❓ The Minister for Police responds to a question regarding investment in frontline police services, highlighting government achievements and contrasting them with opposition criticisms.
AnsweredQoN 189Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
POLICE
— EQUIPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
189. Ms C.M. TONKIN to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the record growth in the number of police officers
under the McGowan Labor government.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how this government's record investment in
frontline police services, including equipment and infrastructure, is
supporting police officers to protect our community?
(2) Is the
minister aware of any attempts to undermine this investment in the Western Australia
Police Force?
— EQUIPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
189. Ms C.M. TONKIN to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the record growth in the number of police officers
under the McGowan Labor government.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how this government's record investment in
frontline police services, including equipment and infrastructure, is
supporting police officers to protect our community?
(2) Is the
minister aware of any attempts to undermine this investment in the Western Australia
Police Force?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for her
question and her fulsome support of the Western Australia Police Force. It
stands in stark contrast to some other people in Parliament—not
on our side of Parliament, but some other people in Parliament.
(1)–(2)
The McGowan government has supported the Western Australia Police Force like no
other. This government has delivered, in the course of the last six years, body
armour for every single police officer. They
have two sets. It is sized to individual officers. Every police officer has
body-worn cameras. We have the wonderful mobile phone distribution to all
police officers, which, apart from giving them a mobile phone, connects them to
databases so that they have connectivity and situational awareness like never
before.
In
the term of this government, we ended section 8s for police officers who are
retired medically so that they are no longer treated like criminals.
They are given a respectful passage out of the police force. We have also done something that the previous government
said was impossible. We created a police compensation scheme without any diminution of entitlements for
police officers, something that the previous government said could not
be done, and I am very proud of the fact that this government delivered on
that.
We are replacing equipment, giving
our police force world-class capabilities, like completely replacing the air
wing's helicopters. For the first time, we will have the same type of
helicopters, the world-class Airbus H125s. We are also replacing the tactical
response group's rigid-hulled inflatable boats and continuing to roll
out world-leading equipment like the use of satellite communications to turn
individual police cars in our remote regions into hubs that provide
connectivity equivalent to that of officers in the metropolitan area to police
officers in the regions.
This comes on top of massive
investment in infrastructure around the state. Fourteen police stations were
refurbished in recent years right across the regions and in the cities, in
places such as Belmont, Narrogin, Merredin, Laverton and Katanning. All across
the city old stations that have been neglected for many decades were
refurbished and renewed. We are also in the process of rolling out brand new
facilities in Armadale. Very shortly, that
police and justice complex will be complete and opened. Forrestfield will get a new police station, as will Fremantle. Fremantle district will be getting a Fremantle
district headquarters and police station. All of that is happening.
However,
the opposition, the Liberal Party in particular, undermines our police force.
It constantly criticises the police force and regularly makes public
comments about police indicating that they are incapable or there are concerns
about their morale or their culture. Only recently, the opposition said that a high
level of disenchantment permeates throughout the police force. This police
force has the highest satisfaction rating in the country, according to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics. This police force did the biggest cocaine bust
in the nation's history only a couple of weeks ago. This police force
in recent years kept our state safe and delivered extraordinary outcomes in the
Nick Martin murder case and, of course, the rescue of Cleo. These are extraordinary
outcomes and the police force is enjoying, rightly, a record level of
satisfaction in the wider community.
It
is worth interrogating a little more the comments by the opposition this week
only with respect to claims made about police numbers. It was claimed by
members opposite that three regions in regional Western Australia had 110 unfilled police positions. The regions they
were referring to were the Gascoyne , the goldfields and the Kimberley.
Anyone who knows anything about police numbers and the way we account for
officers across the state knows that at any one time officers are in transit
from one location to another, on posting, on leave or extended leave, like
maternity leave or long service leave, and they are counted in the police
numbers as not yet being at that location, so it is notionally a vacancy. But
in reality, the officers are there; they have been posted there. We know the
three regions to which this release by Hon Peter
Collier referred, claiming that there were 110 vacancies, are 120 more officers
stronger than t hey were under the
Barnett government. There are 120 more officers across those three regions now
than there were in 2016. Actually, under this government, the number has
increased by almost the same number that the member claimed we are short.
The
interesting part of the claims made about crime is that, apart from anything
else, there are about 400 more officers across the state than there were
under the Barnett government. Also, crime overall is down right across the
state. In the two remaining Liberal Party seats in this house, there has been
an extraordinary outcome in the reduction in crime.
