Page 904 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 30 March 1993
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We have never sought to dismiss the fact that we have a problem with crime in this Territory. What we have tried to do is put it in a calm and rational context of debate and to say to the community, "Yes, we have a problem with housebreaking and we have to, as a community, come up with a response to that problem". The response to that problem is not the sort of hysteria that the Liberal Party loves to indulge itself in.
Mr Humphries: It is drawing attention to the facts; putting the facts on the table.
MR CONNOLLY: We saw, Mr Humphries, the sort of propaganda that your party was putting out during Federal election campaigns - the old lady frightened at the door, the gun pointed at people on the front page of that brochure - - -
Ms Follett: An old Liberal Party member.
MR CONNOLLY: Yes, an old Liberal Party member, it turned out, in a suburb which, I think we showed from the last time suburbs were published, was probably the safest suburb in one of the safest cities in Australia. The rate of incidents of break-in, on the figures that Mr Humphries produces, in the ACT remains at the second lowest in Australia. I must say that I am surprised that Sydney is lower. I do not think the average lay person would think that Sydney is lower. It is odd to think that Hobart is a more dangerous city to live in, in relation to housebreaking, than Sydney, but we accept the veracity of these Institute of Criminology figures that have been tabled. What they do show is that all States have shown increases in recent years.
I do acknowledge that we are seeing some rays of hope in relation to housebreaking, but that is only because we are getting, in other parts of Australia, a strategy in the community of working with the police to prevent housebreaking and that - - -
Mr Humphries: So not all governments are facing increases.
MR CONNOLLY: All governments have faced increases. Some governments have the fortunate position in the last three years of seeing some decreases. That is a good thing and I am very - - -
Mr Humphries: "Every government ... continues to face steadily consistent increases in rates of housebreaking".
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Humphries, you have dropped your bundle. You thought you had me on motor vehicle theft figures, and now you are scraping around at the bottom of the barrel for this sort of thing. You can get an implication from this, you said, that I tried to gild the lily.
Mr Humphries: Did you just say that or did you not say that, Terry?
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Humphries, the fact is that you are wrong on motor vehicle theft and you do not have the decency to admit that you are wrong. You do not have the decency to admit that the figures show that motor vehicle theft is running below motor vehicle theft in either the equivalent six-month period or the equivalent eight-month period. Whatever way you look at it, motor vehicle theft is down. The factual material which I put to the Assembly is absolutely correct and has been confirmed by the police.
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