❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Minister for Police regarding conflicting information about a police investigation into alleged sexual abuse at a childcare centre. The Minister clarifies his comments and explains the process of referring the matter to the police.
AnsweredQoN 815Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CHILDCARE CENTRE —
ABUSE
815. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the minister's
comments on 6PR this morning that the allegations of sexual abuse of toddlers
at a metropolitan childcare centre have been referred to police by his office
and were being investigated.
If the minister has referred the
claims, why has the Western Australia Police Force advised the childcare centre
that there is no criminal investigation underway and no event or incident is
being examined?
ABUSE
815. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the minister's
comments on 6PR this morning that the allegations of sexual abuse of toddlers
at a metropolitan childcare centre have been referred to police by his office
and were being investigated.
If the minister has referred the
claims, why has the Western Australia Police Force advised the childcare centre
that there is no criminal investigation underway and no event or incident is
being examined?
AnswerView source ↗
Actually, I was not on 6PR, member.
It was a grab from a press conference I was doing about psychiatric assistance
dogs for veterans. I was asked by a journalist about that particular matter. I was
asked whether I had responded to a letter I had received. It was regarding an
operational matter—the one the member is referring to is an operational
matter. I said, in response, that my office had passed the letter to the
police, as is the normal practice for operational matters. That is what I said.
I said it is being investigated, by which I mean the matter is being
investigated because we have passed it to police. I understand police are
looking at the situation. Whether it is a criminal investigation, I am not
sure. It is an operational matter. I know they have responded to receipt of
advice on that matter.
It was a grab from a press conference I was doing about psychiatric assistance
dogs for veterans. I was asked by a journalist about that particular matter. I was
asked whether I had responded to a letter I had received. It was regarding an
operational matter—the one the member is referring to is an operational
matter. I said, in response, that my office had passed the letter to the
police, as is the normal practice for operational matters. That is what I said.
I said it is being investigated, by which I mean the matter is being
investigated because we have passed it to police. I understand police are
looking at the situation. Whether it is a criminal investigation, I am not
sure. It is an operational matter. I know they have responded to receipt of
advice on that matter.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.