Dr D.J. Honey : It's
the great job we do as local members.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : I will give the member
that! The officers and the customer service officer at the Cottesloe Police Station are benefiting from the member for
Cottesloe's leadership. I think there has been something like a 25 per
cent reduction in crime in his
electorate and a more than 30 per cent reduction in the member for Vasse's
electorate. I look forward to them commending the Western Australia
Police Force and the government on their excellent delivery of police services
to their electorates and improvement in police services.
question and her fulsome support of the Western Australia Police Force. It
stands in stark contrast to some other people in Parliament—not
on our side of Parliament, but some other people in Parliament.
(1)–(2)
The McGowan government has supported the Western Australia Police Force like no
other. This government has delivered, in the course of the last six years, body
armour for every single police officer. They
have two sets. It is sized to individual officers. Every police officer has
body-worn cameras. We have the wonderful mobile phone distribution to all
police officers, which, apart from giving them a mobile phone, connects them to
databases so that they have connectivity and situational awareness like never
before.
In
the term of this government, we ended section 8s for police officers who are
retired medically so that they are no longer treated like criminals.
They are given a respectful passage out of the police force. We have also done something that the previous government
said was impossible. We created a police compensation scheme without any diminution of entitlements for
police officers, something that the previous government said could not
be done, and I am very proud of the fact that this government delivered on
that.
We are replacing equipment, giving
our police force world-class capabilities, like completely replacing the air
wing's helicopters. For the first time, we will have the same type of
helicopters, the world-class Airbus H125s. We are also replacing the tactical
response group's rigid-hulled inflatable boats and continuing to roll
out world-leading equipment like the use of satellite communications to turn
individual police cars in our remote regions into hubs that provide
connectivity equivalent to that of officers in the metropolitan area to police
officers in the regions.
This comes on top of massive
investment in infrastructure around the state. Fourteen police stations were
refurbished in recent years right across the regions and in the cities, in
places such as Belmont, Narrogin, Merredin, Laverton and Katanning. All across
the city old stations that have been neglected for many decades were
refurbished and renewed. We are also in the process of rolling out brand new
facilities in Armadale. Very shortly, that
police and justice complex will be complete and opened. Forrestfield will get a new police station, as will Fremantle. Fremantle district will be getting a Fremantle
district headquarters and police station. All of that is happening.
However,
the opposition, the Liberal Party in particular, undermines our police force.
It constantly criticises the police force and regularly makes public
comments about police indicating that they are incapable or there are concerns
about their morale or their culture. Only recently, the opposition said that a high
level of disenchantment permeates throughout the police force. This police
force has the highest satisfaction rating in the country, according to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics. This police force did the biggest cocaine bust
in the nation's history only a couple of weeks ago. This police force
in recent years kept our state safe and delivered extraordinary outcomes in the
Nick Martin murder case and, of course, the rescue of Cleo. These are extraordinary
outcomes and the police force is enjoying, rightly, a record level of
satisfaction in the wider community.
It
is worth interrogating a little more the comments by the opposition this week
only with respect to claims made about police numbers. It was claimed by
members opposite that three regions in regional Western Australia had 110 unfilled police positions. The regions they
were referring to were the Gascoyne , the goldfields and the Kimberley.
Anyone who knows anything about police numbers and the way we account for
officers across the state knows that at any one time officers are in transit
from one location to another, on posting, on leave or extended leave, like
maternity leave or long service leave, and they are counted in the police
numbers as not yet being at that location, so it is notionally a vacancy. But
in reality, the officers are there; they have been posted there. We know the
three regions to which this release by Hon Peter
Collier referred, claiming that there were 110 vacancies, are 120 more officers
stronger than t hey were under the
Barnett government. There are 120 more officers across those three regions now
than there were in 2016. Actually, under this government, the number has
increased by almost the same number that the member claimed we are short.
The
interesting part of the claims made about crime is that, apart from anything
else, there are about 400 more officers across the state than there were
under the Barnett government. Also, crime overall is down right across the
state. In the two remaining Liberal Party seats in this house, there has been
an extraordinary outcome in the reduction in crime.
Dr D.J. Honey : It's
the great job we do as local members.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : I will give the member
that! The officers and the customer service officer at the Cottesloe Police Station are benefiting from the member for
Cottesloe's leadership. I think there has been something like a 25 per
cent reduction in crime in his
electorate and a more than 30 per cent reduction in the member for Vasse's
electorate. I look forward to them commending the Western Australia
Police Force and the government on their excellent delivery of police services
to their electorates and improvement in police services.
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