Female Genital Mutilation Australia

I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Minister for Police on the subject of female genital mutilation or FGM.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:35): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing
a question to the Minister for Police on the subject of female genital mutilation or FGM.
Leave granted.
The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: An organisation, which I have referred to in this place before,
No FGM Australia, lodged a freedom of information application with SAPOL and received a reply
dated 22 June 2015. The information that they sought was, firstly, reports of girls at risk of FGM, and
secondly, reports of girls who had already been subjected to FGM. The reply from SAPOL to No
FGM Australia states, in part:
A search has been undertaken and South Australian police has not received any complaints relating to female
genital mutilation since the legislation was introduced.
That, I advise for the minister's benefit, was in the mid 1990s. My questions for the minister are:
1. Does he stand by this particular advice from his agency?
2. Can he update the chamber on any reports of girls at risk or subjected to FGM since
that FOI was lodged in 2015?
The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services,
Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:37): Thank you to the
Hon. Ms Lensink for her important questions on a harrowing topic. What I can advise the chamber
and the honourable member is that I am not aware of any recent briefs being received by my office
from SAPOL regarding this particular subject. I have no reason to believe that the information that
has been disclosed by SAPOL to the Hon. Ms Lensink in the FOI application, to which she refers, is
anything but accurate. I have no reason to believe otherwise. Of course, if the honourable member, or anybody else, has information that needs to be brought to light that suggests otherwise, I am more
than happy to hear it, but I am not in a position to advise the chamber that I have seen any information
to the contrary.
The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:38): Supplementary: will the minister undertake to doublecheck with his department that the information that was provided by SAPOL, which I have directly
quoted today, is actually correct?
The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services,
Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:38): I am more than happy to
undertake to do that. I will formally take that on notice and I will undertake that question from SAPOL.
Indeed, on a matter that is particularly topical, I will also undertake to brief the honourable member
directly as soon as I get a report back outside of the normal formal process of taking a question on
notice.