POLICE STATIONS, NEW

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:58): Are these shopfronts like the other shopfronts that you have where there is one police officer and when somebody comes in to report a problem they say, 'I can't leave the shopfront'?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:58): What we know is that the Liberals closed not only shopfronts but also patrol bases. The Liberal opposition—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I will answer it all right. How is the gall of the Liberals, when police numbers fell to 3,400 under them? How many police were available on the beat when members opposite were in government? In 1996-97 there were a little over 3,400 police officers. No wonder they are getting upset. That is the Liberal's record. There are now more than 4,200 police.

In the first four years of our government we increased the numbers of police by between 200 and 300. We have set a goal of 400. We are well on the way to achieving that. We are halfway there. There are far more police in this state than there ever were under the previous Liberal government. So, is it any wonder that members opposite should ask these sorts of questions? I mean, really, they should be hanging their heads in shame for what they did. Do members know what they did in the APY lands? We got 2,000 people—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: We will get a report soon about sexual abuse in that area. Do members know that they removed every police officer from the APY lands? What a disgrace that was! The Liberal Party of South Australia has a lot of apologising to do for what it did. I have just indicated the vast number of police stations. We have built six or seven new police stations since we have been in government. We have had to buy new boats. The boat we bought recently was the first time the police actually had a purpose-built boat. All they got under the previous government was a second-hand boat. We have bought the police a new plane.

Of course, as I indicated in my statement earlier, we are providing the police with the most modern weapons available. The police in this state have never been better resourced. They have never had better numbers; and, through the police shopfronts, their service to the public will be extended—vastly beyond what they ever received under the previous Liberal government.