Ms CARNEY - 2007-10-09
In your previous answers, you suggested that police need the right tools to tackle crime and that there is more work to do. By media release dated 17 October 2006, your Attorney-General said in relation to the much lauded anti-gang laws passed:
The media release also said that the bill would be an effective tool to break up gangs and dramatically reduce their impact on the community. Elsewhere in the release, your Attorney-General said:
That was your position a year ago. Today, you are saying there are more tools needed. Why should people believe you now when you were confident a year ago that you gave the police the right tools? Do you accept that your own legislation has failed?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the anti-gang legislation is an important element in how the police can deal with the disruption caused by gangs, and we saw it incredibly effectively applied at a community that was beset by gangs, which was Wadeye.
The anti-gang legislation is an important tool for the police, but from talking to police, particularly the discussions that are happening between police and Justice, there is an issue about what happens with repeat offenders. As I said in my previous answer, considerable work has been done by the Attorney-General in identifying how that can be tackled. We are not saying that every item of legislation will be most effective in dealing with this issue. We have to keep amending ...
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, one component of the police dealing with destruction caused by gangs is the anti-gang legislation. The special operation that will come into force to tackle the sort of disruption we saw over the weekend will certainly focus police resources on what is a very troubling issue. However, we are also looking at how we can strengthen the police’s ability to tackle this through other legislation. That work is being done.
So rather than criticise and saying the anti-gang legislation is not doing enough, we should be applauded by the opposition for looking at other aspects of how the police can deal with this problem and being prepared to amend legislation. We will continue to do that. We have amended much legislation to make policing more effective in the Territory. Think of things like the drug legislation. Now, if it proves in time that the drug house legislation needs amendment, we will amend it. We will also amend other legislation that has come into place to enable our police force to do its important job. Whether it is bail reforms, alcohol restrictions or domestic violence reforms, we will keep monitoring, we will keep talking to police and we will look at how they apply in terms of police operations.
We will do the work with repeat offenders. We will also look at parental responsibility, but part of the armoury of police, importantly, is the anti-gang legislation.
- The provisions in the bill are aimed at giving police the tools they need to prevent and deal with gang activity.
The media release also said that the bill would be an effective tool to break up gangs and dramatically reduce their impact on the community. Elsewhere in the release, your Attorney-General said:
- The Martin government is committed to reducing gang activity across the Territory, and that is exactly what this legislation is designed to achieve.
That was your position a year ago. Today, you are saying there are more tools needed. Why should people believe you now when you were confident a year ago that you gave the police the right tools? Do you accept that your own legislation has failed?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the anti-gang legislation is an important element in how the police can deal with the disruption caused by gangs, and we saw it incredibly effectively applied at a community that was beset by gangs, which was Wadeye.
The anti-gang legislation is an important tool for the police, but from talking to police, particularly the discussions that are happening between police and Justice, there is an issue about what happens with repeat offenders. As I said in my previous answer, considerable work has been done by the Attorney-General in identifying how that can be tackled. We are not saying that every item of legislation will be most effective in dealing with this issue. We have to keep amending ...
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, one component of the police dealing with destruction caused by gangs is the anti-gang legislation. The special operation that will come into force to tackle the sort of disruption we saw over the weekend will certainly focus police resources on what is a very troubling issue. However, we are also looking at how we can strengthen the police’s ability to tackle this through other legislation. That work is being done.
So rather than criticise and saying the anti-gang legislation is not doing enough, we should be applauded by the opposition for looking at other aspects of how the police can deal with this problem and being prepared to amend legislation. We will continue to do that. We have amended much legislation to make policing more effective in the Territory. Think of things like the drug legislation. Now, if it proves in time that the drug house legislation needs amendment, we will amend it. We will also amend other legislation that has come into place to enable our police force to do its important job. Whether it is bail reforms, alcohol restrictions or domestic violence reforms, we will keep monitoring, we will keep talking to police and we will look at how they apply in terms of police operations.
We will do the work with repeat offenders. We will also look at parental responsibility, but part of the armoury of police, importantly, is the anti-gang legislation.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016