Eyre Western Crime Statistics

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Minister for Police about the April 2017 Eyre and Western LSA crime statistics.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: The most recent Eyre and Western LSA crime statistics from April this year have been brought to my attention. Members of this chamber might be aware that this covers the Ceduna region where the cashless welfare card has been introduced compulsorily for many welfare recipients, including people receiving a Disability Support Pension.

The federal Coalition government has cited reduced crime statistics as a justification for maintaining the cashless welfare card in Ceduna and for expanding it to other regions in South Australia; yet the 2017 Eyre and Western statistics seem to contradict this belief that the cashless welfare card is reducing the crime rate, at least in and of itself.

While I acknowledge that there are some areas of improvement to overall categories or subcategories, I note the following offence statistics: serious assault not causing injury, a 7 per cent increase; assault of police, a 33 per cent increase; non-aggravated sexual assault, a 50 per cent increase; aggravated robbery, a 13 per cent increase; non-aggravated robbery, a 150 per cent increase; serious criminal trespass, residential, an 8 per cent increase; receive or handle proceeds of crime, a 21 per cent increase; obtain benefit by deception, a 49 per cent increase; and other fraud, deception and related offences, a 150 per cent increase.

Should the minister like to view the statistics, I have a copy of them here on my desk for him, or I can provide him with the web link, since what I have is in very small font. My questions to the minister are:

1. Has the minister read the Eyre and Western LSA crime stats, April 2017?

2. If he has read the statistics, how does he interpret them, particularly the increase in the nine areas I have just listed above?

3. Has the minister written to the Hon. Alan Tudge MP, Minister for Human Services, to express his concerns about the introduction and further rollout of the cashless welfare card and the resulting potential increase in crime in the Eyre and Western region?

4. If he has not written to the Minister for Human Services to express his concerns about the introduction and further rollout of the cashless welfare card, will he undertake to do so and, if so, when?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:20): Let me start with the last part of the honourable member's questions. No, I have not written to the federal minister, the Hon. Mr Tudge, regarding this, and no, I do not have an intention to. But I do have an intention to continue to follow this closely. Without having them at hand I cannot comment specifically on the statistics that the Hon. Ms Vincent has, but what I can inform the chamber and the Hon. Ms Vincent is that this is something that I have been paying close attention to, because I think it is an interesting area of public policy.

I think all of us in this chamber would be committed to observing policy reforms that may have a positive impact on regional communities, particularly potential reforms that might have a positive impact on Indigenous communities. But we want to see that bear out in evidence, and I think the evidence will be where the proof of the pudding is—in the eating.

I have been asking SAPOL to provide me with regular updates in terms of what are the crime statistics that exist around the area. In regards to the Hon. Ms Vincent's statistics there, I am not too sure whether or not they pertain exclusively to Ceduna or to the whole LSA—

The Hon. K.L. Vincent: The region.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: The whole LSA, yes. So, of course the western Eyre LSA is a very large LSA geographically, probably one of the largest in the nation, and it also has a number of large population centres within it and a number of populations within it that go beyond the area where the cashless card applies. So, I think it is important, when determining what is the effect that the cashless card has in terms of crime, to be looking at the statistics that speak specifically to the area where the cashless card is in effect, which is principally of course in and around Ceduna.

In the reports that I have been receiving that do look specifically to that cohort of crime, there have been a variety of numbers that have come through, some pointing to positive change, some going in the other direction. I think what is going to be necessary here is to analyse those statistics over a sustained period in that specific geographical area to see if there has been a positive impact.

What I can say, having visited there last year and having spoken to the LSA commander regarding the cashless card in terms of how it is playing out, is that the anecdotal evidence, backed up by some statistical evidence, suggests that it is working well. But I think there is a lot of work that needs to occur to actually substantiate that. I think we need to test those numbers in a way that is robust and free of any particular prejudice, one way or another. But I have to say I think the cashless card exercise is worthwhile pursuing. I think we have to commit ourselves to being bold and innovative. I think the cashless card concept, albeit controversial, combined with substantial wraparound services and programs, which has been the case and has occurred in that area, and working with the Indigenous community locally in the area, which I understand occurred in this particular trial, put together are worthwhile of analysis, free of prejudice one way or another.

I will be continuing to make sure that we look at those statistics into the future to ensure that when we get numbers back from SAPOL they can be passed on to the relevant federal authorities to actually make sure that what we do in this important policy area is underpinned by evidence and also numerical facts that our police collect.