POLICE NUMBERS

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Police. Is the minister seeking additional funding through the budget process to achieve Labor's promise of recruiting 300 extra police, given his statement on 13 February, and I quote:

We may have to return to the budget process to do a top up.

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Finance, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:39): As I said, these issues will be dealt with in the budget process. Agencies have savings targets that have been outlined. Some of them are going to be of some difficulty—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: No, that's the fact of the matter; I am sure that this would come as no surprise. This is the business of government, the allocation of resources amongst competing demands. As the Premier said, we have a commitment to the protection and wellbeing of the community of South Australia. We will determine our budget deliberations with that particular objective in mind. We have made a significant investment in SAPOL over the past 10 years which, as I said, has meant that there are more police officers on the beat in South Australia per head of population than any other state in Australia. This has been the case for six clear years. We intend to maintain our commitment to the wellbeing and protection of the community of South Australia and those issues will be addressed—

Mr MARSHALL: I rise on a point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order. The Minister for Police will be seated. Point of order by the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr MARSHALL: It is very simple: it is relevance. The question is: is the minister seeking additional funding? That is all it is.

Mrs Geraghty: Don't make a speech.

Mr MARSHALL: It is not a speech.

The SPEAKER: The point of order will be sufficient to make the point, rather than repeating the question. I ask the Minister for Police to come back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: The police budget has more than doubled in the past 10 years since we have been in government, from $369 million in 2001-02 to $767 million in 2012-13. We have the runs on the board. The South Australian community can see, by the number of police that are actively involved in the day-by-day process of looking after our citizenry and the fact that we have more than doubled the budget, that this Labor government is committed to SAPOL and it is committed to our community's safety.