Asylum Seekers

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN (14:49): I have a supplementary question. The minister advised the number of people arrested, but can the minister advise of those arrested how many were convicted of a criminal offence?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for his important supplementary question. What I can advise the chamber is that approximately 25,000 people were apprehended by SAPOL last financial year. In terms of the number of people who were convicted, I don't have that number at hand but you do give me a good opportunity to inform the chamber of the outstanding result that was released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in regard to South Australian crime stats overall.

While it is true that the number of offenders across Australia last financial year increased by 4 per cent, in South Australia that number decreased by 2 per cent, so South Australia is doing an outstanding job when it comes to reducing crime. We have a very proud record of reducing crime stats throughout the entirety of this Labor government and that is something we will continue to pursue.