MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (14:14): Will the Minister for Police update the house on the latest motor vehicle theft statistics recently released by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council?

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:14): I am very happy to advise the house that South Australia has recorded its lowest level of motor vehicle theft in more than 30 years, according to the latest National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council statistics. The figures show that there were 5,341 motor vehicle thefts in South Australia in 2008-09. We have not seen so few motor vehicle thefts in South Australia since 1976-77, when 4,496 vehicles were stolen. Taking into account the increase in South Australia's population and the number of registered cars during the same period, those figures are outstanding and police should be recognised for their contribution to this reduction.

Compared to the last financial year, there were 981 fewer vehicles stolen in South Australia, a decrease of 15.5 per cent, the largest percentage reduction in thefts of any state or territory in the last financial year. South Australia also surpassed the national average for the number of vehicles recovered, at 77.8 per cent, compared with the national average of 69.9 per cent.

Under this government, motor vehicle theft has fallen by a massive 54 per cent, after rising under the previous Liberal government. Figures show that there are 6,293 fewer vehicles stolen in South Australia compared to 2001-02. That equates to 121 fewer vehicles stolen per week.

While immobilisers have played a role in reducing motor vehicle theft in South Australia, cars with immobilisers can be and are still being stolen. That is why it is important to have other strategies in place. Initiatives, such as the Stop Car Theft Program, targeted patrols, the targeting of repeat offenders, covert operations, monitoring bail conditions and awareness campaigns are also vital to deliver substantial long-term reductions in motor vehicle theft. New technology, such as mobile automatic numberplate recognition (which was launched yesterday) will also play an important role in catching criminals and recovering stolen vehicles.

While there is still a lot of work to be done on motor vehicle theft in South Australia, congratulations should go to the South Australian police for their hard work and impressive results. The Rann government's commitment to our police is in stark contrast to the failures of the previous Liberal government, where we saw police numbers fall to appalling lows and crime rates rise to record levels.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order: the minister is debating, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Yes, the minister is debating. The member for Davenport.