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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 2529 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Obviously we take part in debate in this place about crime. Obviously we are going to have robust debate about how much crime is taking place and how we have to fix the problem of crime in our community. It does not behove any of us in this place to create an impression in the minds of our citizens that crime has reached a certain stage where people have reason to be unnecessarily afraid, to scaremonger about crime. I am happy any day to take on Mr Stanhope and Mr Hargreaves, or anybody else in the opposition, on questions about levels of crime, on what the government and the police are doing about crime-on all those related issues. What I am not prepared to do is engage in a debate where the security and wellbeing of citizens in this community are at risk because of the perception of crime in the community.

Believe it or not, strange as it may seem, there are people out there who actually listen to what members of this place say and apparently some of them take seriously what is said about things like crime levels in our community. Some people believe comments such as "there is a crime wave in the ACT" and "people are not safe in their beds at night". I think it behoves all of us to speak on the basis of hard cold facts in this debate and not on the basis of what members might like to think is a good issue to beat up.

The facts are that the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that the ACT ranks lowest in the country in the incidence of things like unlawful entry. Some of the categories listed are unlawful entry, manslaughter and sexual assault. We rank second last in the country in crimes like murder and third last in the country in crimes like assault, driving causing death, and attempted murder. In fact, if you take the 15 categories of crime surveyed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in its most recent set of figures, the ACT ranks lower than the national average in 11 of those 15 categories, most notably in personal and violent crimes, including assault. On radio just a week ago Mr Stanhope alluded to that fact when he said, "I have to say that we don't have the rates of personal crime or assaults that some other cities have, and I think it's important for us not to beat that up."

Mr Stanhope: Absolutely. How responsible was I.

MR HUMPHRIES: I agree, Mr Stanhope. You are absolutely right-not to beat it up. So can you explain this headline in the Southside Chronicle: "Crime scare-Woden workers scared for their safety".

Mr Stanhope: They are. Who has hired security guards before?

MR SPEAKER: Order, please!

Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: is the minister asserting that some member of the opposition is on the editorial staff of the-

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Kaine has asked a question and I will answer that one as well. I do not know about being on the editorial staff but I do note that the picture in the newspaper shows Mr Hargreaves speaking apparently on this issue with Mr Jim Mallett. If I am not mistaken, Mr Mallett might have been Mr Hargreaves' campaign manager at the last ACT election. The ordinary citizen plucked from the offices at Woden turns out

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