We had no protocols: Jay’s senior adviser
There were no set protocols in Jay Weatherill’s office when he was Education Minister to handle matters relating to child sex abuse cases, the Premier’s chief of staff says.
Weatherill’s senior adviser, Simon Blewett, appeared today before an Upper House Committee inquiring into child protection, called in the wake of the Debelle royal commission into the Education Department’s handling of the rape of a child at a western suburbs school.
Weatherill did not want his advisers to appear, but they were summonsed.
Blewett received an email in December 2010 from the Education Department advising that an out of hours carer at the western suburbs school had been arrested on charges of sexual assault of child.
Blewett forwarded the email, but has never said who received it. The Debelle inquiry found that Weatherill was not informed of the incident by his staff.
“I have no recollection of receiving it (the departmental email), nor of my reaction to it,” Blewett said today.
“It was only when I discovered the email in November 2012, that was the first occasion I was aware that I received it.
“The most likely person that I would have referred it to was the media adviser.”
Committee member Rob Lucas asked Blewett that if he couldn’t remember the email, nor who he sent it to, how could he be sure that he did not send it to Weatherill.
“At all stages I believe that I did not forward it to Mr Weatherill,” Blewett said.
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“Justice Debellle accepted my evidence on that.
“I have said all along I believe that I did not send it.”
Asked about the office protocols that related to the receipt of advice from the department, Blewett revealed there were none.
“There were no set protocols around the handling of incidents of child sexual abuse.
“Fortunately there were not many incidents of child sex abuse cases.”
Blewett said he wanted “assertive action” taken against Education Department officials named in the Debelle Report.
He revealed under questioning that he held discussions with the Crown Solicitor’s office relating to action that might be taken against the officials.
Blewett, who also criticised in the Debelle Report for failing to inform Weatherill of the arrest of the worker, has kept his job with the Premier.
In the case of the named departmental officials, he said action should be taken to satisfy public demands.
“By this time, it was a live public issue.
“The premier and the minister were being asked questions regularly.
“I had discussions with the Crown Solicitor’s office on what the processes would be.
“I did not express the view that ‘heads should roll’; I’m sure that I did express a view that action had to be taken.
“Assertive action was needed. Action that the public would accept.”
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The adviser was also asked if he was aware of any payouts made similar to the one revealed this week, where a student received $30,000 after being wrongly accused of accessing pornography on his school account. In fact, a teacher had been using the account to view porn.
“I’m not aware of similar payments,” Blewett said.
“I can’t promise that it hasn’t occurred.”
Jadynne Harvey, another Weatherill adviser who received the department email advising of the arrest of the school worker, also appeared this morning.
Like Blewett, Harvey said he could not remember receiving the email.
“I have no recollection of receipt of, discussion about or my reaction to the email,” Harvey said.
Asked about evidence from ministerial liaison officer Mark Bowden that he had discussed the email with Harvey, he said: “I don’t recall the conversation.”
Harvey refused to answer questions on whether he might have sent the email to the Premier, instead referring to Debelle’s finding that Weatherill did not receive it.
The final staffer to appear was media adviser Kate Baldock.
In August, the Government released documents (which were considered by Debelle in his inquiry), which showed that Baldock was included in an email chain from the Department in February 2012, which talked about the western suburbs school worker being sentenced for his crime and a proposed approach to dealing with media inquiries.
Then Education Minister Grace Portolesi, to whom Baldock was assigned in February 2012, has said that she wasn’t informed about the man’s crimes until March 2012.
Media reporting of the issue has focused on the apparent gap between Baldock receiving the email and Portolesi first being informed about the case.
Today, Baldock said she didn’t pass on the email’s contents to her minister.
“The matter was the conclusion of a court case into a historical matter,” she said.
“I made a decision that it was an old court case and it didn’t fit the criteria of informing the minister.
“The media inquiry went to them (the Education Department).”
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