Page 4179 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 23 October 1991
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Of course, an effective Neighbourhood Watch affects premiums, because if we have fewer burglaries we will have fewer pay-outs by insurance companies as a result of burglaries, the premiums will be less and the costs will be less. Everyone benefits as a result of that. So, that is certainly a most worthy area for continued sponsorship, and perhaps for increased sponsorship from this fund, to ensure that any costs involved in the police participation in that program are totally defrayed.
There are other areas that could be looked at, such as road safety, which also touch on police involvement and which could be further funded by the fund. That is something I would commend to the trust, to this current Government and to the NRMA. The ACT does not have too bad a traffic record; hence the fact that there is this $40m overpayment which is now being correctly and very commendably ploughed back into the ACT community by the NRMA. That is happening because we have a reasonably good traffic record. That, of course, can be attributed, in no small part, to the diligence of the traffic branch of the Australian Federal Police and also the effect of such other squads as the anti-theft squad and the motor squad, which deals with stolen cars.
To people who know anything about crime, it is a pretty well-known fact that a lot of traffic accidents are caused by stolen cars, and the fact that those squads are fairly effective lessens the incidence of stolen cars , firstly, being stolen and, secondly, showing up in the incidence of accidents in the Territory. So, even those squads become relevant in that regard.
Another area relating to traffic control, and to decreasing the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities as a result of traffic accidents, concerns education programs - programs to teach young drivers, particularly in schools. Indeed, some of the money could be used to ensure, firstly, that young drivers are taught in schools and, secondly, that they are given the necessary lessons and educative programs, at the right age, before they get out on the road in their own car, to become responsible drivers, or at least as responsible as one could hope for.
Again, one of the best ways of doing that is having a police officer experienced in traffic matters going around the schools and giving such training. Again, with our tight budgetary constraints, that is possibly another area where the police could be utilised, at no cost to themselves but out of this trust fund, to really help bring home the message of safe driving.
So, I would certainly commend to the trustees of the trust fund which Mr Connolly intends to set up, to the Government and indeed to the NRMA that some of the interest on the moneys that will be invested could well be used to fund activities utilising the Australian Federal Police,
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