BENNETT BROOK DISABILITY
JUSTICE CENTRE — SUPREME COURT INJUNCTION
729. Hon PETER COLLIER to the Minister for Disability
Services:
I refer to an injunction sought by
the McGowan Labor government and granted by the Supreme Court against Macquarie
Media, Community Newspaper Group, Seven West Media, Network Ten, Nine Network,
Fairfax Media and the ABC to stop them publishing information on an offender
housed at the Bennett Brook Disability Justice Centre in Caversham.
Can the minister explain to the
house why the McGowan Labor government sought the injunction to gag the media
in relation to this issue; and, if not, why not?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the Leader of the
Opposition for the question.
Obviously, this centre is a very
important one, as I think the Leader of the Opposition and certainly other
members in this place would also agree. This centre houses vulnerable people
and the Declared Places (Mentally Impaired Accused)
Act 2015, which was brought to this place by the then Liberal–National
government and had cross-partisan support, governs the operation of the
Bennett Brook Disability Justice Centre. The centre helps vulnerable people who
are unable to plead and not only continues to deliver a quality service to Western
Australians, but also helps to meet the state's obligations under the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Declared Places (Mentally
Impaired Accused) Act 2015 expressly prohibits the identification of a resident
at the centre. That act was passed by this place and, indeed, the honourable
member who asked the question today. That prohibition remains under the act and
has not been changed. A news outlet a number of weeks ago aired vision, on
Facebook initially, identifying a resident at that centre. It pixelated the
faces of two staff members, but it showed the face of a resident at that
centre. It followed the resident and the staff member and took vision. That
action is prohibited by the act. Let me make this clear: the CEO of the
Department of Communities has statutory responsibilities under that act and,
indeed, the Disability Services Act. The CEO of the department took their
statutory responsibilities seriously and, as a result, took action and applied
for an injunction in the court. That is what happened. That remains a fact and,
certainly, the law remains that residents of that centre should not be
identified by the media or, indeed, anybody else.