Page 286 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2008
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Community safety is a wide topic, encapsulating more than just safety from crime. It encapsulates all manner of issues, including crime, accidents and other misfortunes. Community safety is an important issue and one that is certainly worthy of the title “matter of public importance”.
I listened to the initial remarks of the Attorney-General and minister for police; I agree with some of what he said about sensationalising. I also listened intently to Mr Pratt; there is considerably credibility in the point he makes particularly in relation to people in the taxi industry. Many of the drivers are probably nearer to my age than to the age of their late night patrons; they understandably become alarmed at the possibility of personal assault and other problems that arise from drunken or drug-affected patrons. I have often spoken to them about the problems in Civic.
I have teenage children and children in their early 20s. Often they say to me, “Look, Dad, these things really aren’t that bad at all. You know, we have a good time; we go out to Civic and Kingston.” With my former role in the Liberal Party, they felt that we were overreacting. But, as I say, I also share sympathy with those who have to drive cabs late at night—and, indeed, people who work in licensed venues, though they are probably younger in the main. I express concern for people, particularly in public transport and private transport, who are sometimes subjected to situations of the kind where they would simply rather not endure that level of risk.
We are not one of the world’s dangerous cities. I have lived overseas and I have travelled to places a number of which are vastly more dangerous than Canberra. You really do take your life in your hands when you go out on the street in places like parts of Brazil. There is no comparison. But despite living in this very beautiful city with great people, a great deal of affluence and many other great advantages, there are many issues of community safety that do exist in Canberra. We are as susceptible as any to the dangers of crime, accidents and other misfortunes that can greatly affect the lives of people in this territory. In the light of recent events in Civic, I am going to focus my attention today on the issue of crime, but this is not to suggest that other issues of community safety—and, indeed, the general amenity of this city, some of which Mr Pratt has addressed—are less important.
It is interesting to look at crime. The minister has put one perspective on it, but crime figures from an Australian Bureau of Statistics report on crime and safety in Australia give us an indication of the level, the amount, of crime that occurs in our territory. This report shows us that the crime rate in the ACT is in fact slightly higher than the national average both for household crime and for personal crime.
In 2005 the ACT had a victimisation rate of 7.6 per cent of households that were affected by household crime, compared with a national average of 6.2 per cent. The ACT also has a higher personal crime victimisation rate than the national average. For violent crimes such as robbery, assault and sexual assault, the victimisation rates in the ACT are again slightly higher than the national average, at a rate of 5.8 per cent compared to the national average of 5.3 per cent. This is not a catastrophic difference by any means, but it brings home the fact that we are not immune to crime in this territory, despite many great advantages in living here.
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