Page 243 - Week 01 - Thursday, 18 February 1993
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More importantly, the community is realising that there is a problem. There have been quarter-page ads in the Canberra Times by the Police Association which Mr Connolly describes as just a political stunt. Community organised rallies have been held outside South Building. Once again Mr Connolly says that that is a political stunt. There have been letters to the editor in the local paper. Once again they are political stunts. Police and citizens have been calling our office saying, "Please, we are concerned". Are these political stunts? As I said before, Mr Deputy Speaker, Mr Connolly had the temerity to suggest that even meetings of groups of people under Neighbourhood Watch umbrellas were political stunts as well. Last night's AFPA meeting at the Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union Club has been getting a lot of canvassing in this Assembly. About 80 people expressed their concern about being abandoned by the Government on the question of policing.
Mr Connolly: How many people live in Tuggeranong? Are there 40,000 people in Tuggeranong, or 60,000?
MR DE DOMENICO: In fact, with 80 people, there were about four times as many as Mr Connolly's faction in the ACT Labor Party. How can this Government possibly be attempting cuts to the police services at present? Let us look, Mr Deputy Speaker, at where the Government is making cuts.
The dog squad, which provides support to the region by conducting building searches, drug and explosive detection, rescues and locating people and property, is being cut so that basically it can operate only during the day. That is ridiculous when most of their work is done at night. Let us look at the statistics for the dog squad. In December 1992 they attended 36 incidents, and in January this year 58 incidents. There is an increase in the number of incidents they are attending, yet they are to be cut. Police rescue was mentioned before. They are involved, as we know, in fires, road accidents, rescues, industrial accidents and storm damage. They are being cut as well. There will be no police rostered for weekend or evening work; they will be on stand-by at home. Too bad for the person injured in a motor vehicle smash if the stand-by police rescue officer does not live near the police rescue base.
Rural policing is another area. The rural police help to protect rural properties and forest areas, and they are being cut. It is ridiculous when stock theft has more than doubled from last year to this year. The city beat patrol which is responsible for policing Civic at night has been slashed, leaving a force of only three officers present on the night shift. If you go into Civic, even on a Wednesday night, for example, you find it eerie sometimes with the types of people that you see hanging round. I am not saying that all those people - - -
Mr Humphries: Terry Connolly was there the other night.
MR DE DOMENICO: He was out there and we know what happened; there was an almighty fight. There was also the threatened closure of Tuggeranong Police Station at night. I note that the Minister accused us of a ferocious beat-up on this issue until his staff rang the station and were told the same thing we were told; namely, that the station would shut down from 11 pm till 7 am the following Thursday. Of course, we know about the Blue Light Discos as well, which provide a safe place for youth to meet and to socialise. They are being threatened
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