Page 6 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 16 February 1993
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MR CONNOLLY: As I said on WIN TV last night, that partisan political ad by the Police Association was nonsense. I see Mr Stefaniak and a former New Conservative party candidate are running a public meeting tomorrow night, and running this nonsense, running this dangerous lie, that the Canberra community is somehow unsafe because of police budgetary cuts. The best statement on this was the statement by Mr Kaine, which he has repeatedly made, and I keep coming back to it. As Mr Kaine said, and I quote from the Canberra Times of August 1990:
The police force will be like any other element of the community and if we have to make cuts -
that is, cuts in the budget in the future -
they will have to bear their share.
Again, on 25 November 1992 Mr Kaine said, as recorded at page 3450 of Hansard:
In times of recession the budget for policing must be reduced along with all other budgets ...
So the Liberal leader acknowledges the reality that in this community we have to make cuts, fair cuts across the board, and that includes cuts to the police.
Mr Kaine: But you reallocate the resources you have left, Minister. Didn't anybody ever tell you?
MR CONNOLLY: What are these resources that we reallocate? We have in Canberra, in a community of some 290,000 people, 700 police - 699 is the number. How does that compare to other States that the Police Association is rabbiting on about?
Mr Humphries: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. My question was about rises in crime, not numbers of police. I ask the Minister whether he could possibly answer the question.
MR CONNOLLY: Madam Speaker, the question was related to alleged rises in crime as a result of police cuts, and I am addressing the issue of the alleged police cuts. The Newcastle district has a population of some 313,000 people. It has a police establishment of 442. I am quoting from New South Wales police service figures faxed to my department yesterday. The Wollongong district, with a population of 364,000, has 465 police. The Gold Coast, which is a particularly crime-ridden area of Queensland, with a population of 273,000 people but a massive tourism boost as well, has 427 police. This community of under 300,000 is served, under Labor, and will continue to be served by a substantial police contingent of 699 - way above the level of police services for any other part of Australia. The Australian Federal Police Association is whipping up community hysteria.
In relation to what was the nonsense, the sexual assault allegation particularly is the most nonsensical. In the AFP annual reports, if you compare year to year, the most dramatic reported increase is in relation to the offence of incest, which in one year went from two to some 20. That can be portrayed as a massive increase in crime, but of course we know that it is not. We know, simply, that we are
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