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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (30 August) . . Page.. 2647 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

returfed after the grand final on Saturday, and that is regarded as quite safe. It is true that Bruce Stadium can similarly be returfed, if that is the decision that SOCOG takes. So there will be soccer in Canberra. As Michael Knight's office said this morning, they will do absolutely everything possible to ensure that soccer stays in Canberra. That is the view of everybody, except a couple of those opposite, obviously.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Wood.

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, the second part of the question was not answered. I hope it does not come to that but are you confident that people will be buying tickets in the next fortnight?

MS CARNELL: I did not actually answer that but I am happy to-

MR SPEAKER: That is a rhetorical question. I am sorry, I cannot allow that. I call Mr Hargreaves.

MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, my question through you is to the Minister for Justice and Community Safety. Minister, yesterday you rambled on about how the ACT crime figures for vehicle thefts and home burglaries had dropped. Furthermore, you implied that my article in the Chronicle was a media beat-up because I used my former campaign director who also happened to work in the Woden area.

Minister, it is obvious that you do not think there is a problem. So what do you say to the woman who had her front teeth knocked out in the Woden car park a few weeks ago or the members of the public who were threatened by a person with a syringe at the Woden shopping centre last Friday night? Also what do you say to the woman who was punched twice in the face by a man in the Woden car park just last Thursday night? Are you going to say to them that these things never happened? Are you going to say to them that the crime figures are going down, so do not worry about it? And if there is no problem or if the problem is getting lesser, why are departments, private firms and businesses employing security guards to escort workers to their cars at night-time?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I cannot blame Mr Hargreaves for smarting a bit after what he had to say yesterday about this subject. I think what he was exposed as doing in this place was demonstrably disgraceful and an abuse of the privileged position which a member of the Legislative Assembly enjoys. Statements are able to be made to the media about matters that people apparently take seriously on the basis that they come from members of the Legislative Assembly.

I do not for one instant downplay the seriousness of any incident of crime in this community, whether it is a person having their teeth knocked out, as Mr Hargreaves just referred to, somebody being robbed, somebody's house being broken into or somebody's car being stolen. I can assure you that there is no government anywhere in the world-not even in the Vatican City where I understand crimes also take place-that can confidently promise their citizens a crime-free community.

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