Page 2896 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 15 August 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
members' attitude - though not for this year, because they have got an agreement with the Federal Government that holds for a year.
After that - and that year will come around very quickly - it will be their responsibility to make sure that they handle this particular situation in a financially responsible way. That is why we will start to see a $15m or $16m cut to the police force. What impact will this have on the police force? What this Government has failed to do is to explore the options; the same as it has failed to do with education. It has failed to use the community to explore the options as to what could be done with policing.
I remember when Colin Winchester came back from Canada and referred to the Canadian system where the Canadian Mounties actually have a contract system. To what extent was contracting a police force explored with the public? I am sure that at some stage or another Mr Collaery will enlighten us on that. But the point is that the notion of consultative and open government, on which Mr Collaery was elected along with Mr Jensen, was to give people a say in what is going on. The idea is to consult with them. In this particular instance there was absolutely no consultation at all. They did not even give the style of consultation they used in education, which was a totally inadequate style. "We will close the schools; you just tell us which ones". Here we have, "We are going to use this particular police force and this is the way we are going to do it". There is no consultation whatsoever, and yet that was what they were elected on.
What they are going to leave Canberra with is an incredible debt, and what we are going to have is an incredibly dissatisfied, disheartened police force, with a low morale. It will be the responsibility of the police officers who run it, and the Commissioner, to attempt to retain the morale while they accept massive cuts. This is what is being handed over to Canberra, with what is supposedly a financially responsible Government. What absolute nonsense!
When it is said to me that I have a poor attitude to the police force, that is absolute nonsense as well. The reality of the situation is that somebody has to point out the truth of the matter as to what is going on and what financial arrangements are made and why they are inadequate. In a year's time - - -
Mr Humphries: And that is, "Michael Moore, Independent".
MR MOORE: Thank you, Gary Humphries; that is "Michael Moore, Independent". Quite right. In a year's time - - -
Mr Kaine: Michael Moore - ex-member.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .