Mr MILLS - 2008-04-29
You did say you would like to engage in some debate on this matter. You know the figures that have been tabled: 59% of assaults go unreported. That is what your own crime statistics say now and have said for nearly five years. Yet, today in this House, as you have said in the past, you claim that reporting rates are increasing because of public confidence in police. Are you in possession of some other evidence that supports this claim and, if you are, will you table this evidence?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for repeating his question. I am not going to verbatim repeat my answer because I have made it very clear. The issue is - and I am really astounded that the Leader of the Opposition does not get this - when you have more police, you establish a domestic violence reduction strategy, you put targeted police domestic violence reduction units in our major centres, you increase the capacity for police to be proactive in interventions by giving the police powers to issue domestic violence restraining orders, you will get more notifications. It is fundamental that, if you put more resources and focus on an issue that previously was hidden away and not really focused on as a policing issue, and you shine a light on it, then you are going to detect more occurrence of that behaviour.
We can talk about statistics, but I will give the Leader of the Opposition an anecdote and I would urge him to take up the offer of a briefing. One of the most challenging …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I draw members’ attention to the issue that, this is an assertion. All we are seeking is evidence, evidence to back the assertion. That is the core of the question: evidence to back these assertions. I hope honourable members are aware that there is no evidence.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. As you are aware, there is a lot of latitude in the asking and the answering of questions in Question Time.
Mr HENDERSON: If the Leader of the Opposition is asserting that I am misleading the House, then he can do it by way of substantive motion.
Mr Mills: Where is your evidence?
Mr HENDERSON: It is beholden on me as a minister of the Crown and as a member of this parliament to speak the truth in here. This is the advice that I have been given by the police, and this is the advice that I am giving the Leader of the Opposition in debate today. I have given him those numbers. That is the evidence as provided to me by our Northern Territory police.
Let me get back to this issue when you talk about numbers. I actually visited the domestic violence …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The point of order relates to Standing Order 255, ‘Documents Relating to Public Affairs’. It states that:
Which is being stated here and referred to consistently:
Where is the evidence?
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please resume your seat. Please pause. That is referring to when a minister or any other member is holding on to a document. The Chief Minister is not holding on to any documents, he has not been holding on to any documents. He has been speaking from notes and also off the cuff. It is not relevant to this question. There is no point of order, please resume your seat.
Mr MILLS: I am just seeking clarification, Madam Speaker. Should I then call this point of order when his hands are on the piece of paper?
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, it is referring to when a member is standing and holding a document.
Mr MILLS: He lifts it up off the desk. Thank you, Madam Speaker, I understand.
Madam SPEAKER: I would like to not have any more frivolous interjections. Chief Minister, resume.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, as I was saying, this is advice that has been provided to me by police that I am freely giving the Leader of the Opposition. If he chooses not to believe that, that is his problem. I have also offered him a briefing on these issues.
Returning to my comments, one of the most challenging and disturbing things I have done, as a Police minister, was to visit the domestic violence reduction unit in Alice Springs Police Station and sit down with those officers and, very tragically, go through a photo album of some of the most horrific assaults that I have ever seen in my life. I spoke with those officers about how they cope with trying to reduce and eliminate these horrendous assaults and, as ordinary people having dealt with those issues on a day-to-day basis, how they cope with going back to their families and loved ones.
The issue of alcohol-fuelled domestic violence is significant in the Northern Territory. That is why we have allocated dedicated police officers to deal with that issue. That is why those units are in place across those regions focused on that issue, that did not exist at all when the CLP were in government and they did not recruit one single police officer to the Northern Territory Police Force in the early 1990s.
Shining a light on this issue is what is leading to these statistics increasing in the Northern Territory. We are determined to do everything in our power to reduce the level of alcohol-related domestic violence and all domestic violence across the Northern Territory. At the end of the day, tragically, there are women on the receiving end of it who have absolutely every right not to be on the receiving end of it.
