Page 4043 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 24 October 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Mr Berry: But 1,450 were moved on.
MR STEFANIAK: Yes, 1,450 were moved on, Mr Berry.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Address your questions through the Chair, please, Mr Berry.
MR STEFANIAK: That is what I have been told. At Bruce Stadium on 19 April 1990, five people were involved. The police report states:
A group of young persons had gathered outside the Alice Cooper concert, Bruce Stadium. Their abusive language and threatening comments to persons entering the concert gave rise to police believing violence would result if they continued in that vein. They moved on at the direction of police. They were not ticket holders.
On 18 May 1990, at Grattan Court in Tuggeranong, approximately 40 people had gathered outside a skating rink. Brief inquiries from the police revealed that a group of 15 young people from Belconnen had attended the area for the specific purpose of having a fight with Tuggeranong lads. The police directed the group to move on, and they dispersed without further incident.
An incident in relation to a public telephone box occurred on 7 April 1990, at 8.30 am, in Garema Place, Canberra City. Three persons were under the influence of intoxicating liquor and behaving in a manner that was causing concern to other persons in the area. The behaviour, as the police arrived, also raised concerns that damage would be caused to a public telephone box. The people were spoken to, and they complied with the direction to move on without further incident and without any further problems in relation to that telephone box.
Mr Speaker, this is a very popular piece of legislation. When Mr Wood introduced the Labor Party's Bill to attempt to rescind the legislation, I was sent, as a result, a submission from Mr Gus Petersilka and a number of traders in Garema Place. It states:
We, the undersigned traders in Garema Place would like to express our justified concern and opposition to the attempts to remove the "move on" power from the Fed. Police in the ACT. To deny the police the discretion and power to "move on" members of the public, if their behaviour warrants it, is removing a basic necessity to keep law and order on the street. We agree with the Australian Federal Police that the "move on" powers are a valuable law enforcement tool.
Small Shop Owners, Action Group ACT, Convener - Gus Petersilka.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .