POLICE ACADEMY

The Hon. L. STEVENS (Little Para) (14:49): My question is to the Minister for Police. How is the Rann government contributing to increased safety and security of the communities in South Australia?

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:49): I thank the member for Little Para for her question. Yesterday, the Premier and I had the pleasure of unveiling exciting design plans for a new $59 million police academy. The current academy, being over 40 years old, is tired and no longer meets SAPOL's training needs. The need to equip and train our—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: Put your money in. The need to equip and train our police officers—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Finniss!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The house will come to order.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: The need to equip and train our police officers with the skills to deal effectively with all forms of crime has never been more important. Policing is becoming more complex with police now called upon to respond to everything ranging from assaults and burglaries to e-crime and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

This government will not now, nor ever, apologise for providing extra resources and better facilities for our police. We as a government—unlike the opposition—believe that it is critical to ensure that our police are properly resourced, prepared for the difficult job that they face and ready to protect the community.

Yesterday's Police Academy announcement comes just 13 days after we announced the successful developer for the brand new state-of-the-art police headquarters. At that time, we also saw the ever predictable opposition come out and attack the new police headquarters. We heard that the money would be better spent elsewhere and that the police do not need a new Taj Mahal. Contrary to the opposition statement, the new police headquarters is no Taj Mahal: it is something that is necessary for our police and necessary for the South Australian community.

The simple fact is that SAPOL's current headquarters at 30 Flinders Street do not support the service delivery needs of a modern police agency. The building is ageing and has a fit-out that is now well beyond its economic life. Plant and equipment are failing, building security needs enhancing and SAPOL's workforce is unable to be accommodated due to the limited floor space available in the current building. If it were possible to extend the lease at 30 Flinders Street, a substantial upgrade to base building and fit-out would be required. This would mean that the entire police headquarters workforce would need to temporarily move to alternative leased premises during the upgrade, adding significant cost to the project and disruption to SAPOL operations.

The Rann government's commitment to our police is in stark contrast to the failures of the previous Liberal government. The Liberal Party has no credibility on law and order after allowing police numbers to fall to appalling lows—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: —closing police stations and—

The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Police will take a seat. The member for MacKillop has a point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: The minister is clearly starting to debate, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: I will listen to what the minister is saying, and I just caution him not to enter debate. The Minister for Police.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: Thank you, sir. As I was saying, the Liberal Party has no credibility on law and order after allowing police numbers to fall—

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: —to appalling lows—

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order. The minister is debating the answer. Has the minister completed his answer?

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: No.

The SPEAKER: The minister.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: The opposition is opposed to our plans for the new police headquarters. It is opposed to the new academy.

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: They criticise—

The SPEAKER: Order! The house will come to order. It is a little hard for the chair to judge when something is debate or when it is not when the minister has hardly got something out before people are on their feet calling a point of order. It is reasonable for the minister to draw comparisons between policies and provide information to the house. That is not debate, at least not to my mind, but he has to be careful about making comments such as the opposition has no credibility on such and such an issue. The Minister for Police.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: Thank you, sir. They criticise the way the commissioner allocates his resources and they criticise the police strategy to reduce the carnage on our roads as mere—

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order. The minister is deliberately defying your ruling as to what is relevant in the first instance. The third time around, he is now attempting to raise what criticisms the Liberal Party has made. That is not information or comparison.

The SPEAKER: I do not think the minister is debating. If I think he is debating or going into debate, I will pull him up. The Minister for Police.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: The opposition is happy to commit billions of dollars for a new football stadium but are quick to criticise the government when we provide new facilities for our dedicated police officers. The opposition stands for fewer police, fewer police stations and higher crime rates.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! That is debate. The member for Unley.