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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-23 Daily Xml
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PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: ROXBY DOWNS POLICE STATION

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (11:17): I move:

That the 329th report of the committee, entitled Roxby Downs Police Station, be noted.

The most recent forecast provided by BHP Billiton estimates that the total population of Roxby Downs and surrounding area will exceed 10,000 by 2016; however, there may be some shifting out of these projected time lines from the effects of the global economic crisis on commodities markets. The current population is approximately 4,500. The police station at Roxby Downs cannot be expanded to accommodate staff increases to facilitate the range of additional services required by the growing Roxby Downs community.

The new police station will accommodate 30 sworn officers and two administrative staff who will meet community needs associated with the forecast population expansion of Roxby Downs. The station will provide:

public reception and interview rooms;

accommodation and secure parking for police patrols;

CIB incident room and accommodation;

forensic crime scene laboratory and office;

criminal justice prosecutors accommodation and storage;

a conference room;

a cell complex compliant with custodial management standards and the death in custody coronial recommendations;

exhibit and drug storage facilities;

meals room; and

locker room and showers.

Site selection was based on a number of criteria:

proximity to the centre of Roxby Downs;

good ingress and egress for the operational deployment of police vehicles; and

allowing the collocation of other justice agencies, including a courthouse subject to government funding approval.

On completion of the new station, the existing police station will be surplus to SAPOL requirements. Proceeds from the sale of the existing site will be available for return to the Consolidated Account to offset increased construction costs. The total expenditure authority is $10.313 million. However, $1.57 million is anticipated from the sale of the current police station.

Further, the Solicitor-General has advised that it will be necessary for the government to be party to an indigenous land use agreement before SAPOL can commence site works. A further $700,000 for the freehold purchase of the land will not be required if an indigenous land use agreement is entered into.

Construction is expected to be completed by September 2010. Public access will be from Burgoyne Street with seven public car parks, including one for people with a disability. A secure rear car park will accommodate nine covered car parking spaces for SAPOL patrol and operational vehicles, a covered and enclosed forensic vehicle inspection bay and 20 SAPOL staff car parks.

The secure rear car park will be accessed via automatic gates. There will be a minimal amount of external illumination of the car park for security purposes and security camera coverage of the car park and external perimeter of the building. The new secure car park and visitor car park will be accessed via a new driveway and a crossover from Burgoyne Street.

The western side of the facility will house a new cell complex, including three holding cells, a padded cell, an enclosed exercise yard and administrative and support areas. This will also be accessed from the secure rear car park. The police station has been located and configured in such a manner as to maximise future integration with an adjoining court building.

Best practice passive design measures are incorporated into the project design, with complementary active systems that maximise design outcomes in order to benefit the environment and comply with government ecologically sustainable development initiatives.

Electrical efficiency will be incorporated though high efficiency lighting, motion activated lighting control and submetering of energy consumption. Photovoltaic panels have been considered but not included as a source of energy collection and provision because of their high capital cost and low energy output.

On-site waste separation facilities will support recycling of paper, aluminium and other materials. During construction, contractors will be encouraged to recycle much of the demolished material and waste material generated through the construction process.

Materials and components will be selected to minimise quantities and ensure assembly techniques are simple and able to be easily dismantled and recycled or re-used. Where appropriate, transportation and energy costs will be minimised by using locally manufactured products and materials. The project has also been designed for future integration with an adjoining court building, allowing for the sharing of cell facilities to reduce costs should the court proposal obtain future funding approval.

Therefore, based upon the evidence it has considered and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:23): I rise to support this project. The member for Norwood in her capacity as Presiding Member of the Public Works Committee has put forward many of the points that came out of the submission to the committee. Some interesting things came out of that submission. The population forecast by 2016 of 10,000 people in Roxby Downs will certainly place increasing pressure on SAPOL and its resources. Indeed, it is essential that it has an updated and suitable police station to look after that situation.

However, it is interesting to note that not so many years ago the Premier referred to Roxby Downs as a 'mirage in the desert'. All of a sudden, 10,000 people will be up there by 2016; so I do not know what has happened to the mirage in the desert. Indeed, things change quite dramatically and this enormous project is now taking place up there—which members on this side of the house support, and have always supported wholeheartedly. It would appear that a few members on the other side took a while to wake up to it.

