South Australia Police

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:46): Supplementary question to the minister's answer: given that there has been some reduction in crime, as the minister has stated, due to the very successful LSA model, why is the minister now allowing the police to go down a Western Australian model to get rid of the LSAs? They are taking on the same model as Western Australia where there has been a significant increase in crime. Why is the minister allowing them to demolish the LSA model that reduced crime?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:47): Let us just start with a few facts, shall we? Shall we start with the fact that SAPOL has not made any announcement about abolition of the LSA model? Let us just start with that. What SAPOL is doing is what any substantial leader of a bureaucracy or an agency should be doing—reviewing themselves. Despite enormous success, despite substantial increases in resources now available to SAPOL, we are not resting on our laurels, and we actively support the police commissioner in getting on with the job of making sure they are striving for continuous improvement, which means that it is not okay just to stay the same.

Stagnation is not something that this Labor government, which is committed to renewal, committed to continuous improvement, will allow to occur. Furthermore, whatever comes out of the operational review that SAPOL is conducting internally, we will not be subjected to unnecessary or inappropriate intervention by me as the police minister, which is what I understand the Hon. Mr Brokenshire is yet again advocating. He is yet again advocating that somehow the government or the police minister would do a better job of being the police commissioner than indeed does the police commissioner himself.

I know that in the Hon. Mr Brokenshire's heart of hearts he does not genuinely believe that I would be better at being police commissioner than would the police commissioner himself. I know he does not genuinely in his heart of hearts believe that. He may genuinely believe that he would be a better police commissioner than is the police commissioner. I do not take that view. I believe that our current police commissioner is doing a good job. I think that, by and large, he enjoys the support of members of this chamber, and, dare I say it, I hope he would enjoy the support of the Hon. Mr Brokenshire.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: They all had my support.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: Well, they've all had his support. I admire that position of the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, and I would encourage him to retain his policy in regard to that, and wait and see what comes out of the operational review that SAPOL is conducting. Then he should make an analysis, as all members of our community and interested stakeholders in community safety should do. They will conduct a rational analysis of what SAPOL is recommending, have a look at it in the cold light of day, have a look at it in the context of the increasing resources that this government is providing, and then the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, along with everybody else, should formulate a rational view.

I am confident that upon looking at it holistically, when they look at the reforms that SAPOL is undertaking, they will enjoy widespread community support, because at the heart of it will be the—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: I will be out in the media with my report.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: I am sure the honourable member will be out in the media with his report. I am sure that the police commissioner has community safety at heart, and I look forward to seeing the outcomes of that review once it is complete.