Mrs AAGAARD - 2004-05-19
Can you please outline how Budget 2004 helps Territory police to create safer communities.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question, because the budget for Police, Fire and Emergency Services this year is all about safer communities, and a significant amount of additional funding to allow our police force to continue to do the great job they do across the Northern Territory.
Budget 2004 delivers the single largest increase to police in a budget in the Territory’s history. In two years, since this government came to office, the tri-service budget has grown by 21%. It is now $172m. The extra $13m injected into police coffers for personnel under this budget will bring about the largest recruitment round ever, …
Mr Elferink interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: … five squads. You would think the member for Macdonnell would want to hear the good news. As an ex-police officer himself, you would think he would want to hear the good news, and applaud the good news for police in this budget - the single largest increase in the police budget in the Territory’s history, a budget that has grown by 21% in two years. An extra $13m this year will allow five recruit squads, bringing 120 new constables into our police force this year. That is great news, and you would like to see the member for Macdonnell - the shadow police minister, the ex-copper - smiling about this, but no, he is sucking on a lemon; he thinks that this is bad news.
With these extra police officers, we will see more police in our communities, including in his electorate. We were there opening a new police station in Kintore a couple of weeks ago, making that community safer. That is what this government is all about, making communities safer. You would like to think that the member for Macdonnell would be applauding the extra police resources, particularly in his electorate that the CLP neglected for many years.
More police will be on the street, in the shopping centres, in the business districts and throughout our communities in the Northern Territory. In the northern suburbs, we currently have four police officers out on bikes through the community. All members in the northern suburbs have noticed a marked decrease in property crime and antisocial behaviour. Meeting with people from Lend Lease and the traders at Casuarina, 12 months in, they are ecstatic about the improved police presence within Casuarina. The crime rate is down, the shoplifting is down absolutely remarkably, and I pay tribute to Senior Sergeant Murray Taylor and his team at Casuarina at the moment who are doing a fantastic job.
Is it not great that, for the first time, the government has funded a many-faceted police recruitment campaign which focusses on encouraging more Territorians to join our police force. That is what we want: more Territorians. The member for Daly’s own son was in the last squad and it was great to see him coming through. I encourage more Territorians, if you are listening to this and you want an exciting career change, that now is the time to put your hand up, because we are recruiting more police officers than at any other time in the Territory’s history.
There are big differences in the approaches being taken by the two sides of the House. If we go back to the history - and you have to look at history to see the credibility of your political opponents - to 1990-94, where not one police officer was recruited to the Northern Territory, not one. Not one squad, not one police officer, and we are still feeling the pain of that total neglect by the previous government to recruit not one single police officer, compared to the 120 we will be putting through the college this year.
I urge Territorians, if you have ever thought about joining the police force, now is the time. We would like to see more women, more people from our multicultural community and more Aboriginal people in our police force. Now is the time, if you are thinking of making the change and, as the recruit ads say: ‘It’s a new era in Territory policing’, and this budget gives the police the resources to make it happen.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question, because the budget for Police, Fire and Emergency Services this year is all about safer communities, and a significant amount of additional funding to allow our police force to continue to do the great job they do across the Northern Territory.
Budget 2004 delivers the single largest increase to police in a budget in the Territory’s history. In two years, since this government came to office, the tri-service budget has grown by 21%. It is now $172m. The extra $13m injected into police coffers for personnel under this budget will bring about the largest recruitment round ever, …
Mr Elferink interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: … five squads. You would think the member for Macdonnell would want to hear the good news. As an ex-police officer himself, you would think he would want to hear the good news, and applaud the good news for police in this budget - the single largest increase in the police budget in the Territory’s history, a budget that has grown by 21% in two years. An extra $13m this year will allow five recruit squads, bringing 120 new constables into our police force this year. That is great news, and you would like to see the member for Macdonnell - the shadow police minister, the ex-copper - smiling about this, but no, he is sucking on a lemon; he thinks that this is bad news.
With these extra police officers, we will see more police in our communities, including in his electorate. We were there opening a new police station in Kintore a couple of weeks ago, making that community safer. That is what this government is all about, making communities safer. You would like to think that the member for Macdonnell would be applauding the extra police resources, particularly in his electorate that the CLP neglected for many years.
More police will be on the street, in the shopping centres, in the business districts and throughout our communities in the Northern Territory. In the northern suburbs, we currently have four police officers out on bikes through the community. All members in the northern suburbs have noticed a marked decrease in property crime and antisocial behaviour. Meeting with people from Lend Lease and the traders at Casuarina, 12 months in, they are ecstatic about the improved police presence within Casuarina. The crime rate is down, the shoplifting is down absolutely remarkably, and I pay tribute to Senior Sergeant Murray Taylor and his team at Casuarina at the moment who are doing a fantastic job.
Is it not great that, for the first time, the government has funded a many-faceted police recruitment campaign which focusses on encouraging more Territorians to join our police force. That is what we want: more Territorians. The member for Daly’s own son was in the last squad and it was great to see him coming through. I encourage more Territorians, if you are listening to this and you want an exciting career change, that now is the time to put your hand up, because we are recruiting more police officers than at any other time in the Territory’s history.
There are big differences in the approaches being taken by the two sides of the House. If we go back to the history - and you have to look at history to see the credibility of your political opponents - to 1990-94, where not one police officer was recruited to the Northern Territory, not one. Not one squad, not one police officer, and we are still feeling the pain of that total neglect by the previous government to recruit not one single police officer, compared to the 120 we will be putting through the college this year.
I urge Territorians, if you have ever thought about joining the police force, now is the time. We would like to see more women, more people from our multicultural community and more Aboriginal people in our police force. Now is the time, if you are thinking of making the change and, as the recruit ads say: ‘It’s a new era in Territory policing’, and this budget gives the police the resources to make it happen.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016