Ms SCRYMGOUR - 2003-05-27
Our government is about providing safer communities which is a trademark of the budget. It is an issue vital to my electorate and all Territorians. Can the minister please outline how this budget is supporting Territory police to fight crime?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. The budget, indeed, does deliver on our commitment to deliver safer communities, and on our pre-election commitment to increase the establishment of our Northern Territory Police Force by 50 additional police officers.
$1.4m of new money in this budget is going to increase our establishment of police officers this year by 10, well on the way to the total increase of 50 that we committed to at the last election. In the recruitment program that we have in place at the moment, the 2003 calendar year will see the largest intake of police officers that the Northern Territory has seen, going back for 10 years - probably the largest single increase in any one year for many, many years.
Twenty-eight new police officers graduated on 8 May 2003. I was very pleased and proud as police minister to welcome those new officers to our police force in the Territory. Currently, we have an additional 36 trainees as part of Squad 73/03 who commenced training in February 2003 and will graduate in June. Squad 74/03 will have 35 trainees, who will commence training on 10 June 2003. That is 99 new police recruits who will be added to our police service in this calendar year with more recruit squads to come.
We have 99 police officers coming on board this year, and additional funding of $1.4m to build that by an additional 10. Just running through the numbers to see how significant this is, in 1995 we recruited 64 officers, in 1997 - 76, in 1998 - 71, in 1999 - 25. We did not recruit too many in 1999. In 2000 - 54, in 2001 - 60, in 2002 - 55, and 99 this financial year. So, the money is there.
As well as increased money for front-line policing, we have additional money for capital works for police. I am sure our rural members will be pleased that the capital works program has $1.4m this year for police and fire services at Humpty Doo, as well as station upgrades at Ali Curung and four other bush stations to ensure that we comply with our requirements under the Black Deaths in Custody report.
One of the major issues facing the police operation - and it has taken a while to get to the bottom of this, like a lot of issues with the police budget, but they are starting to wash through now - is that there has been funding for the police online system, PROMIS. When that system was implemented a few years ago, all that was built into the budget was $300 000 for maintenance of that system. The real cost of maintaining that system is around $1.5m a year. We have funded that maintenance cost. What that means is that $1.2m a year is actually back available for operational police, because support for that system is now fully funded and will allow for further upgrades to the system.
We have also included a budget boost of $3m this year to fix an anomaly - and a pretty underhanded one at that - where the police operations budget was under-funded to the tune of $3m a year. This has been growing since 1998 when positions were civilianised …
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, they do not like to hear this. The previous police minister will know exactly where this is coming from because, every year as part of the budget bid, police commissioners have asked for this money and it has been knocked back. Since 1998, when the police civilianised a number of personnel, they had actually never received the funding for them, so the money had to be taken from the operational police budget. This has meant that the police, on an annual basis, have not been able to recruit up to establishment.
There is more to come on this. The further we dig into those files at Berrimah, the more on the hook the previous …
Mr Burke interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: … and I look forward to a fulsome debate about police numbers in the Northern Territory because those dusty files at Berrimah are very revealing about the police budget. There are some interesting debates to come.
As well as that, we have committed as a government in terms of the Jim O’Sullivan assessment of police resources that, if Mr O’Sullivan identifies that additional resources are needed for police personnel, then this government will meet that call.
There is money to fix some deficiencies that have been built into the base of the police budget for many, many years by the previous government. Significant funding of $3m in capital works will go back to the operational services for police to allow additional police officers on the street to tackle the crime problems. This government and I are committed to providing police with the resources they need to do a very difficult and important job in the Northern Territory.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. The budget, indeed, does deliver on our commitment to deliver safer communities, and on our pre-election commitment to increase the establishment of our Northern Territory Police Force by 50 additional police officers.
$1.4m of new money in this budget is going to increase our establishment of police officers this year by 10, well on the way to the total increase of 50 that we committed to at the last election. In the recruitment program that we have in place at the moment, the 2003 calendar year will see the largest intake of police officers that the Northern Territory has seen, going back for 10 years - probably the largest single increase in any one year for many, many years.
Twenty-eight new police officers graduated on 8 May 2003. I was very pleased and proud as police minister to welcome those new officers to our police force in the Territory. Currently, we have an additional 36 trainees as part of Squad 73/03 who commenced training in February 2003 and will graduate in June. Squad 74/03 will have 35 trainees, who will commence training on 10 June 2003. That is 99 new police recruits who will be added to our police service in this calendar year with more recruit squads to come.
We have 99 police officers coming on board this year, and additional funding of $1.4m to build that by an additional 10. Just running through the numbers to see how significant this is, in 1995 we recruited 64 officers, in 1997 - 76, in 1998 - 71, in 1999 - 25. We did not recruit too many in 1999. In 2000 - 54, in 2001 - 60, in 2002 - 55, and 99 this financial year. So, the money is there.
As well as increased money for front-line policing, we have additional money for capital works for police. I am sure our rural members will be pleased that the capital works program has $1.4m this year for police and fire services at Humpty Doo, as well as station upgrades at Ali Curung and four other bush stations to ensure that we comply with our requirements under the Black Deaths in Custody report.
One of the major issues facing the police operation - and it has taken a while to get to the bottom of this, like a lot of issues with the police budget, but they are starting to wash through now - is that there has been funding for the police online system, PROMIS. When that system was implemented a few years ago, all that was built into the budget was $300 000 for maintenance of that system. The real cost of maintaining that system is around $1.5m a year. We have funded that maintenance cost. What that means is that $1.2m a year is actually back available for operational police, because support for that system is now fully funded and will allow for further upgrades to the system.
We have also included a budget boost of $3m this year to fix an anomaly - and a pretty underhanded one at that - where the police operations budget was under-funded to the tune of $3m a year. This has been growing since 1998 when positions were civilianised …
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, they do not like to hear this. The previous police minister will know exactly where this is coming from because, every year as part of the budget bid, police commissioners have asked for this money and it has been knocked back. Since 1998, when the police civilianised a number of personnel, they had actually never received the funding for them, so the money had to be taken from the operational police budget. This has meant that the police, on an annual basis, have not been able to recruit up to establishment.
There is more to come on this. The further we dig into those files at Berrimah, the more on the hook the previous …
Mr Burke interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: … and I look forward to a fulsome debate about police numbers in the Northern Territory because those dusty files at Berrimah are very revealing about the police budget. There are some interesting debates to come.
As well as that, we have committed as a government in terms of the Jim O’Sullivan assessment of police resources that, if Mr O’Sullivan identifies that additional resources are needed for police personnel, then this government will meet that call.
There is money to fix some deficiencies that have been built into the base of the police budget for many, many years by the previous government. Significant funding of $3m in capital works will go back to the operational services for police to allow additional police officers on the street to tackle the crime problems. This government and I are committed to providing police with the resources they need to do a very difficult and important job in the Northern Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016