Mr. Quigley asks the Premier to commit to building a facility to prevent child abuse in state care. The Premier acknowledges the problem, cites high costs, and promises serious consideration, including building a facility if deemed necessary.

AnsweredQoN 481Legislative Assembly
Asked
17 August 2011
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

CHILDREN IN CARE — SEXUAL ASSAULT
I have a supplementary question. Given the Premier’s answer, will he commit to building such a facility in the very near future; and, if not, what will he say to the mother of the next child who is abused in state care? Mr C.J. BARNETT

AnswerView source ↗

I will wait for advice from the minister responsible in this area about what happened in detail in this incident. I understand the problem. It has happened before. As the member said, it happened before about a year ago. Some of the individuals are children or teenagers and the cost of supervision and care can be in the order of $1 million a year. That is only part of the consideration, but I accept the premise of the member’s point and this is something that the government will take on and look at seriously. If it is necessary to build a facility—if it makes sense and is the right thing to do—we will be prepared to do so.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I will wait for advice from the minister responsible in this area about what happened in detail in this incident. I understand the problem. It has happened before. As the member said, it happened before about a year ago. Some of the individuals are children or teenagers and the cost of supervision and care can be in the order of $1 million a year. That is only part of the consideration, but I accept the premise of the member’s point and this is something that the government will take on and look at seriously. If it is necessary to build a facility—if it makes sense and is the right thing to do—we will be prepared to do so.
I will wait for advice from the minister responsible in this area about what happened in detail in this incident. I understand the problem. It has happened before. As the member said, it happened before about a year ago. Some of the individuals are children or teenagers and the cost of supervision and care can be in the order of $1 million a year. That is only part of the consideration, but I accept the premise of the member’s point and this is something that the government will take on and look at seriously. If it is necessary to build a facility—if it makes sense and is the right thing to do—we will be prepared to do so.

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