Question Time

SOUTH AUSTRALIA POLICE

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Police a question about the new police headquarters.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: In the last budget it was announced that money had been put aside for a new police headquarters, and today the government announced that the site at 100 Angus Street was a $100 million project and that it would spend $38 million to fit out the building. Upon becoming shadow minister for police I contacted a range of stakeholders to talk about the issues that I might confront. In fact, I spoke to a former police minister, who suggested that it was a long-term agenda of SAPOL to have a new building, and that it had been resisted while he was minister.

Today, the government indicated that one of the reasons it is building a new police station is that it has outgrown the existing premises. It is interesting to note that, while I have been learning from operational police, one operational officer in an LSA with significant crime issues said, 'Give me $38 million and I will clean up the suburbs in no time.' My questions to the minister are:

1. When will frontline police officers be given tasers, and not just as part of a trial?

2. When will frontline officers be given proper equipment? Members opposite often laugh when I talk about suitable operational uniforms, raincoats and kitbags—some simple pieces of equipment.

3. When will frontline officers get the resources to do the job properly?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:23): This is like a cracked record. The South Australian police force under the Rann government has been better resourced than at any time in its history, including the number of police officers—the most important increase of all. There has been a massive increase in the police budget. It is the one budget that has not been cut in any way since this government came to office to ensure that police have adequate resources.

Not only that, we have gone a lot further in terms of giving police the legislation that is necessary to clean up crime. The one thing they have not had is a decent headquarters. To go back to the preamble of the honourable member's question, the implication is that senior police should not be moving into proper new police headquarters but staying where they are, in spite of the fact that the building is some 40 years old or thereabouts and has long since passed its prime in terms of accommodation.

The opposition may believe that the South Australian police force's commissioner, his executive and those who work in the head office are not entitled to the best possible accommodation, but this government disagrees. That is why we are supplying not only the massive resources for police but also we bought them new boats and a new aircraft. They had second-hand boats before, and we bought new boats and new aircraft—a whole lot of resources for the police force in this state. We have given them the best legislation in the country and increased their numbers by literally hundreds of extra police officers.

Not only have we delivered that but we also believe that the senior police, the executive, should have a new office. Many other government departments, over the past 15 or 20 years, have moved into new offices. Why is it that the opposition believe that the police are not entitled to have a new office? Why should they have to be housed in a building that is now no longer adequate? I believe, and this government believes, that our police are entitled not only to the resources that they are getting—for example, at present new firearms are being introduced into the police force, along with other—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: What about tasers?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Well, the tasers: the honourable member well knows—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Yes; of course they should be trialled. You would just go and give it to them. Do you really think that is a sensible idea? How dopey are members opposite? They say, 'You don't bother about training; someone somewhere else in the world has this new bit of equipment, so just hand it out willy-nilly. Just go and get buckets of them and hand them out to the police force without proper training or guidelines.'

Tasers can be a useful adjunct to police operations but they also need to be used properly or they can be quite dangerous. This government will take the advice of the police commissioner, who is the expert in relation to what equipment and what facilities his police officers need. I find it absolutely extraordinary that the opposition should be effectively, through this question, criticising the government for providing new police headquarters in this state.

An honourable member: Funny priorities.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Funny priorities, they are saying—not giving the police new headquarters. It is extraordinary. What about all the new police stations we have provided? What about Berri, Mount Barker, Victor Harbor, Port Lincoln? They are all brand new police stations built under this government. There are some old police stations, but this government has provided these new stations through the PPP program, including a new police station at Aldinga, all in the past seven years. There have been massive increases in resources and yet, it spite of that, this opposition wants to deny the police new headquarters in this state. This government believes that the police, right down to the police on the beat, deserve the best, and we will do that.