Page 2643 - Week 07 - Thursday, 2 August 2018
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MR HANSON: He continues, Madam Speaker. He continues interjecting.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, to your question. If you had got there more quickly we might have been on a bit further.
MR HANSON: Minister, how have new outlaw gangs operating in the Canberra area increased the risk to the Canberra community?
MR GENTLEMAN: Any outlaw gang activity increases risk to the Canberra area. That is why we are investing in ACT police, particularly in Taskforce Nemesis, to ensure that we can arrest this progression. We have committed an additional $6.4 million in funding over four years. We have employed eight additional staff. This year’s budget built on that commitment by providing an extra $1.6 million.
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, enough.
MR GENTLEMAN: The government has also increased funding to the Director of Public Prosecutions to help support the work of Taskforce Nemesis and ACT Policing. Last year, funding of $970,000 was provided to strengthen their capacity to address organised crime by providing additional prosecutors to specialise in seizing criminal assets, depriving criminal organisations of their financial proceedings of crime. That is the key. If you take the proceeds of crime away from these gangs, you lessen the opportunity for them to be active.
MR PARTON: Minister, how many members of outlaw motorcycle gangs have come to Canberra in the past three years?
MR GENTLEMAN: The original brief I had when I took over the portfolio was that there around 40 to 42 outlaw motorcycle gang members active in the ACT. My understanding is that there are just under 50 outlaw motorcycle gang members operating in the ACT. So that is the increase we have seen. Of course, in regard to this very important topic, unlike the opposition we do not seek to politicise this issue. We do not go around perpetrating a fraud on Canberrans by pretending that a single legal change will somehow stop these serious criminal gangs from breaking the law.
These gangs have no regard for the law and they do not care what the legislation says. So, unlike those opposite, we are acting; we are investing in ACT Policing with additional resources and equipment to tackle these serious criminal gangs—
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, do you want to hear the answer?
MR GENTLEMAN: and we are always happy to support effective measures that are human rights compliant.
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