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‘No sacred cows’: Premier’s warning on child protection inquiry

Premier Peter Malinauskas says it is too early for a Royal Commission into South Australia’s embattled child protection system but has warned that workers in government agencies “will be held to account” if they have failed to do their job following a second child death involving alleged criminal neglect.

Aug 02, 2022, updated Aug 02, 2022
Premier Peter Malinauskas speaking to reporters. Photo: Tony Lewis / InDaily

Premier Peter Malinauskas speaking to reporters. Photo: Tony Lewis / InDaily

SA Police revealed yesterday they were investigating a case of suspected criminal neglect following the death of a seven-year-old boy, named Makai, in February this year.

His father took him to the Lyell McEwin Hospital, but he was later transported to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital where he died.

A postmortem found he died from several serious health issues, but police have refused to confirm his interim cause of death.

The case is being investigated by SA Police’s Task Force Prime, who are also examining a criminal neglect case involving the death of a six-year-old girl, Charlie, last month.

Malinauskas announced yesterday afternoon that he had appointed former police commissioner Mal Hyde to lead an independent review of the involvement of government agencies with the two families.

Asked whether he considered calling a royal commission in to the child protection system, Malinauskas said: “I think it’s too early for that.”

“A Royal Commission is obviously a very long and drawn out exercise, my principle effort here … is to make sure that we don’t have a gaping hole in the system that is leading to children being left in a situation where they’re subject to criminal neglect that we don’t know about,” he told reporters on Monday.

“If we have a Royal Commission that’ll take 12, 18 months then the reviews.

“What I want to do is just make sure that: are government agencies doing everything they’re supposed to do? Is there a big gap in the system that we just don’t know about?

“That’s why this needs to be a relatively expeditious exercise, it’s not a lengthy inquiry that’s about summonsing witnesses.”

Malinauskas said the CEO of the Child Protection Department, Cathy Taylor, retained his confidence, but that senior management would be examined in Hyde’s inquiry.

Hyde’s review will also be made public, Malinauskas said.

“There are no sacred cows here, there is nothing that we aren’t willing to contemplate,” he said.

“If there are people that have failed to do their job and children are paying the price – then they will be held to account, they should be held to account.

“But at the same we have to be cognisant of the fact that there are a lot of good people working in the system with a strong sense of social justice who are only there … because they care about other members of the community.

“We don’t want to second guess their commitment and their judgements when they’re often made in very difficult circumstances.

“Trying to find the balance there is an important undertaking, and I think that’s something that Mal Hyde will be able to do in a thorough way and a thoughtful way.”

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