Ms CARNEY - 2007-10-09
In the June quarter 2004, there were 845 assaults across the Northern Territory. Yet in the June quarter this year, the figure is up to 1450, a rise of 600. It is trending upwards and has been trending upwards for some time.
With a budget of over $1.1bn more than what there was in 2001, will you explain to Territorians why it is that over the last three years, the figures for Territory-wide assaults are trending upwards, and why there are 600 more assaults in the June quarter than there were three years ago?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Opposition Leader for her question. It goes over much of the ground that I answered in the previous question.
Why do we have more assaults recorded? We have more police. We have significantly more police than when we came to office. We had a police force that was squeezed of resources. We have increased resources right across the Territory with more to come. We have significantly more police coming across to the Territory in the next couple of years and …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, more police tackling some of the problems that we face in the Territory, whether they are domestic violence issues that we face now, we have a much tougher approach coming from police, and the link I mentioned before between alcohol and assault is one that we are tackling.
These figures will continue to be at a high level while we have a police force that is tackling them, and is going to use a very well developed, violent crime reduction strategy to start seeing some of those recidivist offenders out of the loop and back non-assaulting.
There is a lot of work to do, but the additional resources are there in our police force, there is more to come. We will continue the focus on personal crime. We will also continue to focus on property crime.
Ms Carney interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: And it does not matter if the Opposition Leader keeps on bleating. There are logical reasons why we are seeing the figures that we do. We will continue targeting the causes of that crime.
With a budget of over $1.1bn more than what there was in 2001, will you explain to Territorians why it is that over the last three years, the figures for Territory-wide assaults are trending upwards, and why there are 600 more assaults in the June quarter than there were three years ago?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Opposition Leader for her question. It goes over much of the ground that I answered in the previous question.
Why do we have more assaults recorded? We have more police. We have significantly more police than when we came to office. We had a police force that was squeezed of resources. We have increased resources right across the Territory with more to come. We have significantly more police coming across to the Territory in the next couple of years and …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, more police tackling some of the problems that we face in the Territory, whether they are domestic violence issues that we face now, we have a much tougher approach coming from police, and the link I mentioned before between alcohol and assault is one that we are tackling.
These figures will continue to be at a high level while we have a police force that is tackling them, and is going to use a very well developed, violent crime reduction strategy to start seeing some of those recidivist offenders out of the loop and back non-assaulting.
There is a lot of work to do, but the additional resources are there in our police force, there is more to come. We will continue the focus on personal crime. We will also continue to focus on property crime.
Ms Carney interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: And it does not matter if the Opposition Leader keeps on bleating. There are logical reasons why we are seeing the figures that we do. We will continue targeting the causes of that crime.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016