❓ A parliamentary question regarding crime reduction measures in WA, with the Minister responding by highlighting government achievements in law and order and criticising the opposition's approach. The Minister details legislative changes and investments made by the government.
AnsweredQoN 904Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LAW AND ORDER — CRIME REDUCTION
The suburb of Kingsley has seen a more than 20 per cent decrease in burglaries when the January to September 2008 statistics are compared with those for the same period this year. I am certainly very pleased that this government has a strong record on law and order and that we are making a significant difference in reducing crime in our communities. Can the minister please update the house on what other measures have been taken to tackle crime in our inner city, suburban and regional areas? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
The suburb of Kingsley has seen a more than 20 per cent decrease in burglaries when the January to September 2008 statistics are compared with those for the same period this year. I am certainly very pleased that this government has a strong record on law and order and that we are making a significant difference in reducing crime in our communities. Can the minister please update the house on what other measures have been taken to tackle crime in our inner city, suburban and regional areas? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kingsley for the question. I could not help but think what a great question this is, because it really does highlight what we are doing in government and what the previous government did when it was in power. We have seen a reduction in burglary in many areas. We have also seen a reduction in the number of car thefts and so on and so forth. I think we will continue to see a reduction in the number of crimes committed. On Sunday, while I was having breakfast, I was shown a press release that the Leader of the Opposition had put out. I nearly choked on my Weeties when I saw that. The Leader of the Opposition said in that press release that it is time to get back to basics, because community policing counts. He said also that he has a new plan for community policing. Well, I looked very carefully at that press release, and I could not see a plan anywhere. All it was was a bit of paper that basically attacked me and the government in many areas. For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: I thank the member for Kingsley for the question. I could not help but think what a great question this is, because it really does highlight what we are doing in government and what the previous government did when it was in power. We have seen a reduction in burglary in many areas. We have also seen a reduction in the number of car thefts and so on and so forth. I think we will continue to see a reduction in the number of crimes committed. On Sunday, while I was having breakfast, I was shown a press release that the Leader of the Opposition had put out. I nearly choked on my Weeties when I saw that. The Leader of the Opposition said in that press release that it is time to get back to basics, because community policing counts. He said also that he has a new plan for community policing. Well, I looked very carefully at that press release, and I could not see a plan anywhere. All it was was a bit of paper that basically attacked me and the government in many areas. For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
I thank the member for Kingsley for the question. I could not help but think what a great question this is, because it really does highlight what we are doing in government and what the previous government did when it was in power. We have seen a reduction in burglary in many areas. We have also seen a reduction in the number of car thefts and so on and so forth. I think we will continue to see a reduction in the number of crimes committed. On Sunday, while I was having breakfast, I was shown a press release that the Leader of the Opposition had put out. I nearly choked on my Weeties when I saw that. The Leader of the Opposition said in that press release that it is time to get back to basics, because community policing counts. He said also that he has a new plan for community policing. Well, I looked very carefully at that press release, and I could not see a plan anywhere. All it was was a bit of paper that basically attacked me and the government in many areas. For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
On Sunday, while I was having breakfast, I was shown a press release that the Leader of the Opposition had put out. I nearly choked on my Weeties when I saw that. The Leader of the Opposition said in that press release that it is time to get back to basics, because community policing counts. He said also that he has a new plan for community policing. Well, I looked very carefully at that press release, and I could not see a plan anywhere. All it was was a bit of paper that basically attacked me and the government in many areas. For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: I thank the member for Kingsley for the question. I could not help but think what a great question this is, because it really does highlight what we are doing in government and what the previous government did when it was in power. We have seen a reduction in burglary in many areas. We have also seen a reduction in the number of car thefts and so on and so forth. I think we will continue to see a reduction in the number of crimes committed. On Sunday, while I was having breakfast, I was shown a press release that the Leader of the Opposition had put out. I nearly choked on my Weeties when I saw that. The Leader of the Opposition said in that press release that it is time to get back to basics, because community policing counts. He said also that he has a new plan for community policing. Well, I looked very carefully at that press release, and I could not see a plan anywhere. All it was was a bit of paper that basically attacked me and the government in many areas. For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
I thank the member for Kingsley for the question. I could not help but think what a great question this is, because it really does highlight what we are doing in government and what the previous government did when it was in power. We have seen a reduction in burglary in many areas. We have also seen a reduction in the number of car thefts and so on and so forth. I think we will continue to see a reduction in the number of crimes committed. On Sunday, while I was having breakfast, I was shown a press release that the Leader of the Opposition had put out. I nearly choked on my Weeties when I saw that. The Leader of the Opposition said in that press release that it is time to get back to basics, because community policing counts. He said also that he has a new plan for community policing. Well, I looked very carefully at that press release, and I could not see a plan anywhere. All it was was a bit of paper that basically attacked me and the government in many areas. For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
