Page 2895 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 15 August 1990
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that the AFP meets its goals, objectives and priorities, and is responsive to the needs of the ACT community. The Alliance Government opted for this type of arrangement when it became clear that the alternative, namely the creation of an independent police force, was impractical and financially imprudent, pending the transition and the outcome of the report of the Grants Commission. For my part, as Minister responsible for the ACT policing policy, I now formally welcome the AFP to their revised community policing role. I trust that they will have the support of all members of the Assembly in their difficult and onerous task. I present the following papers:
Police Services - Arrangement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory concerning the provision of services to the Australian Capital Territory -
Arrangement, dated 25 June 1990.
Ministerial statement, 15 August 1990.
I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the papers.
MR MOORE (3.19): Mr Speaker, I would like to take a few minutes to comment on this particular matter at this stage. I note that in the second last paragraph of the statement Mr Collaery stated that the Alliance Government opted for this type of arrangement when it became clear to it that the alternative, namely the creation of an independent police force, was impractical, and financially imprudent. At no stage, of course, did this paternalistic and patronising Government go to the community and ask its members their particular views on the matter. This negotiation was carried on behind closed doors with no reference to anybody else, in spite of a number of calls for it to be looked at by an Assembly committee at the very least. I think it is a disgrace that the Alliance Government has gone ahead and signed this particular document.
Let me start by saying that this in no way reflects on the police force, the Federal police force. It reflects on the incompetence of the Alliance Government in dealing with financial matters. Mr Collaery referred to the Grants Commission. For some reason he seems to expect that the $26.858m that the Grants Commission found appropriate as the average spending on police will suddenly become $48m, and that somehow or other the Grants Commission is going to bridge this particular gap in its next finding. Now, the chances of this happening are pretty slim, especially when this is exactly the same logic that the Government has used to cut education.
So, shortly we will see this same Government, which likes to say how responsible it is over policing and over accepting this, setting about looking at a $15m to $16m cut on the Australian Federal Police. What will be its
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