Child Protection

Ms TANYA GADIEL: My question is directed to the Minister for Police. Will the Minister update the House on the latest efforts by the Government to protect our children?

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: I thank the honourable member for her question. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Police, but more importantly as a parent, I understand her interest in this matter. There is no more important issue than the protection of our children and as members of Parliament we all have a duty to use the powers invested in this Parliament to do all we can to keep them safe. I am pleased to inform the House that in keeping with the Iemma Government's determination to protect our children from child sex offenders we will be rolling out specialised child protection watch teams. These watch teams are to be set up across New South Wales to improve the monitoring of high-risk child sex-offenders in the community and ensure that they comply with strict monitoring and parole arrangements. The teams will be rolled out following an independent evaluation of the program, which has been running as a pilot project in south-west Sydney. These child protection watch teams provide an early warning system, alerting authorities to child sex-offenders who could be at risk of re-offending.

The multi-agency program will ensure swift reporting of registered child sex-offenders who display inappropriate behaviour and begin suspicious associations and living arrangements. A special exemption has been obtained from the Privacy Commissioner to allow government agencies to share information that would usually be protected from disclosure. The exemption will be drafted into legislation because the rights of the offender should come second to the protection of our children. We must be vigilant against those who seek to exploit children for sexual gratification. Yesterday disgraced former prosecutor Patrick Power was formally struck off the legal register. This House will be aware that the former New South Wales Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor, and former work mate of the member for Epping, has already served six months—

[Interruption]

The SPEAKER: Order! The House will come to order. I call the member for Willoughby to order for the second time.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: Patrick Power has already served six months in prison—

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Willoughby to order for the third time.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: —after being found with more than 400 pictures of underage gay sex, plus 31 videos on his laptop computer. Unfortunately, the hardworking police assigned to this case were unable to locate the computer's F-drive and yesterday Justice David Hodgson asserted that Patrick Power had clearly hidden it because he knew it would be incriminating. I quote from his decision:

The only plausible reason for doing this was to ensure that the F-drive would not be available to use as evidence against him.

How did he know? Because the member for Epping told him so! I quote from today's edition of the Australian.

Mr Adrian Piccoli: Point of order.

[Interruption.]

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will allow the shadow Leader of the House to state his point of order.

Mr Adrian Piccoli: There are numerous rulings relating to personal attacks being made by substantive motion.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will allow the shadow Leader of the House to state his point of order.

Mr Adrian Piccoli: A number of rulings restrict personal attacks to being made by substantive motion only. Clearly the Minister for Police is about to engage in the grubby tactic of using question time to attack members. I am sure that if he moved a substantive motion, the member for Epping would be pleased to debate this with the Minister for Police, just as I am sure that other members of the Opposition would enjoy the opportunity of reminding Government members about their involvement with Milton Orkopoulos.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Murrumbidgee anticipated that the Minister for Police was "about to" engage in a tactic. I remind the Minister to keep his remarks relevant to the question.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: I was about to quote from today's Australian newspaper, which states:

Mr Smith was acting DPP when technicians found offensive images on a computer Power had brought in for repairs on July 4, 2006. Power believed he had stored all his pornographic images on a hard drive he removed before handing the computer over.

Mr Smith called power to his office at 5.20pm on July 4, before he rang the police and about 16 hours before he spoke to investigators.

I know the Opposition faces an absolutely unbelievable set of circumstances.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: For the last week all we have heard from the Leader of the Opposition is huff and puff about leadership, standards of behaviour and accountability.

Mr Adrian Piccoli: Point of order: I take the very same point of order. The Minister for Police is hiding behind a media report to sustain his attack on the member for Epping. That is not appropriate or acceptable. If he wants to move a substantive motion, good luck to him, but he is not permitted to do that during question time.

The SPEAKER: Order! I will listen further to the Minister.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: For the last week all we have heard from the Leader of the Opposition is huff and puff about leadership, standards of behaviour and accountability—concerning everyone other than those in the political party he leads. That is why nothing said by the Leader of the Opposition can be believed.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Coffs Harbour to order for the second time.

Mr Greg Smith: Point of order: My point of order relates to Standing Order 129. The question was what the Government is doing to protect young children from molesters. We are now being given a lecture about matters that occurred over a totally unrelated incident. I was not aware of any allegation of sexual depredation of children—

The SPEAKER: Order! I remind the Minister of my previous direction.

Mr Barry O'Farrell: I seek leave for the Minister for Police to move a motion to suspend standing and sessional orders so that he may move a substantive motion during this session of Parliament to enable matters to which he has referred to be debated.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition is aware that moving such a motion during question time is contrary to standing orders.

Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: Earlier I referred to the huff and puff of the Leader of the Opposition, and that is what he has just displayed. That is why he cannot be believed. I say this to the Leader of the Opposition: Barry, why not self-regulate, and take the member for Epping off your dream team?