On Sunday, while I was having breakfast, I was shown a press release that the Leader of the Opposition had put out. I nearly choked on my Weeties when I saw that. The Leader of the Opposition said in that press release that it is time to get back to basics, because community policing counts. He said also that he has a new plan for community policing. Well, I looked very carefully at that press release, and I could not see a plan anywhere. All it was was a bit of paper that basically attacked me and the government in many areas. For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
For the benefit of the house, I want to put clearly in the public arena what we have done since we were elected to government. We have introduced and passed legislation to increase the penalties for hoon drivers. We have introduced and passed legislation to provide medical support for injured police officers. We have introduced and passed mandatory sentencing legislation. That is something that all police officers and their families wanted. That is something that the Labor Party voted against. It tried to gut it at every stage. It did not support it. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have also introduced legislation, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, for the appointment of auxiliary police officers. The Leader of the Opposition was saying that we have not kept our promise to appoint 500 additional police officers. I do not know what he thinks. The promise was 500 officers over five years. After one year, he seems to expect us to have taken on those 500 police officers. What an absolute nonsense! We are undertaking a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. We have introduced legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act, and we are proposing to make amendments to bring in harsher penalties for dealers and those who endanger children, and to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia. The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The Leader of the Opposition has accused us also of closing police stations and reducing the police motorcycle fleet. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Joondalup! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We will be reopening that next month, my friend. That is due to be reopened in December. Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Joondalup, I formally call you for the first time. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I can tell members that everywhere I go, I meet many, many police officers, and they all come up to me and say “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job.” Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, members! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Even on a recent holiday that I had overseas, some police officers who were on holiday came up to me and said, “Good on you, Rob. You are doing a great job. You and the Liberal-National government really support the police.” That is what we do. What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
What else have we done? We have reinstated the rural crime squad. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have reinstated the Graffiti Taskforce. That is something that the previous government abolished. We have approved funding of $113 million for the Perth police complex. We have committed $24 million to upgrade police stations across the state. Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Ms M.M. Quirk i nterjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Girrawheen! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have reopened some rural police stations that members opposite closed when they were in government. There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
There are two or three other things that I want to quickly cover, and I will then conclude my comments. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the mobile phones that he said have been taken off police officers. I inquired with the commissioner about the reduction in the number of mobile phones. He advised me that it is all part of an internal review and is not affecting front-line services. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Albany! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : He has assured me that every police officer who requires a mobile phone has a mobile phone. There are hundreds and hundreds of mobile phones out there. The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The Leader of the Opposition also talked about Hilton Police Station. I thought: what hypocrisy! Hilton Police Station is situated in the electorate of the former Premier, Alan Carpenter. He allowed that police station to go to rack and ruin. He allowed that police station to be run down to one police officer and one support staff. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It is a bit embarrassing for members opposite, I know. They let it go to rack and ruin. Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : There is nothing much left of it now. It is now in such a state that there is no point in keeping it open, so we have had to close it. That is because of the former government’s inaction on this matter. The former government also let Ballajura Police Station go to rack and ruin. Members opposite had nearly eight years in government. If they felt that both those police stations needed renewal, why did they not build them when they were in government? All they did was make promise after promise. We are keeping our promises. We will continue to keep our promises. We will continue to ensure that we always keep law and order as a huge major initiative. We know what the people of this state want. We know that people were not feeling safe under the former government. We know that they are feeling a lot safer now. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
The SPEAKER : Order! Before we go any further, and before I give the call to the member for Collie-Preston, I formally call to order for the second time the member for Girrawheen and the member for Joondalup, and also for the first time the member for Perth.
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