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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 6 Hansard (3 September) . . Page.. 1917 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

In particular, in the area of emergency services, members will recall the creation of a fifth and now a sixth ambulance service; training of additional firefighters; provision of new facilities in places like Gungahlin; and so on. That is an indication of the need that we see to continue to upgrade the services of the community.

I agree with the comments made by Mr Hargreaves in this debate in respect of policing, that we need to keep pressure on the Federal Government for a flow of accurate information. I do not disagree with the comments that he, Mr Stanhope or Mr Rugendyke made concerning the relationship we have with the Federal Government. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, to describe it as unsatisfactory would be a rather large understatement. I think we are all acutely aware of the shortcomings of that arrangement. I was very pleased in that respect to be able to obtain a copy of the Ayers report, in circumstances which have been discussed already in the chamber today, because it allowed me to go to the table with the Federal Government in the negotiations that are now under way about the future of policing in the ACT with something of a level playing field beneath my feet, knowing what it is that the Commonwealth Government knows is contained in that report. I share the concerns raised by members in this place that a copy was not provided officially to the ACT Government.

Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I have to take issue with a few things that have been said in the debate. Mr Hargreaves made the comment that police numbers and the question of accounting for police in the ACT are unsatisfactory. That, of course, is something I cannot disagree with. He suggested that the projection was for policing numbers to be going downwards as the financial year went on. When one projects a certain number of redundancies or resignations over that period, certainly that would be the case. But members should be aware that there is also a recruitment program under way and 20 officers, I think, are now in the process of being trained. Some, or all, will go onto ACT streets at the end of that training program. A further training course is due to start, I think, next year. That will assist in providing for the needs of this community.

In all, we see the projection being upwards. In fact, we have an undertaking from the Australian Federal Police that the projection will be upwards and that they will compensate for the lack of police numbers in the first half of this financial year by overproviding, under the terms of the contract, for at least part of the second half of this financial year. That is the undertaking I have, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. Let us hope that is actually honoured.

I note Mr Hargreaves's comments about there not being enough police on the beat and his doubts that $54m will be enough to provide for the policing of the ACT. I have some agreement with those comments, but I have to attribute back to Mr Hargreaves and his colleagues some of the blame for the fact that those problems have occurred with both police numbers and police resourcing. Let us look at what the police numbers have been in the ACT over the years since self-government, and in particular at how many of the total AFP contingent in Canberra have been tasked directly to look after the ACT's policing needs, as opposed to the Commonwealth's policing needs. The number was 660 at the end of the financial year when the Alliance Government left office. In 1991-92, it dropped to 618. In 1992-93, it dropped, again, to 611. In 1993-94, it dropped, again, to 600. In 1994-95, the last year of the Labor Government, it dropped, again, to 552. The number went from 660 to 552.

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