Any fatuous debating here about statistics does not acknowledge the fact that the light is being shone on this issue. Police are doing a very difficult job bringing these people to court. We have given them the powers and the resources; that is why these numbers are going up.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for repeating his question. I am not going to verbatim repeat my answer because I have made it very clear. The issue is - and I am really astounded that the Leader of the Opposition does not get this - when you have more police, you establish a domestic violence reduction strategy, you put targeted police domestic violence reduction units in our major centres, you increase the capacity for police to be proactive in interventions by giving the police powers to issue domestic violence restraining orders, you will get more notifications. It is fundamental that, if you put more resources and focus on an issue that previously was hidden away and not really focused on as a policing issue, and you shine a light on it, then you are going to detect more occurrence of that behaviour.
We can talk about statistics, but I will give the Leader of the Opposition an anecdote and I would urge him to take up the offer of a briefing. One of the most challenging …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I draw members’ attention to the issue that, this is an assertion. All we are seeking is evidence, evidence to back the assertion. That is the core of the question: evidence to back these assertions. I hope honourable members are aware that there is no evidence.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. As you are aware, there is a lot of latitude in the asking and the answering of questions in Question Time.
Mr HENDERSON: If the Leader of the Opposition is asserting that I am misleading the House, then he can do it by way of substantive motion.
Mr Mills: Where is your evidence?
Mr HENDERSON: It is beholden on me as a minister of the Crown and as a member of this parliament to speak the truth in here. This is the advice that I have been given by the police, and this is the advice that I am giving the Leader of the Opposition in debate today. I have given him those numbers. That is the evidence as provided to me by our Northern Territory police.
Let me get back to this issue when you talk about numbers. I actually visited the domestic violence …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The point of order relates to Standing Order 255, ‘Documents Relating to Public Affairs’. It states that:
- A document relating to public affairs …
Which is being stated here and referred to consistently:
- … quoted from by a Minister, unless stated by the Minister to be of a confidential nature, or such as should more properly be obtained by Address, shall, if required by any Member, be laid on the Table’.
Where is the evidence?
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please resume your seat. Please pause. That is referring to when a minister or any other member is holding on to a document. The Chief Minister is not holding on to any documents, he has not been holding on to any documents. He has been speaking from notes and also off the cuff. It is not relevant to this question. There is no point of order, please resume your seat.
Mr MILLS: I am just seeking clarification, Madam Speaker. Should I then call this point of order when his hands are on the piece of paper?
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, it is referring to when a member is standing and holding a document.
Mr MILLS: He lifts it up off the desk. Thank you, Madam Speaker, I understand.
Madam SPEAKER: I would like to not have any more frivolous interjections. Chief Minister, resume.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, as I was saying, this is advice that has been provided to me by police that I am freely giving the Leader of the Opposition. If he chooses not to believe that, that is his problem. I have also offered him a briefing on these issues.
Returning to my comments, one of the most challenging and disturbing things I have done, as a Police minister, was to visit the domestic violence reduction unit in Alice Springs Police Station and sit down with those officers and, very tragically, go through a photo album of some of the most horrific assaults that I have ever seen in my life. I spoke with those officers about how they cope with trying to reduce and eliminate these horrendous assaults and, as ordinary people having dealt with those issues on a day-to-day basis, how they cope with going back to their families and loved ones.
The issue of alcohol-fuelled domestic violence is significant in the Northern Territory. That is why we have allocated dedicated police officers to deal with that issue. That is why those units are in place across those regions focused on that issue, that did not exist at all when the CLP were in government and they did not recruit one single police officer to the Northern Territory Police Force in the early 1990s.
Shining a light on this issue is what is leading to these statistics increasing in the Northern Territory. We are determined to do everything in our power to reduce the level of alcohol-related domestic violence and all domestic violence across the Northern Territory. At the end of the day, tragically, there are women on the receiving end of it who have absolutely every right not to be on the receiving end of it.
Any fatuous debating here about statistics does not acknowledge the fact that the light is being shone on this issue. Police are doing a very difficult job bringing these people to court. We have given them the powers and the resources; that is why these numbers are going up.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016