Mr GILES - 2011-02-15
This question is not just about domestic violence. Alice Springs businesses have pooled money to make and pay for advertisements attacking your government’s complete failure to control crime in Alice Springs. This unprecedented act is spurred by shocking increases in the levels of personal and property crime in Alice Springs. Surely, you now realise that you can no longer turn a blind eye to the crisis engulfing Alice Springs? Will you now detail a comprehensive plan to tackle surging criminal activity in Alice Springs and show some leadership, or are you just an out-of-sight, out-of-mind Chief Minister?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I was in Alice Springs just last week. My colleagues, the Attorney-General and the Minister for Central Australia, announced a significant plan to tackle crime in Alice Springs. We now have a Senior Sergeant Patrol Coordinator to coordinate police patrols and other patrols. We have a rolling Operation Harpoon …
Members interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! With the member for Greatorex’s insistent interruptions, you cannot actually hear. If you want to know what we are doing, listen up.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! The question has been asked of the Chief Minister. Just listen to the Chief Minister’s answer.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you. You would think, having asked an important question, they would want to hear the answer.
We have police rolling additional patrols targeting young people on the street at night and removing troublemakers from the street. In this session of parliament, we will be introducing new laws to make breaching bail an offence. Too many of these offenders who are offending are being bailed and then breaching bail. We will make that an offence. We are installing a new 24-bed juvenile detention facility to make it easier for courts to remand people in a secure facility in Alice Springs. There are new short-term safe houses to get kids off the street, and an expansion and relocation of the preventative BushMob juvenile Alcohol and Other Drugs Strategy, and reviewing the Youth Justice Act to strengthen the juvenile justice system.
That is a significant set of reforms. I acknowledge those issues in Alice Springs …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Braitling!
Mr HENDERSON: I was in Alice Springs last week meeting with police and business people in Alice Springs. As I said, the one sure-fire policy response that will guarantee more crime in Alice Springs is more grog, and that is the CLP’s policy. The CLP’s policy is to extend trading hours for takeaway alcohol in Alice Springs. We will not do that. We will continue to work with our police and the community in Alice Springs to crack down on the people in Alice Springs who are causing so much trouble there.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: This is a complex set of issues; we all know that. Underlying most of those issues is alcohol. We are going to be turning the tap off on problem drinkers, making alcohol even harder to get for people who abuse alcohol, cause problems, and commit crime and violence in our community.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before calling the next question, let me remind you because, maybe in the break, you have forgotten Standing Order 51:
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I was in Alice Springs just last week. My colleagues, the Attorney-General and the Minister for Central Australia, announced a significant plan to tackle crime in Alice Springs. We now have a Senior Sergeant Patrol Coordinator to coordinate police patrols and other patrols. We have a rolling Operation Harpoon …
Members interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! With the member for Greatorex’s insistent interruptions, you cannot actually hear. If you want to know what we are doing, listen up.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! The question has been asked of the Chief Minister. Just listen to the Chief Minister’s answer.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you. You would think, having asked an important question, they would want to hear the answer.
We have police rolling additional patrols targeting young people on the street at night and removing troublemakers from the street. In this session of parliament, we will be introducing new laws to make breaching bail an offence. Too many of these offenders who are offending are being bailed and then breaching bail. We will make that an offence. We are installing a new 24-bed juvenile detention facility to make it easier for courts to remand people in a secure facility in Alice Springs. There are new short-term safe houses to get kids off the street, and an expansion and relocation of the preventative BushMob juvenile Alcohol and Other Drugs Strategy, and reviewing the Youth Justice Act to strengthen the juvenile justice system.
That is a significant set of reforms. I acknowledge those issues in Alice Springs …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Braitling!
Mr HENDERSON: I was in Alice Springs last week meeting with police and business people in Alice Springs. As I said, the one sure-fire policy response that will guarantee more crime in Alice Springs is more grog, and that is the CLP’s policy. The CLP’s policy is to extend trading hours for takeaway alcohol in Alice Springs. We will not do that. We will continue to work with our police and the community in Alice Springs to crack down on the people in Alice Springs who are causing so much trouble there.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: This is a complex set of issues; we all know that. Underlying most of those issues is alcohol. We are going to be turning the tap off on problem drinkers, making alcohol even harder to get for people who abuse alcohol, cause problems, and commit crime and violence in our community.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before calling the next question, let me remind you because, maybe in the break, you have forgotten Standing Order 51:
- No Member may converse aloud or make any noise or disturbance, which in the opinion of the Speaker is designed to interrupt or has the effect of interrupting a Member speaking.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016