❓ A parliamentary question raises concerns about the SafeCare program, which receives state funding and works with intra-familial sexual offenders. The Minister defends the program, highlighting its support from government agencies and past administrations, and accuses the opposition of hypocrisy.
AnsweredQoN 304Legislative Assembly
Asked
2 June 2004
Member
Portfolio
Community Development, Women’s
Interests, Seniors and Youth
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the minister to the funding of approximately $200 000 that the State Government provides annually to the SafeCare program, which promotes keeping intra-familial sexual offenders in the home with the victim. (1) Can the minister confirm that this Government cannot provide information about the identification or number of offenders it has referred to SafeCare or whether those offenders have been reported to the police? (2) Can the minister confirm that there is no formal safeguard to ensure that offenders who continue to sexually abuse children while in therapy at SafeCare are reported to police? (3) Will the minister confirm that she has no intention of withdrawing funding from a program whose operators openly state that it is above the law? Ms S.M. McHALE
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(1) Can the minister confirm that this Government cannot provide information about the identification or number of offenders it has referred to SafeCare or whether those offenders have been reported to the police? (2) Can the minister confirm that there is no formal safeguard to ensure that offenders who continue to sexually abuse children while in therapy at SafeCare are reported to police? (3) Will the minister confirm that she has no intention of withdrawing funding from a program whose operators openly state that it is above the law? Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(2) Can the minister confirm that there is no formal safeguard to ensure that offenders who continue to sexually abuse children while in therapy at SafeCare are reported to police? (3) Will the minister confirm that she has no intention of withdrawing funding from a program whose operators openly state that it is above the law? Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(3) Will the minister confirm that she has no intention of withdrawing funding from a program whose operators openly state that it is above the law? Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(1) Can the minister confirm that this Government cannot provide information about the identification or number of offenders it has referred to SafeCare or whether those offenders have been reported to the police? (2) Can the minister confirm that there is no formal safeguard to ensure that offenders who continue to sexually abuse children while in therapy at SafeCare are reported to police? (3) Will the minister confirm that she has no intention of withdrawing funding from a program whose operators openly state that it is above the law? Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(2) Can the minister confirm that there is no formal safeguard to ensure that offenders who continue to sexually abuse children while in therapy at SafeCare are reported to police? (3) Will the minister confirm that she has no intention of withdrawing funding from a program whose operators openly state that it is above the law? Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(3) Will the minister confirm that she has no intention of withdrawing funding from a program whose operators openly state that it is above the law? Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
Ms S.M. McHALE replied: (1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
(1)-(3) Once again the member for Nedlands is peddling - I will be very careful of the word I use - misunderstandings about the nature of SafeCare. About 80 per cent of the referrals to SafeCare are known to a government agency, whether it be the Department of Justice, the Western Australia Police Force or my department. It was interesting that the member for Nedlands said on radio that when she raised the issue of SafeCare in her party room, nobody had heard of it or knew about it. I remind the member for Kingsley that, as minister, she signed off funding to SafeCare. Let me remind the now Independent member for Vasse that he was given an answer to a question from the member for Kingsley about SafeCare. Indeed, the member for Mitchell - who appears to still be the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - received a letter from one of his ministerial colleagues at the time informing him of the Liberal Party’s support for SafeCare. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
The SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not know who said that, but it is inappropriate language for the Chamber. The minister was on her feet and was forced to stop because of the cross-Chamber banter from both sides of the House. Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
Ms S.M. McHALE: The hypocrisy of the Opposition is overwhelming with regard to SafeCare. The member for Nedlands has received several letters, which have been carbon copied to me, from very eminent people in our community supporting SafeCare. I will not withdraw funding from SafeCare unless I have evidence to show that it is not supporting children. SafeCare is a child protection service that was validated by the Opposition when it was in government. The Opposition has made it very clear that it will de-fund SafeCare. It will de-fund a child protection service.
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