Page 329 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 1 March 1994
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This Government and Mr Connolly in particular talk about social justice and all sorts of wonderful things. But what does he do? In one fell swoop he says, "We have taken what France does and what South Australia does and what New Zealand does and what the USA does". Who gives a hang about what all these places do? We are more concerned about what is going to happen in the ACT. I am concerned, for example, about what is going to happen in Tuggeranong. Mr Connolly said, "Mr De Domenico and others want me to provide a subsidised bus service to transport kids from Tuggeranong to Queanbeyan". Yes, Mr Connolly, we do. Mr Connolly continues, for example, to provide a subsidised transport service on buses with no-one on them. How many buses have we seen with no people on them? Mr Connolly talked about providing buses for young people to the Police and Citizens Youth Club, which perhaps he is going to close down, so kids will be able to go only to Queanbeyan. Well might Mr Connolly leave the room.
Mr Connolly also said in his speech that, in his mind, when it comes to providing police on pushbikes or providing gym instructors, police on pushbikes will always win.
Ms Follett: It is called priorities.
MR DE DOMENICO: The Chief Minister says, "It is priorities". What the Chief Minister does not realise is that a policeman who is a gym instructor may prevent some of those kids from doing the sorts of things they would do if that facility were not provided. I have heard Mr Connolly ask, "Would you prefer me to provide police on pushbikes or baby-sitters in buildings?". He has said that on a number of occasions. He says, "When it comes to providing community police, I would rather provide police on pushbikes than baby-sitters". That is Mr Connolly's social justice and understanding of this issue. Mr Connolly should be careful what he says in his press releases sometimes.
He has said that more police on the streets does not work, and he used the analogy of the United States of America. I should tell Mr Connolly that the police themselves believe that more police on the streets does work. Let us have a look at what more police on the streets means. It is not literally police in uniforms, walking up and down the beat with their truncheons in their hands, just waiting to bop somebody over the head if they do something wrong. More police on the streets means more police in places like the Tuggeranong Police and Citizens Youth Club. They can have that interface with young people that is so important. Perhaps that interface will stop those young people from doing the sorts of things that happen in Tuggeranong from time to time.
Who can ever forget the furore that Mr Connolly caused in Tuggeranong when members on this side of the house dared to say that there were problems there? Members opposite buried their heads in the sand. There were no problems, they said, until we found out that the police dog squad went in, for example. But no-one on the other side of this place wanted to admit that there was a problem in Tuggeranong or anywhere else. I am telling Mr Connolly and others that there are problems with young people, and the best way to stop those problems from occurring is to have that non-legal interface between the police and our young people.
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