JOY Burch says the findings of the independent Commissioner for Standards, Ken Crispin, has cleared her of any wrongdoing and recommended that Jeremy Hanson’s complaint be dismissed.

The report is available online and makes but one recommendation:

RECOMMENDATION 1
That no further action be taken in relation to this matter.

“I thank Dr Crispin for resolving this matter so quickly,” Joy said.

“This has been a difficult time for my family. As Dr Crispin says, these were potentially serious allegations which he has found are not substantiated.

“I sincerely hope that this draws a line under this matter and that we never again see family members of MLAs smeared for grubby political purposes by political opponents or the media.”

Joy says Dr Crispin has found:

• There are no grounds to support any inference that I did anything to encourage or facilitate my son’s participation in the Silence is Deadly program or his school visits
• There is no evidence that I had any reason to anticipate the breaches of the statutory requirements or that I failed in my duty by not actively intervening to prevent them
• I was entitled to approach Mr Fisk for a reference for my son and I did not breach the Code of Conduct or my ethical obligations by doing so
• I complied with my obligation to provide a full and candid explanation to the Assembly.

“To my Labor colleagues, I thank you for your support then and now. To all the people who very kindly wrote to me or rang my office, I thank you for your support, your compassion, your empathy, and your disgust at the message this coverage sent to other young people attempting to turn their lives around.

“I’m proud of my son, and the fine young man he has become and continues to be. I will always be grateful to Justice Burns for the opportunity he gave him to turn his life around, and to Menslink for their support which helped him as he made these changes.”