Child protection—Hon Don Punch

Mr Roger Cook replied: (1)–(2) As a member of Parliament and a member of the community, I think we all acknowledge the bravery of any young victim who comes forward in the face of particularly heinous circumstances—in this case, abuse by a member of that family. We acknowledge the bravery of that member of the community for coming forward and thank him for continuing to hold up a mirror to our society. We can always do better, Mr Speaker. This gentleman was able to come forward in a court of law because of the changes that we made to the limitation period for historic sex abuse claims. We made that change in 2018 so that victims like this gentleman could pursue compensation. It is important that we put these matters on the record. First, Minister Punch was never called as a witness at the trial—never called. He attended a single case conference in an acting capacity nearly 40 years ago. No decisions were made at this single preliminary conference. Let us be clear about this. Forty years ago, the member in question attended a single preliminary conference in an acting role within the department. The minister was not involved in subsequent decisions regarding the placement of Mr Barber. I repeat—was not involved in subsequent decisions regarding the placement of Mr Barber. As the court found, the horrific circumstances detailed in the case came as a result of the procedures and policies of the Department of Child Protection at the time and, ultimately, decisions made by the director general. These policies included the goal of family reunification, which was a central tenet and priority for the department at the time. This reflected the way that the government worked at the time. It does not reflect today's victim-centred approach. As I said, this was 40 years ago. The world and the department have changed significantly in that time. Minister Punch came to Western Australia as a troubled youth at the age of 14 from the United Kingdom to live with extended family in this country. Following this time of growing up in the south-west or Western Australia, he went on to study and became a social worker. He went on to become a proud member of our public sector and a leader in our public sector. There is no-one else in this chamber, potentially, who has more understanding about the troubles of growing up in troubled families than Minister Punch. The insinuation comes as a direct quote from Hon Nick Goiran's question in the other place yesterday. That says a lot about the motives going on here. Mr Basil Zempilas interjected. The Speaker: Leader of the Opposition! Mr Roger Cook: I find the insinuation fundamentally insulting and offensive, and I proudly stand by Minister Punch and the incredible role he is playing in serving the people of Western Australia. The Speaker: Members, that concludes question time.