Page 252 - Week 01 - Thursday, 18 February 1993
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They are not falling in the ACT, unfortunately; there has been a 20 per cent rise in the last 12 months. What is the next comparison the Minister is going to make? Canberra has lower crime rates than New York; Canberra has less crime than east Los Angeles? That is how stupid it gets.
The next furphy is that critics are running an hysterical campaign against this Government. It is a real sign of paranoia that all one's critics get branded as Liberal Party stooges. There is no thought that crosses this very absolutist Minister's mind that perhaps the police who are bringing these matters to the attention of the public and others in the Government and the Opposition are doing it because they are genuinely concerned about their capacity to deal safely with the citizens of this city. They might actually be worried that they cannot do their job. If Mr Connolly came to some of the public meetings, if he bothered to meet with the Australian Federal Police Association as he has declined to do, I understand, to date - - -
Mr Connolly: No, that is wrong.
MR HUMPHRIES: They certainly cannot meet with the Chief Minister and they have tried to do that. Then you would certainly find that he might run a very different line, that he might stop calling the critics of the Government "hysterical alarmists" and start to realise that they are basing their concerns on real figures and real concerns. I have to ask the question: If people are getting hysterical about crime rates, when are they entitled to be hysterical if not with a five times increase? I know what you are going to say, Mr Berry. You will say that when there is a Liberal government in power they are entitled to get hysterical. Crime is rising at five times the rate of population growth. When are they entitled to get hysterical, Mr Connolly? When it is 10 times the rate of population growth, 15 per cent, 20 per cent, when? We do not know.
The next furphy is that recent cuts have not caused any loss of amenity. The fact of life is that Mr Connolly is making a very brave statement. Those cuts have been in place for a few weeks and police are warning that it is only a matter of time before something serious happens which is directly related to the cuts. I suppose Mr Connolly will then say, "The police engineered that to happen". That is the sort of thing that is coming out of this Minister. I have never seen a government - and particularly a Minister - with worse relations with the ACT police force than I have seen under this Minister here. I have to say that I have never seen an ACT government in a worse relationship with the police than I have seen with this Government here. I do not have time for the next furphy; you will have to believe me that it is a furphy. Madam Speaker, we have big problems in this Territory. It gives us no joy to point these things out, but if the Minister and his Government do not pay attention we are all in deep trouble.
MR MOORE (4.17): Madam Speaker, I rise on this quite serious matter of public importance to take a slightly different angle. We have heard the Liberals explaining the terrible situation in the ACT and how very shortly everybody is going to be robbed or murdered. We hear it in their election campaign as well. We have heard the Government say in response, "No, everything is okay". The irony that I find is that the person who has the power to do something about it is Gary Humphries. He is the chair of a committee of this Assembly. Should Gary Humphries wish, he could call a meeting of his committee - that is probably not that difficult, if he can remember how to do it - and put to it the possibility of conducting an inquiry into police funding. That would be a perfectly logical thing to do; but he does not want to do that.
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