Education and Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine has been sidelined as she battles calls for her resignation over the deepening Families SA child abuse scandal.

Rankine and her office were shut out yesterday and today as acting Premier John Rau and Premier Jay Weatherill’s media staff took control of the fallout from the surprise resignation of Families SA head David Waterford.

In other developments today:

• Education Department head Tony Harrison confirmed he had still only seen “parts of” the alleged offender’s file;
• It has emerged that briefings of the Premier and Ministers held on Thursday, Sunday and Monday were conducted without a full written statement of the facts and background;
• Acting Premier John Rau conceded that he was still acting on “second-hand information”;
• Opposition Leader Steven Marshall called for Rankine’s resignation after a response he was given in a second State Government briefing on the child abuse allegations yesterday.

Marshall and his Shadow Child Development Minister Rachel Sanderson attended a second confidential briefing yesterday, along with Acting Premier John Rau, SAPOL and Education Department officials, and Crown Law solicitors.

He told InDaily he was taken aback by some of the responses.

“Last Tuesday we were offered a briefing from Education Minister Rankine and we accepted that in good faith.

“When the Minister told us that there were details about the case that she could not brief us on, she said she was taking that position on the basis of legal advice from SA Police and Crown Law.

“Yesterday I asked SAPOL officials and Crown Law officials if they had given that specific advice to the Minister.

“They said no they had not; that the advice they had given her was of a general nature in relation to what details she could and could not make public. Nothing to do with our confidential briefing.

“So the whole credibility of her initial presentation to us is now in question.”

InDaily asked the Minister’s office for a response to Marshall’s statements.

Minister Rankine’s media adviser said the matter was now being handled by the Premier’s adviser, Chris Burford.

Burford provided this response by email, asking that it be attributed to the Education Minister:  “At all stages the Government has provided as much information as possible to both the public and to Mr Marshall, acting on the best advice available at the time.

“I did say to Mr Marshall that there were things I could not say to him and that, as I was able to, I would provide him with further information. That is what I have done.”

Yesterday, InDaily asked Rankine’s office for a response on the revelation that no full written briefing existed – that was also referred to the Premier’s advisers.

Earlier today, radio stations FIVEaa and 891 ABC’s requests to interview Ms Rankine were denied and Acting Premier John Rau filled in for her.

Rau, however, said he was limited in what he could say.

“All I can tell you is what I know, based on second-hand information from David Waterford’s statement.”

The scandal deepened yesterday when Waterford told Education Department staff that he had resigned on Saturday morning.

He had decided to revisit the alleged offender’s file and associated documents in light of media reports that contradicted details he had given in a media conference last Tuesday.

“With regard to one of those documents, revisiting it caused me to remember that I had only skimmed it and on Friday night I quickly came to the realisation that I had misinterpreted information on one page because I had not read another critical section,’’ he said in the statement yesterday.

“This failure caused me to honestly but inaccurately brief the Minister and chief executive. I believe that as a consequence the Minister made certain statements that were inaccurate.’’

Education Department chief executive Tony Harrison told 891 ABC Radio this morning that all the briefings given to the Premier and senior Ministers last week had “been personal and verbal”.

“On Thursday the 17th I attended SAPOL to get a briefing on the allegations.

“I immediately briefed my Minister; we all briefed the Premier,” he told the program.

“There were further briefings on Sunday.

“During that process lots of information was exchanged.

“I don’t think it points to (sloppiness) at all.

“Before the (Tuesday) press conference, I did not ask to look at the file.

“I have looked at parts of it since.”

Premier Jay Weatherill is in France this week for talks on Adelaide’s cycling race, the Tour Down Under.

ANALYSIS – Families SA – Beyond Belief