❓ The Minister for Police details the McGowan government's investment in police resources, particularly the new Capel Police Station, highlighting its benefits for local jobs and community safety, while contrasting it with the Liberal Party's perceived lack of support.
AnsweredQoN 862Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CAPEL POLICE STATION
862. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Police:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to keeping Western Australia
safe and strong through its unprecedented investment in police resources across
the state. Can the minister update the house on this government's
investment in police stations across WA and outline how this investment is not
only supporting hardworking police officers, but also local jobs in the WA
economy as we recover from COVID-19?
862. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Police:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to keeping Western Australia
safe and strong through its unprecedented investment in police resources across
the state. Can the minister update the house on this government's
investment in police stations across WA and outline how this investment is not
only supporting hardworking police officers, but also local jobs in the WA
economy as we recover from COVID-19?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Belmont for the question and for her
very strong commitment to supporting our Western Australia Police Force. The
member for Belmont is quite right; the McGowan Labor government has put unprecedented investment into supporting Western Australia's
police officers. We have taken our total commitment up to 1 100 police officers. We are in the process
of delivering them. In addition, we have provided them with new personal-issue
vests, body cameras and mobile phones, and provided additional support for meth
enforcement in particular.
More recently, we announced $90 million to build, renovate
and upgrade police stations across the state. The new Armadale complex is
already under construction. Only last week, I was in Collie with the Premier—the
member for Collie–Preston is waving
to me—to open Capel Police Station. We are very proud of that station.
It was an election commitment by the McGowan Labor opposition. The
member for Collie–Preston had lobbied very strongly on behalf of his
community for the project. These projects support and deliver for our police,
making our communities safer, and also provide jobs locally. Many of the
refurbishment projects we do will provide some very local jobs. For example,
the Capel station was constructed by Bunbury based builder Devlyn Australia Pty
Ltd. That station project alone created jobs for about 18 local businesses and
employed about 200 workers during construction. It is a particularly good
station. It is fit for purpose and the most environmentally friendly station we
have ever built. I understand that it is expected to achieve net zero power use
status, which means it will produce as much power as it uses over the course of
a year. We have a specialist operations room there. Capel is a strategic
location where all kinds of strategic operations and multiagency operations can
take place—be that a missing person or child, or a bush fire or other
natural emergency. This will mean a significantly increased police presence.
I know from the start that
people did not want to see a police station in Capel; at the last two elections
the Leader of the Opposition said it was not needed. Unfortunately, it
appears that that is still the Liberal Party's position. I was pretty incredulous, on Tuesday, 27 October, to hear
comments from Liberal upper house member for the area Hon Dr Steve Thomas on ABC radio. It was
said on ABC radio —
A new police station has opened in
Western Australia's South West region, but despite being located near a
notorious stretch of highway there is debate about whether it is needed at all.
�
South West Liberal MP Steve Thomas
said he did not think a police station was needed in Capel �
He went on to say —
''Capel is not a high-crime
location—it's actually a pretty safe little town.
I do not know who else has been down to the south west in
recent times, but it is a rapidly growing region. There is a lot of residential
development throughout the region. The Liberal Party tried to suggest that
there would not be additional officers, but they would be borrowed from Bunbury
or another area. We have promised extra officers and we have delivered them to Capel. We put additional officers into
that south west district to cater for that. One of the key tasks of
those officers based in Capel will be to do traffic patrols of those roads.
Tragically, only recently, we saw again how dangerous Bussell Highway and other
roads in that region are. This police station is set near a 17-kilometre stretch of Bussell Highway. It will
be an ideal position for our traffic police to police from. This will keep the community safer. It adds to our commitment to keeping our communities
safe and strong.
very strong commitment to supporting our Western Australia Police Force. The
member for Belmont is quite right; the McGowan Labor government has put unprecedented investment into supporting Western Australia's
police officers. We have taken our total commitment up to 1 100 police officers. We are in the process
of delivering them. In addition, we have provided them with new personal-issue
vests, body cameras and mobile phones, and provided additional support for meth
enforcement in particular.
More recently, we announced $90 million to build, renovate
and upgrade police stations across the state. The new Armadale complex is
already under construction. Only last week, I was in Collie with the Premier—the
member for Collie–Preston is waving
to me—to open Capel Police Station. We are very proud of that station.
It was an election commitment by the McGowan Labor opposition. The
member for Collie–Preston had lobbied very strongly on behalf of his
community for the project. These projects support and deliver for our police,
making our communities safer, and also provide jobs locally. Many of the
refurbishment projects we do will provide some very local jobs. For example,
the Capel station was constructed by Bunbury based builder Devlyn Australia Pty
Ltd. That station project alone created jobs for about 18 local businesses and
employed about 200 workers during construction. It is a particularly good
station. It is fit for purpose and the most environmentally friendly station we
have ever built. I understand that it is expected to achieve net zero power use
status, which means it will produce as much power as it uses over the course of
a year. We have a specialist operations room there. Capel is a strategic
location where all kinds of strategic operations and multiagency operations can
take place—be that a missing person or child, or a bush fire or other
natural emergency. This will mean a significantly increased police presence.
I know from the start that
people did not want to see a police station in Capel; at the last two elections
the Leader of the Opposition said it was not needed. Unfortunately, it
appears that that is still the Liberal Party's position. I was pretty incredulous, on Tuesday, 27 October, to hear
comments from Liberal upper house member for the area Hon Dr Steve Thomas on ABC radio. It was
said on ABC radio —
A new police station has opened in
Western Australia's South West region, but despite being located near a
notorious stretch of highway there is debate about whether it is needed at all.
�
South West Liberal MP Steve Thomas
said he did not think a police station was needed in Capel �
He went on to say —
''Capel is not a high-crime
location—it's actually a pretty safe little town.
I do not know who else has been down to the south west in
recent times, but it is a rapidly growing region. There is a lot of residential
development throughout the region. The Liberal Party tried to suggest that
there would not be additional officers, but they would be borrowed from Bunbury
or another area. We have promised extra officers and we have delivered them to Capel. We put additional officers into
that south west district to cater for that. One of the key tasks of
those officers based in Capel will be to do traffic patrols of those roads.
Tragically, only recently, we saw again how dangerous Bussell Highway and other
roads in that region are. This police station is set near a 17-kilometre stretch of Bussell Highway. It will
be an ideal position for our traffic police to police from. This will keep the community safer. It adds to our commitment to keeping our communities
safe and strong.
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