South Australia Police Resources

Mr BATTY (Bragg) (15:00): My question is to the Minister for Police. Does the minister recommend that South Australia Police officers buy their own dash cams for their police cars? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: there is a long-established principle in Westminster that you do not ask ministers their opinions.

The SPEAKER: I will give the member for Bragg the opportunity to rephrase the question.

Mr BATTY: Thank you, sir. Will the government fund dash cams for South Australia Police?

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Special Minister of State) (15:00): I appreciate the question from the shadow minister. The equipment that is provided to South Australia Police, of course, is provided ordinarily out of the South Australia Police overall budget. In terms of additional requests of government, there has not been a request to government with respect to this particular type of technology.

I understand that the shadow minister has made some commentary in The Advertiser, the newspaper of record. I always take what is published in The Advertiser very seriously and I follow the journal of record in great detail. As I say, there has not been a specific request. I understand, nevertheless, that there are some difficulties with implementing this type of technology. Some of the difficulties include the mode and method of storage; the policies and procedures around how to receive that information as evidence, if it were later to be used as evidence; who would store information of this type and where; and how it would be incorporated into overall police procedure. Those are some of the matters that have been raised or mentioned to me by way of advice to me as the minister.

But I cannot emphasise enough: there has not been a specific request to this government in relation to this particular technology. What I can reassure the shadow minister is that this is a government that is determined to make very substantial additional investments in South Australia Police, and those investments—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Florey, you can leave for the next 10 seconds of question time. You have been doing it all day.

The honourable member for Florey having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN: As I was saying, we are making very substantial investments, many of which were covered in question time yesterday.