Mr NATT - 2006-05-02
How is Budget 2006-07 building the Territory’s future by supporting safer communities?
Mrs Braham: That is a hard question. Where is our mobile police station, minister? It is May.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am very proud to announce another record budget for the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services. In Budget 2006-07, the tri-service budget has been increased to $212m. That is a 55% increase to Police, Fire and Emergency Services since we came to office in 2001.
We have had a lot of talk about budgets and increases in allocations and revenues. The fundamental of any budget situation is all about priorities of government. We said right at the beginning, in 2001, that building safer communities was a priority for this government and that is why the tri-service has received such significant increases.
Compare our track record in terms of priorities for safer communities to the previous CLP administrations, when it was patently obvious that funding for our police force was not a priority. In fact, it was so small a priority for the then government, there was a total freeze on recruitment in the early 1990s.
We are now entering the final year of the $75m Building our Police Force plan, with a target of an extra 200 police on the beat by the end of 2006, and $32m in this budget goes to achieving that target. What does the extra police this year give back to Territorians? In a large part, an additional 17 000 hours in general patrols; that is a higher visibility of our police across the community, a higher capacity to be proactive in those communities, and to respond quickly and effectively.
This year will also see established dedicated traffic branches in Darwin and Alice Springs. Such was the priority of those traffic squads under previous CLP administrations, that they were scrapped. They are now going to be rebuilt in this budget. Regarding ongoing work to improve living and working conditions for our police officers, comments about blow-outs in wages and salaries would indicate that, if there was a CLP government, we would not fund the EBA increases that this government has funded; we would see increasing morale problems that we inherited when we came to government. It is very clear that there would not be increased funding for working conditions for police officers under a CLP administration. There is in this budget.
There is a new 7.4 metre coastal vessel for Ngukurr Police Station, the last boat to be delivered by the government’s $1m coastal vessel replacement program. Such was the state of our Marine and Fisheries Branch, they had hardly any boats to get out on the water at all when we came to government. Now, they are out there increasingly.
We will be delivering on our election commitment for $630 000 for the new police social order patrols, and we can already see those patrols having a significant effect in and around Darwin. Funding of $440 000 has been allocated to Stage 2 of an initiative to provide Aboriginal Community Police Officers working in remote communities with police-owned vehicles. That is a very significant commitment to our ACPOs, and takes the pressure off community government councils across the Territory for funding for essential infrastructure for our ACPOs.
There is $110 000 for Neighbourhood Watch, a very important community organisation. We doubled funding to Neighbourhood Watch when we came to government. $500 000 has been allocated to continue the implementation of the Fire and Rescue Services review. When we came to government, morale amongst our firies was at rock bottom; a pretty dysfunctional organisation in an internal sense. We have managed to rebuild what was a pretty problematic part of the tri-service.
There is much being said about dollars here, but what are the outcomes? The investment in our police force has seen a 50% decrease in property crime across the Northern Territory. That is what the people of the Northern Territory want – they want to see improved services. That is 50% of people now not getting broken into across the Territory that were getting broken into when the CLP was in government.
We have dedicated Domestic Violence Units across the Northern Territory, better protecting women and children, giving confidence to women to report attacks of domestic violence against them. There is a reduction in social order offences across the Territory. A 55% increase in the police budget is certainly going to make safer communities across the Territory.
Mrs Braham: That is a hard question. Where is our mobile police station, minister? It is May.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am very proud to announce another record budget for the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services. In Budget 2006-07, the tri-service budget has been increased to $212m. That is a 55% increase to Police, Fire and Emergency Services since we came to office in 2001.
We have had a lot of talk about budgets and increases in allocations and revenues. The fundamental of any budget situation is all about priorities of government. We said right at the beginning, in 2001, that building safer communities was a priority for this government and that is why the tri-service has received such significant increases.
Compare our track record in terms of priorities for safer communities to the previous CLP administrations, when it was patently obvious that funding for our police force was not a priority. In fact, it was so small a priority for the then government, there was a total freeze on recruitment in the early 1990s.
We are now entering the final year of the $75m Building our Police Force plan, with a target of an extra 200 police on the beat by the end of 2006, and $32m in this budget goes to achieving that target. What does the extra police this year give back to Territorians? In a large part, an additional 17 000 hours in general patrols; that is a higher visibility of our police across the community, a higher capacity to be proactive in those communities, and to respond quickly and effectively.
This year will also see established dedicated traffic branches in Darwin and Alice Springs. Such was the priority of those traffic squads under previous CLP administrations, that they were scrapped. They are now going to be rebuilt in this budget. Regarding ongoing work to improve living and working conditions for our police officers, comments about blow-outs in wages and salaries would indicate that, if there was a CLP government, we would not fund the EBA increases that this government has funded; we would see increasing morale problems that we inherited when we came to government. It is very clear that there would not be increased funding for working conditions for police officers under a CLP administration. There is in this budget.
There is a new 7.4 metre coastal vessel for Ngukurr Police Station, the last boat to be delivered by the government’s $1m coastal vessel replacement program. Such was the state of our Marine and Fisheries Branch, they had hardly any boats to get out on the water at all when we came to government. Now, they are out there increasingly.
We will be delivering on our election commitment for $630 000 for the new police social order patrols, and we can already see those patrols having a significant effect in and around Darwin. Funding of $440 000 has been allocated to Stage 2 of an initiative to provide Aboriginal Community Police Officers working in remote communities with police-owned vehicles. That is a very significant commitment to our ACPOs, and takes the pressure off community government councils across the Territory for funding for essential infrastructure for our ACPOs.
There is $110 000 for Neighbourhood Watch, a very important community organisation. We doubled funding to Neighbourhood Watch when we came to government. $500 000 has been allocated to continue the implementation of the Fire and Rescue Services review. When we came to government, morale amongst our firies was at rock bottom; a pretty dysfunctional organisation in an internal sense. We have managed to rebuild what was a pretty problematic part of the tri-service.
There is much being said about dollars here, but what are the outcomes? The investment in our police force has seen a 50% decrease in property crime across the Northern Territory. That is what the people of the Northern Territory want – they want to see improved services. That is 50% of people now not getting broken into across the Territory that were getting broken into when the CLP was in government.
We have dedicated Domestic Violence Units across the Northern Territory, better protecting women and children, giving confidence to women to report attacks of domestic violence against them. There is a reduction in social order offences across the Territory. A 55% increase in the police budget is certainly going to make safer communities across the Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016