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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 729 asked in the Legislative Council on 6 August 2019 by Hon Peter Collier

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

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.