Arabic version: مناصرة تحثّ جنوب أستراليا على نشر مراجعة وفيات أطفال

According to ABC News, child protection advocate Belinda Valentine has called on South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas to release the full Mal Hyde review into the deaths of two children, after an ABC freedom of information request for the document was refused.

The review examined the involvement of multiple government agencies with the families of six-year-old Charlie and seven-year-old Makai before their deaths in 2022. Charlie died after her body shut down from severe malnourishment, while Makai died from pneumonia and sepsis three days after first being taken to a GP.

The government released Hyde’s recommendations four years ago, but not the complete report. Valentine, whose granddaughter Chloe died in 2012 after neglect and physical abuse, said she believed the premier had broken a promise to vulnerable children and the wider community. She described it as shocking that the report had remained confidential for years.

In November 2022, Malinauskas said he was committed to releasing the review, but said publication would have to wait until criminal proceedings concluded. A government media release that year said the report would be released once all other legal processes relating to the two cases were complete.

Department of the Premier and Cabinet chief executive Rick Persse refused the FOI request on grounds including that the document had been prepared for Cabinet and that disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice procedures protecting public safety. SA Police has concluded its investigations and major crime investigators are preparing a report for the coroner.

A state government spokesperson said the report would be released as soon as all legal processes, including any coroner’s inquiry, had been completed. The coroner’s office told the government it was awaiting final police reports before deciding whether to hold a coronial inquest.