Livestock Theft

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:18): I seek leave to make a belief explanation before asking the Minister for Police a question about livestock theft.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: A report in The Advertiser last week outlined that a spike in the price of meat over the last three years has coincided with 276 separate cases of livestock theft, reviving calls for the return of a specialist stock squad in South Australia. South Australia Police figures obtained via freedom of information by my very hardworking colleague in the other place, the member for Chaffey, Mr Tim Whetstone, revealed the surprising number of cases that carry a combined value of almost $2.4 million.

Livestock stolen include mainly sheep but also cattle, wool bales, pigs, goats and equipment, and the documents reveal only four arrests for the crimes over the last three years. Livestock SA President, Geoff Power, advised that theft was happening regularly, and confirmed that SA no longer had dedicated officers and that the SA Police campaign Operation Poach, which was aimed at tracking down animal thieves, no longer had a stock squad.

Mr Power also said that police are not trained on a day-to-day basis in that speciality and that a lot of police probably have not had the experience or knowledge of livestock and probably do not understand the identification system. He would like to see a designated stock squad reinstated. My questions are:

1. Can the minister advise whether he has had recent consultation with Livestock SA about this matter, and what was the outcome of the consultation?

2. With 276 cases reported in three years, and a combined loss of $2.4 million, does the minister recognise this as a serious problem? If so, will the minister and SAPOL commit to reinstating a designated stock squad?

3. Will the minister confirm whether any additional training will be introduced to ensure country police are well educated on the issue and given a better understanding of the livestock identification system to handle the problems?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am very glad that the honourable member referred to Operation Poach during the course of her question, because Operation Poach represents SAPOL's very substantial effort in taking the theft of livestock seriously. Operation Poach was introduced in July 2011, and that was done in direct response to concerns within some communities about the increased theft of livestock in the state. Of course, Operation Poach has been in place ever since. It is still active, and intelligence and statistical data are constantly being reviewed by SAPOL through Operation Poach to make sure that this issue is being addressed.

Currently, I am advised, SAPOL has 16 agricultural liaison officers, who have direct access to the national livestock identification system. Theft of commercial quantities of livestock has serious consequences for the South Australian primary production sector, which is exactly why effort is being put into this particular area of policing. I should note that Operation Poach does not deal with allegations or concerns about the theft of domestic animals. It is primarily focused on the management of commercial livestock.

What I am happy to share with the chamber today in response to the honourable member's question is that throughout the period of three years from 2012 to 2015, SAPOL records indicate, I am advised, that there have been four apprehensions and the value of theft recorded is an estimated $2.1 million. These are significant figures. With the same sort of statistics in mind, in 2015-16 there was one apprehension with respect to livestock theft, and a number of persons of interest are currently under investigation.

Let's be clear: SAPOL is taking this issue seriously. It has a devoted operation towards the theft of livestock in the state of South Australia. I am sure that it is something that the police commissioner receives regular updates about. If the need presents, then I am sure that if the police commissioner, upon evidence brought before him, on active intelligence efforts which are underway regarding livestock theft, feels the need that there are more resources that are worthy of allocation towards Operation Poach, then that is a decision that I am sure he will take.

What we have to remember is that decisions around operational matters are best made by the police commissioner. It is not my responsibility or even my duty, nor would it be appropriate for me as police minister, or any other member of the government or indeed anyone in this chamber, to be telling the police commissioner how best to allocate his resources when it comes to operational matters. Operational matters, as I have said time and time again recently, are entirely within the purview of the police commissioner, and I have every confidence that if he feels it is appropriate to allocate more resources to Operation Poach, then he will do so.