QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
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PAEDOPHILE ALLEGATION HOTLINE
Mr COLLINS: My question is addressed to the Minister for Sport and Recreation. When the Minister was acting Minister for Community Services and established the paedophile hotline in her office, what advice did she receive from the Department of Community Services, Community Services Commission, Police Service, Attorney General's Department and police royal commission? If the Minister did not seek their advice, on whose advice did she act?
Ms HARRISON: The hotline was started because one morning I was on radio 2BL when an anonymous caller said he had information about what had happened to him when he was a State ward many years ago. I said to that caller that if he wished to call me I would be willing to listen. He had said that no-one was willing to listen, and I said that I was willing to do that. That one call turned into hundreds. There was no decision at that time to set up a hotline. All I did at that stage was to say I would listen if anybody rang up. When we had the influx of calls we turned to a number of people to help us with the staffing of that hotline because it became very clear that we were unable to cope with the number of callers. I am very proud of what we did during that time and I would do it all again.