❓ A parliamentary exchange where Mr. Birney questions the Minister for Police about conflicting information regarding police station staffing levels. The Minister defends her position, stating the police service is above authorised strength and accuses Mr. Birney of undermining public confidence.
AnsweredQoN 1118Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I ask a supplementary question. When I asked the minister the exact same question on 28 June last year, why did she answer that 15 per cent of all police stations in Western Australia were operating below their authorised strength? What has changed; why will she not answer the question now? The SPEAKER: The Minister for Police need only answer the first of those questions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS
AnswerView source ↗
I am always happy to be accountable on the numbers and authorised strength of our Police Service. I answered the member for Kalgoorlie’s recent question on the basis of information that was given to me by the Police Service. As a result of his response, I have sought further information. I wanted to clarify this issue for the community because my clear sense as the minister was that the Government had provided the resources and funding and was putting over 1 000 police officers through the academy and that, if anything, the Police Service should be operating above its authorised strength. That has been confirmed today by the Police Service. Members opposite cannot ask for more than that. What the member for Kalgoorlie is trying to do, and what he tried to do last year with that very misleading statistic, is undermine public confidence in the Police Service being staffed to its authorised strength. The fact is that it is staffed above and beyond its authorised strength.
The SPEAKER: The Minister for Police need only answer the first of those questions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I am always happy to be accountable on the numbers and authorised strength of our Police Service. I answered the member for Kalgoorlie’s recent question on the basis of information that was given to me by the Police Service. As a result of his response, I have sought further information. I wanted to clarify this issue for the community because my clear sense as the minister was that the Government had provided the resources and funding and was putting over 1 000 police officers through the academy and that, if anything, the Police Service should be operating above its authorised strength. That has been confirmed today by the Police Service. Members opposite cannot ask for more than that. What the member for Kalgoorlie is trying to do, and what he tried to do last year with that very misleading statistic, is undermine public confidence in the Police Service being staffed to its authorised strength. The fact is that it is staffed above and beyond its authorised strength.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I am always happy to be accountable on the numbers and authorised strength of our Police Service. I answered the member for Kalgoorlie’s recent question on the basis of information that was given to me by the Police Service. As a result of his response, I have sought further information. I wanted to clarify this issue for the community because my clear sense as the minister was that the Government had provided the resources and funding and was putting over 1 000 police officers through the academy and that, if anything, the Police Service should be operating above its authorised strength. That has been confirmed today by the Police Service. Members opposite cannot ask for more than that. What the member for Kalgoorlie is trying to do, and what he tried to do last year with that very misleading statistic, is undermine public confidence in the Police Service being staffed to its authorised strength. The fact is that it is staffed above and beyond its authorised strength.
I am always happy to be accountable on the numbers and authorised strength of our Police Service. I answered the member for Kalgoorlie’s recent question on the basis of information that was given to me by the Police Service. As a result of his response, I have sought further information. I wanted to clarify this issue for the community because my clear sense as the minister was that the Government had provided the resources and funding and was putting over 1 000 police officers through the academy and that, if anything, the Police Service should be operating above its authorised strength. That has been confirmed today by the Police Service. Members opposite cannot ask for more than that. What the member for Kalgoorlie is trying to do, and what he tried to do last year with that very misleading statistic, is undermine public confidence in the Police Service being staffed to its authorised strength. The fact is that it is staffed above and beyond its authorised strength.
The SPEAKER: The Minister for Police need only answer the first of those questions. Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I am always happy to be accountable on the numbers and authorised strength of our Police Service. I answered the member for Kalgoorlie’s recent question on the basis of information that was given to me by the Police Service. As a result of his response, I have sought further information. I wanted to clarify this issue for the community because my clear sense as the minister was that the Government had provided the resources and funding and was putting over 1 000 police officers through the academy and that, if anything, the Police Service should be operating above its authorised strength. That has been confirmed today by the Police Service. Members opposite cannot ask for more than that. What the member for Kalgoorlie is trying to do, and what he tried to do last year with that very misleading statistic, is undermine public confidence in the Police Service being staffed to its authorised strength. The fact is that it is staffed above and beyond its authorised strength.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: I am always happy to be accountable on the numbers and authorised strength of our Police Service. I answered the member for Kalgoorlie’s recent question on the basis of information that was given to me by the Police Service. As a result of his response, I have sought further information. I wanted to clarify this issue for the community because my clear sense as the minister was that the Government had provided the resources and funding and was putting over 1 000 police officers through the academy and that, if anything, the Police Service should be operating above its authorised strength. That has been confirmed today by the Police Service. Members opposite cannot ask for more than that. What the member for Kalgoorlie is trying to do, and what he tried to do last year with that very misleading statistic, is undermine public confidence in the Police Service being staffed to its authorised strength. The fact is that it is staffed above and beyond its authorised strength.
I am always happy to be accountable on the numbers and authorised strength of our Police Service. I answered the member for Kalgoorlie’s recent question on the basis of information that was given to me by the Police Service. As a result of his response, I have sought further information. I wanted to clarify this issue for the community because my clear sense as the minister was that the Government had provided the resources and funding and was putting over 1 000 police officers through the academy and that, if anything, the Police Service should be operating above its authorised strength. That has been confirmed today by the Police Service. Members opposite cannot ask for more than that. What the member for Kalgoorlie is trying to do, and what he tried to do last year with that very misleading statistic, is undermine public confidence in the Police Service being staffed to its authorised strength. The fact is that it is staffed above and beyond its authorised strength.
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