Mrs. Hayden questions the Premier's action on shoplifting, accusing him of shirking responsibility. The Premier acknowledges the issue, confirms communication with the Minister for Police, and outlines a multi-faceted approach involving police, businesses, and community programs.

AnsweredQoN 654Legislative Assembly
Asked
15 August 2019
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

SMALL BUSINESS —
SHOPLIFTING
654. Mrs A.K. HAYDEN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Has
the Premier spoken with the Minister for Police about additional police
resources to address this out-of-control shoplifting —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs A.K. HAYDEN : —
or, like the Minister for Small Business, is the Premier shirking his
responsibility and leaving it to the Minister for Police to resolve on her own?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members on my
right!

AnswerView source ↗

The government takes this issue very
seriously. As I said, I am appalled by it. The member asked me whether I have
had contact with the Minister for Police. The answer is yes, and, clearly, it
is an issue in the community. The small
business community deserves our support and everything we can do. Some of the
people engaged in this sort of crime seem to me to be very disrespectful of
authority and the law. It must be very difficult for people in small
business to cope with this. It is not a new phenomenon, I might add. It has
been around for a very long time— I suspect
for centuries. In any event, we will continue to work together with police on
it. I do not think it is only a policing issue. Obviously, shopping centres
have their own security that needs to deal with it. Relevant training and
security measures are the sorts of things that we would expect shops to look at
investing in and putting in place. We also try to work with the people who
carry out these sorts of offences through some of the government-run community
development programs.
The SPEAKER : That is the end
of question time.

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