The Weatherill Labor Government has continued its form of engaging in gross hypocrisy and double standards.
It took Labor barely nine hours to suspend a ministerial adviser following the leak of a document designed to damage Premier Weatherill’s leadership.
However, Mr Weatherill has refused to either suspend or sack his senior advisers, Simon Blewett and Jadynne Harvey, over their failure to advise him of sexual misconduct in schools.
The Debelle Report was unequivocal in its damning assessment of Mr Blewett and Mr Harvey.
Mr Blewett, in evidence to the Child Protection Committee only today, was unable to explain satisfactorily the differing standards being employed by Mr Weatherill.
It also took nine years for action to be taken against a teacher who used a student’s IT account to access pornography.
Earlier this week it was revealed that a former student was paid $30,000 in “hush money” by the Education Department after he was wrongly accused of accessing pornography from a school computer.
The pornographic material was being accessed by a teacher at the school using the student’s account.
For nine years, the teacher remained in the education system. Only once this issue had been raised by the media and the State Liberals was the teacher stood down pending an investigation.
On ABC radio yesterday, even Education Minister Rankine conceded that the teacher should have been suspended earlier:
Presenter: If it was appropriate to suspend and investigate it – if it was appropriate to investigate and then suspend the teacher yesterday, it would have been appropriate to investigate and possibly suspend the teacher years early, is that correct?
Minister Rankine: Absolutely
Presenter: So it should’ve been done?
Minister Rankine: Yep.
“I think South Australians would be outraged at the Labor Government’s gross hypocrisy,” said Shadow Health Minister Rob Lucas.
“Sadly for South Australians, the Weatherill Labor Government has form in only resolving or taking an interest in issues once they are pursued by the State Liberals or the media.
“South Australians deserve a Government with the right priorities to get our State back on track.”
