Community Safety

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (14:22): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on action the government has taken to keep our community safe?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:23): I thank the member for Newland for her question. The member for Newland knows as well as anybody that community safety is an important subject. Those of us who feel safe in our own homes can't take that for granted, nor should we not acknowledge the fact that for those people who do suffer a crime it does have a significant impact on them.

What we have been determined to do as a government over a sustained period now is to make the investments that are necessary to ensure that police can do their work, but on top of that we continue to invest effort and energy in law reform to ensure that the courts do theirs. I am very pleased that what we have seen over a sustained period now is a suite of activities that demonstrate this government's commitment to that endeavour. We have invested in our police quite heavily, both in capital but also in people, and we have seen some of that play out throughout the course of this week.

When it comes to other forms of crime that may lead to other challenges within the community, we have of course cracked down on illicit tobacco and vape dealers in a nation-leading way, and we have seen yet more results yielded as a result of that investment of $16 million to weed out criminal elements of vape and tobacco delivery into the community. We have passed numerous laws designed to increase community safety, particularly when we think of child sex predators and other forms of antisocial behaviour occurring in big, busy, public precincts. We have passed laws to protect retail workers, with more to come.

One of the most insidious forms of violence or crime that we see in our community that continues to present a challenge, of course, is in the area of domestic violence, and that is why this government has commissioned a royal commission, a royal commission that we anticipate will hand down its report in the second half of this year. So we have a comprehensive strategy and response to the scourge of domestic violence that we see within the community.

This week, the work has continued with the introduction and the development of the toughest knife laws in the commonwealth—the toughest knife laws in the country—that are comprehensive in nature, not singularly focused but having a more broad approach to reassume the state's position of leadership when it comes to knife laws in the country.

Only on Tuesday the parliament passed laws making it easier to prosecute stalking and other harassing behaviours within the community. I couldn't think of anything worse than an innocent person, an innocent woman, particularly a young woman, having to endure a stalker, and now we have made it easier to go after those criminals and have them successfully prosecuted.

The police minister has just announced a piece of work that the government has been working on for a while, and that is to tackle the challenge of criminals operating within the scrap metal sector. This can't go on anymore. It is causing grave disruption for a lot of people within our building industries. We are doing something about that. Yesterday, the police commissioner, in conjunction with the Minister for Police, announced the consequence of their effort to get more police on the frontline, with now 70 additional police returning to frontline services, which in turn is allowing for the establishment of a new Youth and Street Gangs Task Force.

The work is relentless on this side of the house. It is not just talking about and admiring a problem but rather doing something about it. Is it yielding results? Is it making a difference? Well, we look at the November crime stats. What do we see? Recorded robbery-related offences are down by 26 per cent. Theft from motor vehicles is down by 17 per cent. Fraud and deception-related offences are down by 16 per cent. Theft and illegal use of motor vehicles: 7 per cent. This is year on year. Sexual assault is down. This government is making the law changes that are required, delivering the investments, and now South Australians are safer as a result, and we are going to keep on with it because we know the work never stops.