon Sue Ellery made. She was also asked whether there were any unclaimed bodies in the morgue when she was minister. This is what she said — Maybe there were, I… I can’t… I can’t say because nobody brought that to my attention. Why could Hon Sue Ellery not give an answer? Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
I did indeed see the comment that Hon Sue Ellery made. She was also asked whether there were any unclaimed bodies in the morgue when she was minister. This is what she said — Maybe there were, I… I can’t… I can’t say because nobody brought that to my attention. Why could Hon Sue Ellery not give an answer? Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery : I did give an answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Sometimes when Hon Sue Ellery takes the high moral ground in this place and runs out to the media, it comes back to bite her. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Let us get the answer from the minister, and other members will have a chance to ask further questions if they wish. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Yesterday Hon Sue Ellery said words to the effect of how disgusting it was that a body was in the morgue for 12 months. Yes, I agree that it is not a good thing. However, I want Hon Sue Ellery, who takes the moral high ground, to know that during her term of government, during eight years of her government, there was a body that lay in the morgue—an unclaimed body for eight years of her government! Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : Furthermore, while the Leader of the Opposition was the minister, there were three bodies in the morgue, of which the first lay there for 21 months, the second for 16 months, and the third for 15 months. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order! The minister will resume her seat. Question time is an established format. A member asks a question and the minister or parliamentary secretary has the opportunity to answer the question. It is an age-old truism that members do not have to like the answer that is given or agree with it, but that they must listen to it. I think the minister is winding up her answer. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition also said in her press release that she could not believe that the Minister for Child Protection could let that happen and that it was blatant incompetence. It is because of the process that the Leader of the Opposition is accusing me, yet because of the process, child protection is at the end of the process. The unclaimed body that lay in a morgue for 4 433 days shows that governments can err—they can. I am not incompetent. We do have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order! Has the minister finished? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No. We have a process in place. Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon Sue Ellery interjected. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : The Leader of the Opposition does not want to listen because she left a body in a morgue for eight years, which is absolutely disgusting. Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Several members interjected. The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Order, members! Everyone likes to ask a question. This answer has taken about five minutes at this stage. At this rate members will ask only another four questions. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : I promise to be very quick. I have a document that states — “Current protocol calls for the Public Trustee to locate next of kin within Australia and internationally for unclaimed bodies and this process can naturally take some length of time. “Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day. This government buried that poor man who was in the morgue for all of the previous government’s term of government. We buried him with dignity in February. He lay in that morgue without any dignity during the entire term of the previous government. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to throw stones, she can expect them to get thrown back. Point of Order Hon SUE ELLERY : The minister was referring to what I think she described as a “protocol document”. She was reading the protocols from the document that she was reading. I ask her to identify it and table it. The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
“Also, the Public Trustee and the Coroner have existing processes to follow prior to releasing a body that can take any length of time depending on the circumstance to ensure they comply with correct procedure. “Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day.
“Once attempts to locate family are exhausted the Department for Child Protection is notified by the Public Trustee where the State ensures a dignified funeral is provided. The turnaround time for the Department for Child Protection to authorise the arrangement of a funeral is normally finalised within the day.
The PRESIDENT : The question has been asked. The minister knows of her rights and responsibilities. Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY : No, I will not table this document but I will certainly give the member the protocols that I have. They will be reported in Hansard .
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