Ms CARNEY - 2009-11-25
In a government brochure that many people will recognise, distributed to residents of Alice Springs in April this year, you advised that private security patrols will: ‘continue until the Police Beat is operational in July’. As you said yesterday in Question Time, the Police Beat is operational, and has been for several months. A private security firm continues to patrol the CBD seven nights a week at a cost of about $5000 a week paid for by your government. Crime is at such high levels that you are forced to pay private security patrols to complement the local police force. Why do you continue to neglect the people of Alice Springs by not providing enough police on the beat to properly protect locals and enforce your laws?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the question from the member for Araluen. The Police Beat has been a very popular initiative by my government in regard to putting police on patrol through the CBD. When we announced the Police Beat programs as part of a range of Police Beats across the Northern Territory, the Leader of the Opposition said he would close them down, that he did not support Police Beats. He said that on a Channel 9 News broadcast, around December last year as we were opening the first Police Beat at Casuarina in Darwin and rolling out across the Northern Territory. He said they would close them down. That is the level of support the opposition has for this particular initiative.
It is also backed up by an extensive roll-out of CCTV cameras in Alice Springs, in the CBD, one we have worked on with the Alice Springs Town Council. I thank the Alice Springs Town Council for their support, as well as funding the recurrent dollars for the monitoring of those CCTV cameras.
In regard to additional police, we have 175 paid full-time police operative positions in Alice Springs - per capita, more than anywhere else in Australia. With the Police Beat initiative, we allocated an additional seven full-time police positions in Alice Springs. Under our Safer Streets initiative, in the budget this year, before 30 June, there will be an additional 10 full-time police positions in Alice Springs, on the beat.
Madam Speaker, that is an extra …
Mr Giles interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Braitling!
Mr HENDERSON: … seventeen full-time police positions in Alice Springs on the beat. That is the level of our commitment to these issues.
As well as police, you also have to have a range of reforms to make the Northern Territory and Alice Springs safer places. Eighty percent of police work in Alice Springs is alcohol related. You ask any police officer about the majority of the work that they do here in Alice Springs and they will say it is alcohol related. For the opposition …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: For the opposition to have a policy that says we actually need to increase the amount of alcohol available in Alice Springs flies in the face …
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Greatorex, cease interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: When 80% of all police work in Alice Springs is alcohol related, the last thing any sensible government would do is pour more alcohol onto the problem.
I pick up on the interjection about the Acting Police Commissioner and his so-called alleged support. I have the transcript with me right now. This is the selective misinformation that this opposition consistently peddles. Let us hear exactly what Bruce Wernham did say today, in an interview with Alice Brennan. This is the Acting Police Commissioner of the Northern Territory.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: He said:
‘We would not support any extended hours in Alice Springs’. That is what the Acting Police Commissioner has said: ‘We would not support any extended hours …’.
Members interjecting.
Madam CHAIR: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: He said:
What that means is, if you do not actually increase the number of hours you are selling alcohol in Alice Springs, you need to take four hours from the other end of the day. That means, instead of bottle shops and takeaway outlets being open until 9 pm, they should be closed at 5 pm to allow them to be open at 10 am next day. The Acting Police Commissioner of the Northern Territory also said the opposition’s policy is a policy and a recipe for disaster in Alice Springs ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Chief Minister was referring to the wrong interview. The interview he should have been referring to was not that day.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order, resume your seat. Chief Minister, have you completed your answer? Yes.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the question from the member for Araluen. The Police Beat has been a very popular initiative by my government in regard to putting police on patrol through the CBD. When we announced the Police Beat programs as part of a range of Police Beats across the Northern Territory, the Leader of the Opposition said he would close them down, that he did not support Police Beats. He said that on a Channel 9 News broadcast, around December last year as we were opening the first Police Beat at Casuarina in Darwin and rolling out across the Northern Territory. He said they would close them down. That is the level of support the opposition has for this particular initiative.
It is also backed up by an extensive roll-out of CCTV cameras in Alice Springs, in the CBD, one we have worked on with the Alice Springs Town Council. I thank the Alice Springs Town Council for their support, as well as funding the recurrent dollars for the monitoring of those CCTV cameras.
In regard to additional police, we have 175 paid full-time police operative positions in Alice Springs - per capita, more than anywhere else in Australia. With the Police Beat initiative, we allocated an additional seven full-time police positions in Alice Springs. Under our Safer Streets initiative, in the budget this year, before 30 June, there will be an additional 10 full-time police positions in Alice Springs, on the beat.
Madam Speaker, that is an extra …
Mr Giles interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Braitling!
Mr HENDERSON: … seventeen full-time police positions in Alice Springs on the beat. That is the level of our commitment to these issues.
As well as police, you also have to have a range of reforms to make the Northern Territory and Alice Springs safer places. Eighty percent of police work in Alice Springs is alcohol related. You ask any police officer about the majority of the work that they do here in Alice Springs and they will say it is alcohol related. For the opposition …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: For the opposition to have a policy that says we actually need to increase the amount of alcohol available in Alice Springs flies in the face …
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Greatorex, cease interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: When 80% of all police work in Alice Springs is alcohol related, the last thing any sensible government would do is pour more alcohol onto the problem.
I pick up on the interjection about the Acting Police Commissioner and his so-called alleged support. I have the transcript with me right now. This is the selective misinformation that this opposition consistently peddles. Let us hear exactly what Bruce Wernham did say today, in an interview with Alice Brennan. This is the Acting Police Commissioner of the Northern Territory.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: He said:
- I have been sitting in the reception area with no speakers on. I have not heard any of the show so far. All I can say is we would not support any extended hours in Alice Springs.
‘We would not support any extended hours in Alice Springs’. That is what the Acting Police Commissioner has said: ‘We would not support any extended hours …’.
Members interjecting.
Madam CHAIR: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: He said:
- If there was a suggestion of moving the whole block forward, that is something we could look at.
What that means is, if you do not actually increase the number of hours you are selling alcohol in Alice Springs, you need to take four hours from the other end of the day. That means, instead of bottle shops and takeaway outlets being open until 9 pm, they should be closed at 5 pm to allow them to be open at 10 am next day. The Acting Police Commissioner of the Northern Territory also said the opposition’s policy is a policy and a recipe for disaster in Alice Springs ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Chief Minister was referring to the wrong interview. The interview he should have been referring to was not that day.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order, resume your seat. Chief Minister, have you completed your answer? Yes.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016