Page 3438 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 25 November 1992
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Crime Rates
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, my question is to Mr Connolly and concerns rising levels of crime in the ACT. Minister, when I put it to you in July that armed robberies in Canberra were up, you said that the Liberals were simply wrong. When the DPP said in August that the rising crime was a cause for concern and most disturbing, you said that he was talking about prosecutions, not crime. When the NRMA recorded unprecedented jumps in house burglary in September, you said that their figures did not agree with police figures. Given that the annual report of the AFP, just released, shows a rise of 43 per cent in offences against the person in one year, a rise of 38 per cent in assault, a rise of 47 per cent in armed robbery and a rise of 141 per cent in sexual assaults, will you now admit to the Assembly and to the people of Canberra that escalating crime is a serious problem facing the Canberra community?
MR CONNOLLY: That was a 10 out of 10 for oratory in the introduction to make a political point. In relation to the first rhetorical statement about armed robbery, as I explained to this Assembly as soon as the police advised me, on the police figures with which I had been provided by police armed robberies were down slightly in the last financial year as against the previous year. However, the police came to me and said, "Minister, the figures that we had given you were incorrect and they were, in fact, up a couple rather than down a couple". As soon as that information came to my attention I came into this Assembly and made that point clear. So, Madam Speaker, at all times I have been accurately passing on the accurate information.
The Liberal Party will often seek to make political capital out of this sort of issue and I have always said that crime rates are a matter of concern. However, again, the Liberals look for the worst set of figures to beat the drum over, in relation to sexual assault in particular - a matter which we take extraordinarily seriously. Yes, I am very concerned that the figures show an increase of 140 per cent, this year to last year; but if we go back to the year before it is only a very marginal increase. We had 140 offences this year, 58 offences last year and 123 the year before. So, we have a lot of fluctuation in the ACT because of our small base.
What we have said, Madam Speaker, consistently, is that the ACT, like everywhere else in Australia, faces a steady increase in crime rates. However, Madam Speaker, we remain a safer community than other capital cities; we remain the safest major capital in Australia. Australian Institute of Criminology figures, which tend to be the best available comparative data, consistently show the ACT at the bottom of the rate per 100,000 of prevalence of offences, as it should be and as we would expect it to remain.
Madam Speaker, we have to accept that crime is a problem in this community. Every other government accepts that that is a problem, as do we. We are looking for constructive solutions, as is every other government in Australia. Mr Humphries accompanied me only on Thursday to a meeting of all State and Territory governments and community leaders which was convened, in effect, because governments across Australia are having to say that the increasing crime rate is a problem that has been there for 10 years, and we have to look at additional solutions. I have never made light of or misled anyone in relation to crime rates. I have always responded to the data as and when it becomes available and have conceded that we have some difficulties in these areas, as does the rest of Australia. What we need to look at is constructive solutions rather than hollow drumbeating from opposition politicians.
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