BackSaturday, 23 September 2017
Kelly Vincent on Leisure Link with Peter greco – discussing the State Government bungle
Peter Greco | Leisure Link
Peter Greco: Kelly Vincent is going to join us, Kelly joins us every month or so on various programs, Kelly good to catch up with you.
Kelly Vincent: Likewise Peter, that’s a hard act to follow but lovely to be with you nonetheless.
Peter Greco: Well you’ll win a gold medal someday in something Kelly I’m sure, maybe march the 17th next year you’ll win the gold medal and get another 8 years of being in parliament.
Kelly Vincent: Nice Segway I like it, but it definitely won’t be sport I’ll tell you that.
Peter Greco: Now on a more serious note, another bungle has raised its head in the last couple of days.
Kelly Vincent: Yes, unfortunately it has, I’m sure you and your listeners will remember that a couple of years ago now we passed the vulnerable witnesses act which is legislation as part of the disability justice plan making the courts and police systems much more accessible for people with disabilities, in particular those who has communication assistance needs. So for the past 12 months that’s been in operation, and people have been interviewed using special techniques including video links, specific questions to make it easier for them to respond if they have intellectual disability or trauma, or other things as well. It also applies to children up to the age of 14, in recognition of the fact that children and young people sometimes need extra assistance, but it would appear that the government forgot follow the process under its own legislation to make sure that the interviews were being conducted by the right people and as a result it may well be that all that evidence gathered for the last 12 months may be inadmissible in court.
Peter Greco: how serious is that? For the people that it directly affects, that must be devastating, not to mention the fact that they’ve been through what they’ve been through anyway.
Kelly Vincent: Absolutely and given that children and people with disabilities are so much more likely to experience abuse and neglect compared to people without disabilities, of course children have inherent vulnerabilities as well, it’s absolutely outrageous that the government has let them down in this major way with this, oversight I think is a polite way of putting it, but this major blunder has potentially made that evidence gathered for the last 12 months inadmissible, given that it was a five year process from start to finish in getting this legislation in place, the government has done more than a disservice of letting these children and vulnerable people down. While they have put legislation forward and will be introducing that to parliament, to rectify the situation we think the risk can’t be underestimated, because we potentially have very violent offenders who could well be walking away because of this.
Peter Greco: I mean the other thing is that it undermines people’s confidence in the system, that’s a terrible thing to be happening.
Kelly Vincent: Absolutely, and that’s exactly why the disability justice plan came into force in the first place is that people with disabilities and our families were sick of being let down by the justice system because we weren’t supported to give evidence and therefore a lot of cases of alleged abuse and neglect fell through. So this is exactly why this whole process took place, with the Dignity Party spearheading this alongside the government, was to try and reinstate that confidence in the system. So we can’t afford to have this blunder happening especially when we know that on the national stage the rest of the country is looking to South Australia as something of a leader in the field of allowing access to justice for people with disabilities.
Peter Greco: So, I think the Attorney General has said there will be legislation introduced to rectify the situation, but is that still cold comfort for those that may have been affected in the last 12 months or so.
Kelly Vincent: There is legislation that will be coming before the parliament in the coming sitting week, so this week ahead, and the Dignity Party will certainly be calling on the government and the opposition to both deal with this as a matter of priority and to suspend all normal proceedings if we need to do that. Because as you’ve said we can’t afford to undermine confidence in the justice system given that it is already fragmented in the community. So I’ll absolutely be doing everything I can within the Dignity Party to make sure this is dealt with as a matter of priority by all parties so that we don’t see any more people at the risk of walking free and we don’t see any more undermining of the confidence in the justice system. At the end of the day not only is it important to get convictions to these heinous crimes it’s also important that people with disabilities in particular have the opportunity to tell their stories in court. Because not only is it important to get an outcome in terms of the legal system, it can also be a very important part of the healing process as well and very cathartic. So it’s very important that this runs smoothly and as someone who has put their blood, sweat and tears, maybe not literally blood and sweat but literally tears in getting to this point in the past few years, it’s absolutely heart breaking to me that this has happened so I can only imagine how those people who’ve given evidence that may be inadmissible as a result must feel.
Peter Greco: Now, I was going to mention the fact that it’s been a personal crusade on your part over the 7 and a half years that you’ve been in, so I can understand your hurt and those that are a little bit removed from it are aghast at how something like this can happen. Let’s hope that the people that are affected, that the situation is resolved and the problem is remedied in the interim. Kelly just before you go, maybe a question without notice, any thoughts on Katrine Hildyard being named the new Disability Minister in the last few days.
Kelly Vincent: Well, if I could just make a few general comments first Peter. First I have to say that while Minister Vlahos has stepped down from the ministry, I think it is still outrageous that she is effectively being rewarded for the oversights that happened in Oakden, just for one example under her leadership and she’s being rewarded because she’s coming up from the lower house to the upper house, where I sit and is being given effectively as a result the most winnable seat for the next state election so she’s effectively being rewarded by the government for her lack of leadership over Oakden and other issues as well but putting that aside. As I talk to you about often Peter as a minor party, Dignity Party one of the advantages is that you effectively have to work with a lot of different people to get the numbers to get your ideas put forward and passed through the parliament and of course Katrine Hildyard coming into that role will be one of those people so I’m looking forward to working with her but again a shame that one of the most leading portfolios, the portfolio that most needs stability is again a bit of a revolving door and we now have a new minister that we have to teach about the needs of people with disabilities. But certainly I’m looking forward to getting stuck into that and looking forward to working constructively with Katrine, because there are a lot of very important issues, that small thing called the NDIS that we need to get right first, and many other issues we need to get right in this state as well.
Peter Greco: Kelly, we’ll have to leave it there but thank you for your time, we’ll catch up again soon.
Kelly Vincent: Always a pleasure, thanks Peter!
Peter Greco: Kelly Vincent there, member for Dignity Party in the Legislative Council.
