Grievance Debate

POLICE RESOURCES

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (15:05): We have seen over the last three years and three months great disappointment with regard to this government fulfilling its election promises. And we have seen, today in question time, evidence with regard to the police portfolio of exactly what a woeful situation we have with regard to the government fulfilling its promises. Seven government election promises were made leading to the 2010 election and, with over 80 per cent of the time expired from 2010 to the 2014 election, not one of those promises has been fulfilled yet.

The Hon. L.R. BREUER: Point of order, Mr Speaker!

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

The Hon. L.R. BREUER: Mr Speaker, I cannot hear the member.

The SPEAKER: The member for Giles, I presume the point of order is that no-one can hear the member for Stuart.

The Hon. L.R. BREUER: Thank you.

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Thank you, member for Giles; I appreciate that. Here we are with over 80 per cent of the time gone and seven of these election promises made. None of them have been fulfilled. Many of them have not even been started, and it is no wonder that the Police Association, the police in general, the public in general and members in this place are terribly concerned about the extraordinary and very unlikely possibility that any of these promises will be fulfilled in the last nine months.

Let me just step through these promises: recruit 300 police officers by 2014. It certainly has not happened. The government has put that commitment back to 2016-17 and, as we have heard today in question time, in fact, we will finish this financial year with 39 fewer police officers than we started with.

Promise No. 2: Star Chase pursuit management system installed in 10 patrol cars. SAPOL has identified that, in the current South Australian policing environment, they are not safe. You would think you would know that before you make the promise. Promise No. 3: 20 new mobile automatic numberplate recognition systems. Here we are: eight of them are being trialled at this point in time and it looks highly unlikely, even if that trial is successful, that all 20 will be implemented.

Promise No. 4: 150 portable fingerprint scanners. None out of 150 have been installed. In fact, there is actually concern about whether they are even legal, so here we are again. It is the sort of thing you think you would go through and investigate before you even make the promise, if you have any desire to actually fulfil it.

Promise No. 5: 100 hand-held computers. We have heard from the Minister for Police today that there is a trial and that they are trying to get them implemented, but they are finding it very difficult. Some of the problems they are having with regard to the fingerprint devices are actually applicable to the portable data terminals as well. Right now, I believe there are nine out of 100 actually active, so it is very unlikely that the other 91 are going to be put in place in the next three months.

Reducing red tape to keep our officers on the beat: I certainly support that 1,000 per cent. That was a very good area to be working on. The difficulty is that it is just not happening. We hear time and time again—at the Budget and Finance Committee, at the select committee into emergency services and on the media very regularly—the police commissioner very openly and very honestly (and I have to commend him on that) saying that things are not improving.

They are not getting more officers on the beat. In fact, if anything, things are getting worse. We heard the Minister for Police tell us today that they are using technology which he himself believes is one or two decades out of date, so they are clearly not making any progress there whatsoever.

Promise No. 7: amend legislation that will allow photographs or videos in lieu of line-ups. Members present all know that that is another broken promise. That legislation failed to pass parliament. The promise was not, 'We will introduce it into parliament and we will see how we go.' The promise was, 'We will get it done.' Again, you would think you would do your homework before you start. That is seven broken promises.

The police minister tells us today that there are certain things under trial, and there are certain difficulties they are facing that they are not accountable for. The reality is that these promises will not be fulfilled. One hundred per cent of the promises this government made to the public of South Australia and to the serving police officers of our state will not be fulfilled. Not one of them will be fulfilled.

I asked the police minister today if he could point to one promise made in regard to the police portfolio at the last election which he believes will be implemented by the next election, as promised, and he could not identify one. He avoided the question and moved on to other issues and other figures. When pulled up by a point of order and asked, 'Please, just tell us one. Is there one that you can tell us that you believe your government will do?', he could not answer that. In fact, the Premier could not help him with that and none of his fellow ministers—not one of the former police ministers—could help him, either.

The Hon. J.M. Rankine: Reducing crime in South Australia. That's what we did.

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Education may be correct but I call her to order for interjecting. The member for Giles.