Legislative Council Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2) 51 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Violent Crime VIOLENT CRIME The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS Legislative Council VIOLENT CRIME The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:32): As a supplementary question, what effect do communities such as Coober Pedy have on the minister's stats (about which he puffs out his chest) when they have given up reporting crime because their phones are diverted five hours away to Port Augusta and it is a waste of time? The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY Legislative Council Minister for Police Minister for Mineral Resources Development Minister for Urban Development and Planning VIOLENT CRIME The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:32): I will go back, if the honourable member would like, and we will compare the number of police we had in Coober Pedy during the Liberal government compared to now. Just in recent times more police have been appointed to Coober Pedy. What this government has done as well, through the development of the mining industry, is to provide economic opportunities to people in those towns. The solution to crime is more than just having police on the ground: it is all about having economic opportunity for people. If one goes to Coober Pedy today one will find that it is a much more prosperous place than it has been for many years. Part of the reason for that is, of course, the development of the mining industry. Companies such as Oxiana have recruited a number of young Aboriginal people into its apprenticeship programs. These people now have jobs and prospects, and I suggest that is the reason why crime is going down. The Hon. T.J. Stephens interjecting: The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY Legislative Council The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: In fact, that mine has gone through in record time. You find another mine like that in this country! There would be very few around the world. That mine is now on the verge of producing. You find somewhere else where there have been those approval processes and the support for a mine in such a short time!