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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 2538 ..

MR WOOD: I have a supplementary question. I contest the need to close for a week. I would not think that would be the case every time we change a contract somewhere, because they often change. Minister, do you have any information in your brief about where the centre is to be located? Is it to stay where it is or will it go somewhere else?

MR MOORE: I do not have any information in my brief on that, Mr Wood, but I understand it is going to be located with the youth centre in Civic. My department and Mr Stefaniak's department have been working together to try to ensure that we can get the best possible outcome as part of this government's social capital approach to things-to work with the community, to work with different sectors of the government, to try to involve people in what we are doing. So this has involved Anglicare, the Youth Coalition of the ACT, Mr Stefaniak's department and my department.

Of course, we have a specific social capital project associated with this one as well, and that is the youth counsellor at the Junction that was provided for in the budget. So, it is an excellent example of the fact that we are interested in involving the community in what we are doing and ensuring that we work with them to get the best possible health outcome for our young people.

MR HARGREAVES: My question is to the Minister for Justice and Community Safety. Can the minister tell the Assembly how many AFP police officers will be redeployed from normal ACT policing duties to take part in Olympic security work? Will redeployed AFP officers work solely on Olympic security in Canberra or will some police officers be required to work in Sydney; and if that is the case, how many?

MR HUMPHRIES: I hesitate to give Mr Hargreaves information about police numbers because I am not sure what will end up happening to it in the form of local publications in the ACT. In the interests of other members who I hope will handle the information a little more responsibly, let me say in respect of the second question: a clear undertaking has been made to us that no Federal Police will be deployed to Sydney or other parts of New South Wales for the purposes of the hosting of the Olympic Games. That certainly affects ACT regional police. There may be some movement of national police based in the ACT, but they are people not customarily performing policing duties on the streets of Canberra. I would not quibble about them moving some of those people. There are a couple of police who will be in Sydney for other training purposes during the Olympics, and I understand that there are only two in that category.

As to the deployment of police in Canberra during the Olympic Games, there will be minimal disruption to normal policing patrols during the torch relay and the Olympic football matches. Additional police will be rostered to carry out Olympic-related duties. No police stations will be closed during the period 5-24 September 2000. During each day of the torch relay approximately 150 police officers will be used as escorts for the runners and security at the many venues the torch will visit. On Olympic football days, approximately 250 police will be utilised for Olympic duties.

Police officers on Olympic duties will be multitasked, so that during quiet times-non-football days-they can be redeployed to community policing patrols if required. Increased numbers of police and others carrying out Olympic duties at various locations

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