Mr BONSON - 2001-10-18
Can the minister please advise the House of the budgetary situation facing the NT Police?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for his question. The member for Millner would be aware, as would other members, that Police Commissioner Bates is retiring later this year after a quite magnificent stint as Commissioner of Police for the Northern Territory. He has overseen the growth of that police force, incredibly run down by previous CLP administrations …
Mr Burke: Oh, come on!
Mr STIRLING: By your predecessors. 580 police officers when Commissioner Bates came in here, and he is leaving this force with something like 950 police officers. The former Minister for Police did do the job of rebuilding the police force and I commend him for that, but only after it got to a point, I might add, that they were about to close the doors because they simply did not have the resources to even come to grips with the matter of policing in the Northern Territory.
Commissioner Bates is recognised throughout Australia as a man of great integrity and distinction. He has served the Territory well and he goes with this government’s, and certainly with the previous government’s, good blessing for an honourable retirement that he has so thoroughly deserved.
However, he has advised me that the following additional funding will be required to maintain the level of services that the police are required to deliver: $4.58m additional funding this financial year, and additional recurrent funding of $2.48m for financial year 2002-03. Electronic messaging on its own - $400 000, recurrent funding required; Optus Data Communication - $230 000, recurrent funding required; information technology outsourcing of Desktop Computer Support and Maintenance - $1.8m, recurrent funding required, could be as high as $2.4m. They are recurrent and they are required now.
There are also further additional funding requirements, as I mentioned this morning. The Barrow Creek investigation now running at over $900 000, looking probably to get closer to $1m. The commissioner advises me he can probably absorb about $350 000 of this cost, so tight is his budget. In the normal run of events, the Police, Fire and Emergency Services budget, you would expect, would have within it enough around the edges to enable them to thoroughly carry out a major investigation of this nature without having to come back to government for further resources. But so close to the line did this previous administration run our Police, Fire and Emergency Services that there is simply not the ability within current resources to cover it. If he is able to cover $350 000 within budget, it would still leave a funding shortfall of $650 000.
With the vehicle fleet costs - now, here is one they should listen to because they fudged the budget by saying they were going to flog off NT Fleet. The same reasons across the board why that could not be done, and realise the $50m that was put in there to try to convince this House and Territorians it was only a $12m deficit when, in fact, it was at least $62m because you could not flog off NT Fleet for $50m. Those same GST rule changes and impacts, the reasons that you could not sell off NT Fleet, apply to vehicle fleet costs, in your further $800 000 recurrent. We may be able to absorb that amount, but cannot rule out the need for further funding.
A number of other matters, decisions taken by the previous Cabinet relating to capital purchases and employment costs - $1.5m – they include officer safety equipment, forensic equipment and other expenses, committed to in the last financial year, but to which no cash was committed. These are great commitments. You make the commitment, but do not open your wallet, because they might go and spend it. Well, that is no way to run government and it is certainly not the way this government will run it.
Commissioner Bates knows that if, at any time, the budget was so tight that he had to look at operational requirements, he knows to produce the work required for a Cabinet submission for me to take the required shortfall to Cabinet, and I will certainly do that and support him to the hilt. He has been a great commissioner. I have enormous faith, trust and confidence in those figures, unlike his previous boss who sits opposite.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for his question. The member for Millner would be aware, as would other members, that Police Commissioner Bates is retiring later this year after a quite magnificent stint as Commissioner of Police for the Northern Territory. He has overseen the growth of that police force, incredibly run down by previous CLP administrations …
Mr Burke: Oh, come on!
Mr STIRLING: By your predecessors. 580 police officers when Commissioner Bates came in here, and he is leaving this force with something like 950 police officers. The former Minister for Police did do the job of rebuilding the police force and I commend him for that, but only after it got to a point, I might add, that they were about to close the doors because they simply did not have the resources to even come to grips with the matter of policing in the Northern Territory.
Commissioner Bates is recognised throughout Australia as a man of great integrity and distinction. He has served the Territory well and he goes with this government’s, and certainly with the previous government’s, good blessing for an honourable retirement that he has so thoroughly deserved.
However, he has advised me that the following additional funding will be required to maintain the level of services that the police are required to deliver: $4.58m additional funding this financial year, and additional recurrent funding of $2.48m for financial year 2002-03. Electronic messaging on its own - $400 000, recurrent funding required; Optus Data Communication - $230 000, recurrent funding required; information technology outsourcing of Desktop Computer Support and Maintenance - $1.8m, recurrent funding required, could be as high as $2.4m. They are recurrent and they are required now.
There are also further additional funding requirements, as I mentioned this morning. The Barrow Creek investigation now running at over $900 000, looking probably to get closer to $1m. The commissioner advises me he can probably absorb about $350 000 of this cost, so tight is his budget. In the normal run of events, the Police, Fire and Emergency Services budget, you would expect, would have within it enough around the edges to enable them to thoroughly carry out a major investigation of this nature without having to come back to government for further resources. But so close to the line did this previous administration run our Police, Fire and Emergency Services that there is simply not the ability within current resources to cover it. If he is able to cover $350 000 within budget, it would still leave a funding shortfall of $650 000.
With the vehicle fleet costs - now, here is one they should listen to because they fudged the budget by saying they were going to flog off NT Fleet. The same reasons across the board why that could not be done, and realise the $50m that was put in there to try to convince this House and Territorians it was only a $12m deficit when, in fact, it was at least $62m because you could not flog off NT Fleet for $50m. Those same GST rule changes and impacts, the reasons that you could not sell off NT Fleet, apply to vehicle fleet costs, in your further $800 000 recurrent. We may be able to absorb that amount, but cannot rule out the need for further funding.
A number of other matters, decisions taken by the previous Cabinet relating to capital purchases and employment costs - $1.5m – they include officer safety equipment, forensic equipment and other expenses, committed to in the last financial year, but to which no cash was committed. These are great commitments. You make the commitment, but do not open your wallet, because they might go and spend it. Well, that is no way to run government and it is certainly not the way this government will run it.
Commissioner Bates knows that if, at any time, the budget was so tight that he had to look at operational requirements, he knows to produce the work required for a Cabinet submission for me to take the required shortfall to Cabinet, and I will certainly do that and support him to the hilt. He has been a great commissioner. I have enormous faith, trust and confidence in those figures, unlike his previous boss who sits opposite.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016