DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITIES
— NEWBORN BABY INCIDENT
96. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Child Protection:
I
refer to media reports on 5 February 2020 that Western Australian mum Cassandra
Ann Amour has avoided prison after dropping her newborn baby.
(1) Is the minister aware of the
case?
(2) Was the department involved
with the family prior to the incident?
(3) If yes to (2), was it an active
case or a closed case at the time of the incident?
(4) If it was a closed case, had
notifications been made about the case since the case had been closed?
(5) Has the department since been involved to ensure
the infant's safety and that of Ms Amour's other children
and are there safety plans in place for Ms Amour's current pregnancy?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Yes.
(2)–(5) It
is not appropriate to disclose confidential personal information, make
statements about children in care or statements that are likely to identify
individual children publicly. To do so would be contrary to the intent of the
Children and Community Services Act 2004. However, the Department of
Communities is aware of the media reports.