❓ Mr Millman questions the Minister for Police on the federal government's support for WA Police in tackling methamphetamine supply. The Minister criticises the federal government's lack of resources and presence in WA, particularly regarding border security.
AnsweredQoN 821Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
METHAMPHETAMINE — POLICING
821. Mr S.A. MILLMAN to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment
to tackling the supply of methamphetamine in Western Australia. Can the
minister outline to the house how the federal Liberal government is failing to
support the WA Police Force in its work to protect our community?
821. Mr S.A. MILLMAN to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment
to tackling the supply of methamphetamine in Western Australia. Can the
minister outline to the house how the federal Liberal government is failing to
support the WA Police Force in its work to protect our community?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Mount Lawley for his question and his
ongoing interest in community safety and supporting our Western Australia
Police Force. Can I say, well spotted. There is one government in Australia
that does not support WA police and does not support the community of Western Australia
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : As members will know, because we
said it in this house many times, and the dollars in the state budget were
plain for everyone to see, we have allocated an extra over $25 million in the
police budget to tackle the scourge of methamphetamine, with an extra 100 officers
and 20 unsworn officers to support them. We are tackling the issue of
methamphetamine and drug importation into this state head on. The member for
Kalgoorlie would be aware that in the last week or so, police set up a major
operation on Eyre Highway. They stopped every car, every truck and every
vehicle, over a period of 22 hours, and alcohol and drug–tested drivers
and also checked vehicles for drugs and whatever.
Our police like to work
very closely with the Australian Federal Police and Border Force and with
officers from those agencies. We engaged with those federal officers. We
advised them of our operation. We worked hand-in-hand with them. They had no
issue with those officers at all. They worked very closely. There are just not
enough of them on the west coast—there are not enough commonwealth
officers, and there are not enough police resources. Back in February, I wrote
to Peter Dutton and said, ''We have a great collaborative effort. We
like to work in with you. But we are concerned that you don't have one
single patrol boat on the Western Australian coast.''
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : There
are naval bases all around the rest of the country—there are probably
another eight or more naval bases. We have one on this coast. WA is one
third of this country. We have one naval base, and no naval assets are
permanently based here.
I will tell members what else we
know about Peter Dutton and the federal Liberal government. We know that it
does not even meet its targets on the east coast. We know from articles in The
West Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald that the federal
government fell well short of its targets. In each of the last four years, it
failed to meet its patrolling target. We also know from those same articles
from December last year that the federal Liberal government had to ground some
of those boats, because it had not funded them for enough petrol.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : Australian
Border Force sources then said that was not good enough. Minister Dutton
eventually wrote back to me, in an absolutely contemptuous way. I offered to
have discussions and to work together. He was not interested in that. He just
said, ''Thanks for raising the matter with me; and, by the way, we have
all these fabulous resources''—all based on the east coast, I might
say.
Mr B.S. Wyatt : Paid for by
us.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : Yes, paid
for largely by our GST.
The fact of the matter is that
Australian Border Force sources then said it is all very well having aerial
surveillance or something else—this was their complaint about the east
coast—but if the ships are in port and not out at sea, even if the
aerial surveillance spots something, it could take days to get someone out
there. It could take weeks to get one of those boats to Western Australia,
because the federal government has not based one single boat here. That needs
to change. We need more boats, more aerial resources, and more officers from
federal agencies based here in Western Australia. As the Treasurer has
correctly pointed out, we contribute significantly to the national economy. It
is about time Queenslanders like Peter Dutton and other people based on the
east coast focused some resources here. As was highlighted by the incident on
the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia can be a gateway for drugs right across
the nation. If people on the east coast ignore the Western Australian border,
they will be suffering the consequences in their home states.
ongoing interest in community safety and supporting our Western Australia
Police Force. Can I say, well spotted. There is one government in Australia
that does not support WA police and does not support the community of Western Australia
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : As members will know, because we
said it in this house many times, and the dollars in the state budget were
plain for everyone to see, we have allocated an extra over $25 million in the
police budget to tackle the scourge of methamphetamine, with an extra 100 officers
and 20 unsworn officers to support them. We are tackling the issue of
methamphetamine and drug importation into this state head on. The member for
Kalgoorlie would be aware that in the last week or so, police set up a major
operation on Eyre Highway. They stopped every car, every truck and every
vehicle, over a period of 22 hours, and alcohol and drug–tested drivers
and also checked vehicles for drugs and whatever.
Our police like to work
very closely with the Australian Federal Police and Border Force and with
officers from those agencies. We engaged with those federal officers. We
advised them of our operation. We worked hand-in-hand with them. They had no
issue with those officers at all. They worked very closely. There are just not
enough of them on the west coast—there are not enough commonwealth
officers, and there are not enough police resources. Back in February, I wrote
to Peter Dutton and said, ''We have a great collaborative effort. We
like to work in with you. But we are concerned that you don't have one
single patrol boat on the Western Australian coast.''
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : There
are naval bases all around the rest of the country—there are probably
another eight or more naval bases. We have one on this coast. WA is one
third of this country. We have one naval base, and no naval assets are
permanently based here.
I will tell members what else we
know about Peter Dutton and the federal Liberal government. We know that it
does not even meet its targets on the east coast. We know from articles in The
West Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald that the federal
government fell well short of its targets. In each of the last four years, it
failed to meet its patrolling target. We also know from those same articles
from December last year that the federal Liberal government had to ground some
of those boats, because it had not funded them for enough petrol.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : Australian
Border Force sources then said that was not good enough. Minister Dutton
eventually wrote back to me, in an absolutely contemptuous way. I offered to
have discussions and to work together. He was not interested in that. He just
said, ''Thanks for raising the matter with me; and, by the way, we have
all these fabulous resources''—all based on the east coast, I might
say.
Mr B.S. Wyatt : Paid for by
us.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS : Yes, paid
for largely by our GST.
The fact of the matter is that
Australian Border Force sources then said it is all very well having aerial
surveillance or something else—this was their complaint about the east
coast—but if the ships are in port and not out at sea, even if the
aerial surveillance spots something, it could take days to get someone out
there. It could take weeks to get one of those boats to Western Australia,
because the federal government has not based one single boat here. That needs
to change. We need more boats, more aerial resources, and more officers from
federal agencies based here in Western Australia. As the Treasurer has
correctly pointed out, we contribute significantly to the national economy. It
is about time Queenslanders like Peter Dutton and other people based on the
east coast focused some resources here. As was highlighted by the incident on
the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia can be a gateway for drugs right across
the nation. If people on the east coast ignore the Western Australian border,
they will be suffering the consequences in their home states.
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