❓ Question regarding an apparent increase in crime figures, countered by the Minister citing a decrease in assaults and attributing the burglary/car theft increase to recidivism. The Minister uses graphs to compare crime rates under different governments.
AnsweredQoN 355Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
criminal offence STATISTICS
As the minister knows, criminal behaviour is generally a major issue for the public. I learned on the weekend that the latest crime figures show an increase in certain offences. This appears to be against the trend of crime reduction that has emanated from this government’s policies. Can the minister outline to me the reasons for the apparent increase and what we are doing to address the issue? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Bassendean, it might not surprise you that I am also formally calling you to order for the first time today. Mr R.F. JOHNSON
As the minister knows, criminal behaviour is generally a major issue for the public. I learned on the weekend that the latest crime figures show an increase in certain offences. This appears to be against the trend of crime reduction that has emanated from this government’s policies. Can the minister outline to me the reasons for the apparent increase and what we are doing to address the issue? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Bassendean, it might not surprise you that I am also formally calling you to order for the first time today. Mr R.F. JOHNSON
AnswerView source ↗
Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Bassendean, it might not surprise you that I am also formally calling you to order for the first time today. Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Bassendean, it might not surprise you that I am also formally calling you to order for the first time today. Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
[The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Bassendean, it might not surprise you that I am also formally calling you to order for the first time today. Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I formally call you to order for the first time today. Member for Bassendean, it might not surprise you that I am also formally calling you to order for the first time today. Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Recent crime statistics show two things. First, there has been a dramatic drop in assaults this year to date. Under the previous government assaults increased steadily over eight years. Second, there has been an increase in burglaries and car thefts. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I have a little treat for you in a minute, my friend. I will show it to the member, because she never seems to take what we say as being truthful. We do not twist things like the member does. I have never met anybody who has misled the public of WA as much as the member for Girrawheen. She issues press releases all the time. The latest one reads “Ministers on the run over latest crime figures”. She is accusing the Attorney General and me of being on the run for that and for various other things. If anyone actually looks into it, there is no truth in it whatsoever. I certainly was not on the run and nor was the Attorney General. In fact, I was getting my coloured pencils out and I was preparing something to show members opposite in easy and simple terms so that they may this time understand. The figures I can give them mean nothing to them. The comments that I make mean nothing to them. So I did something that I knew they would enjoy. This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
This is a graph of the last six years. In the red corner is the Labor Party. Those lines on the graph are the reported offences for the last three years they were in government. As members can see—like the eight years—they were going up and up. When the good guys came in—the Liberal–National government—as members can see by the blue colours, we brought it down in the first year. In the second year, and members will love this, we brought it down to this unprecedented figure. Why did that happen? It was because we were actually tough on crime, as opposed to members opposite. We actually locked up people who were committing crime, and that is why our jails were at capacity. We put the bad people away, to give our public a respite. Unfortunately, some of those people are recidivist offenders, and when they come out of jail, what do they do? They go and commit burglaries, because that is what they normally — Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will come to you again, my friend; don’t you worry. I have a stack of stuff here for the member. We have seen a slight increase, because those people have come out of jail. I can tell members that our hardworking officers are targeting — Point of Order Mr M.W. SUTHERLAND : I cannot hear the answer to my question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
The SPEAKER : I formally call the member for Victoria Park to order for the first time today. It may be the case that the member cannot hear the minister’s response. There is a lot of interest in this particular answer. I have not seen such attention since the days of Mr Squiggle. The introduction to this place of some of the material that the minister is using has probably excited some people in this place. I suggest to all members that they remain a little quieter while the minister is providing his response. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : It certainly excites members on this side of the house. It probably depresses members on the other side of the house, because this is the truth. For the last three years of the Labor government, it was soft on crime and the figures went up and up and up. Since we have been in government, the figures have come down. We have had a hiccup, but, as I said, those are the people who got out of jail since that very low crime year. Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr P. Papalia interjected. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : We have been better than any of your eight years in government. The opposition was absolutely hopeless in government. Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr C.C. Porter : That is true. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know. Some of those people have got out of jail now, but our police officers will catch them. They have targeted operations, and they will put them back in jail, and then we will see another decrease. The good guys are over here in the blue corner and the bad guys are in the red corner. Tabling of Papers Mr M. McGOWAN : I do not know whether the minister was quoting from that document, but I think it would be appropriate within the spirit of standing orders for him to table the document that he has just been waving around. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I would be absolutely delighted to rub it in the faces of members opposite and table it. The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
The SPEAKER : I would just ask the minister to table it. That is all. [The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
[The paper was tabled for the information of members.]
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