The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: I was not planning to speak to this, although that might surprise members, given that I have a very similar notice of motion not quite yet on the Notice Paper
formally that I seek to discharge soon. However, listening to the government, they clearly have not learnt the lesson of the eight weeks of the long winter break.

This minister, the Minister for Child Protection, received notice from this chamber in December 2023—not this year, December 2023—that we expected her to keep her and her government's pre-election commitments with regard to legislative reform, pointing out that promises had been made to the sector and, in particular, there had been a review of the act, as was promised and as is required under the act, but that that review had sat in Minister Hildyard's in-tray, having gone out to the stakeholders, having had significant consultation, since February 2023—2023, not 2024!

So in December 2023, given the stakeholders who participated in that consultation had been told that they could expect a legislative reform piece of work, a bill perhaps, before this parliament by the end of 2023, it was reasonably expected, I would have thought, that this council would look to debate and vote on a motion just before the winter break, six months after it was given notice of, condemning the minister for her failure to bring forward that promised legislation.

As the Hon. Laura Henderson and the Hon. Nicola Centofanti have noted, in the debate that night, having been given six months notice that the council had concerns about this minister's performance, the only response from the government late that night, as it finally got to a vote on that late sitting Wednesday, was that they had not had time to consider the motion. Indeed, Minister Hildyard obviously needed more time to provide better briefing notes for her representatives in this place.

Six months later—and so it was little surprise then that the Greens, the opposition, One Nation and SA-Best all stood up the next day and gave notice to this minister that she needed to do her job and keep the Malinauskas government's promises with regard to legislative reform—lo and behold we now have a draft bill that was circulated late in the winter break. But what I will remind government members of is that there was a promise made in regard to independent grievance processes in this department. That is completely lacking in the bill that Minister Hildyard has put out for public consultation, and it is a breach of faith, yet again, with the sector.

The minister could have helped herself by doing the hard work that she needed to do with regard to reforming the thresholds for mandatory notifications, and I am pleased to see that that now is in the bill that is out for the second round of consultation. We look forward to finally seeing a bill from Minister Hildyard before this council and before this parliament. From the Greens' perspective, it is not getting through this parliament without an independent—a truly independent—grievance process for this department. So I again put the minister on notice for her to take that memo.

There has been a lot of talk, and I have little sympathy for the opposition's claims that we need a standalone minister. We do not need a standalone minister; we need a competent minister. This minister drops the ball, not just in this portfolio but also in her other portfolios.

We had a greyhound industry reform inspector in name but not in legislation. Indeed, the other secret consultation that this minister has been doing—because it has been sent out not to the community and not through YourSAy but only to hand-picked people in the greyhound racing industry and those who have been involved in the debate—is a bill that this minister is now planning to bring before the parliament, at some stage yet to be determined, to actually give powers to that greyhound industry reform inspector.

Despite what we said back in December, when the government gave the greyhound racing industry two years' notice—two years' notice—and despite not delivering on a greyhound racing inspector by Easter, as was promised back in December 2023, this minister has now oversighted a greyhound industry reform inspector (a GIRI,), who does not have the investigative powers that he needs and that only the parliament can give him. So she does not just drop the ball on child protection, she drops the ball on racing as well, and goodness knows what other matters in her portfolios she has dropped the ball on.

With that, if this went to a vote right now it may well pass. I ask the Labor government to reflect on their condemnation of the motion and separate that from their condemnation of the opposition.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.