CATENARO REPORT BEFORE THE DEPUTY CORONER

Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts has again expressed his sincerest sympathies to the Catenaro family for the tragic events of June 2006.

Mr Roberts said that he has seen both reports by the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) related to the Catenaro case.

“I can confirm that the first report was not destroyed, but was considered inadequate by the Deputy Commissioner. The conclusions were not critical of the QAS response, although it did raise concerns about some operational issues,” Mr Roberts said.

“Further investigation was undertaken and a final report was delivered to the Deputy Commissioner which not only addressed the issues raised in the first report, but also found deficiencies in the response to the incident.

“As I said today, the final report was highly critical of the QAS response and also raised several operational issues.”

Mr Roberts said the final report directly references the first report and has been provided to the Deputy Coroner, who is currently considering it before deciding whether an inquest will be held.

“I have also now directed my Director-General to forward the first report to the Deputy Coroner for her consideration as well,” he said.

“Although the claims made in the Sunday Mail are incorrect, if anyone has any evidence of misconduct within the Queensland Ambulance Service I call on them to come forward and provide it to the Crime and Misconduct Commission so their concerns can be fully investigated.”

Media contact: Brendan Connell 07 3247 8992, 0437 837 976

Tim Shipstone 07 3247 8194, 0409 620 571.