The completion date of September 2010 is welcome, and we will watch with interest the project and the reports that come through the Public Works Committee. It is also interesting to note that we regularly hear from the government, particularly the Premier, long-winded speeches about wind and solar power, yet here we are with one of the sunniest places in the state, Roxby Downs, and we are not even having solar panels on a new police station—quite frankly, it is bizarre—let alone wind turbines. Perhaps there is not enough wind up there, or perhaps the contract fell through; I am not quite sure.

It is highly neglectful of the government not to have included solar power for the Roxby Downs police station; it is the ideal place for solar panels. We are probably not having them there because no-one would see them up there—unlike the showgrounds. The media and the television cameras are not up there very often, so we are not having solar panels on the Roxby Downs police station. In an area where power is at a premium, there are no solar panels. However, be that as it may.

Another issue arose (and there were some questions about this during the hearing) regarding the cells at Roxby Downs. They are holding cells and, as with many other country police stations, it is almost impossible for police to have prisoners in their holding cells for very long at all. It is far too difficult, and they have to be relocated fairly quickly to other prisons or more suitable facilities. In this case, Roxby Downs prisoners will be relocated to Port Augusta fairly expeditiously. I know that in my electorate on the mainland if they take prisoners into police stations they are shifted fairly quickly; indeed, if they have to take a prisoner into custody on Kangaroo Island they are also flown out pretty quickly.

This is an issue for the police at Roxby. We hope the situation does not arise where they have too many prisoners, because it puts enormous strain on their resources. They have to be there for 24 hours watching prisoners, they have to look into the cells and observe prisoners regularly (I am not sure of the exact number of times), depending on the category of prisoner or their background. It is very tiring and puts great pressure on police resources in country areas. Quite simply, police in country areas do not have sufficient capacity to monitor prisoners, so they have to get them out. It will be interesting to see what happens up there with Roxby Downs police station, particularly if the predicted population does reach 10,000 by 2016, in terms of how much additional activity will go through the police station and how much the cells will be used.

Most members on this side of the house support the project, and we are pleased to see it come to fruition. We look forward to its completion in September next year, and await with interest the regular reports that will come through the Public Works Committee.

Ms BREUER (Giles) (11:28): How wonderful it is that we can change our opinions, and what a wonderful supporter the Premier is of Roxby Downs, its expansion, and my electorate. I pay tribute to him for that; he regularly asks me about what is happening in my electorate and he is very interested in what is happening at Roxby Downs and the progress there. He shows a great interest and is a good supporter.

It is wonderful that we can change our opinions, and it is a bit pathetic that the opposition continually has to bring it up. I am sure that the people over there have changed their minds over the years, and that what they thought 20 years ago is a lot different to what they think now. I think it is pathetic that they continually need to bring this up. I thank the Premier for his support of my electorate, and particularly of the Roxby Downs expansion.

I am delighted with the police station and the fact that it will be built there. It will play a vital role in the future of Roxby Downs and that area, because one of the things people in Adelaide perhaps forget is that these outback police stations service not just the town in which they are located but a whole area. That is particularly the case with Roxby. It is a long way between towns, so police have to service the whole area. They do not just work in their town; they are on the road a lot. I am very pleased that they are going to have lovely headquarters to go back to. In the next few years, with the expansion of Roxby Downs (which will happen, I know), it will certainly be required.

With the building of the project and the work that will be involved with that, I think people sometimes miss the fact that there will be a camp near Roxby, a few kilometres away, which will house 8,000 people, which is twice the current population of Roxby, and that will be just a camp.

You can imagine what will happen in that camp, when you have 8,000 people living there, predominantly males, I would say. There will be quite a considerable number of females, but it will be predominantly males. They will work long shifts, 10 to12 hours a day, and they will go home and have a few drinks, and all sorts of things may eventuate. It is a worry for the community, which is a bit concerned about what could happen in that camp. I am sure that it will be well controlled and well maintained. People will be there to make a fortune, and they probably will; but, there are all sorts of prospects that can happen, so we need to have a good, strong and reliable police force working in the area.

The other thing that police in outback areas are regularly involved in is crashes. We have some horrendous crashes in our outback areas. These officers are called regularly to attend to these accidents, and it is a very difficult time for them. They see some horrendous accidents. They are continually monitoring our roads, consistently watching people speed, which we have to be very careful of, and I am very pleased to see they are doing that.

All sorts of things happen on those highways. There are drug runs, and I have heard of them and probably seen them in progress. Police perform a considerable number of duties not just in Roxby itself but in the area around it. They need the centre, they need these headquarters, and I am really pleased that it is happening.

I want to pay tribute to the police in the Outback. I think they do an incredible job. They are continually putting their lives at risk. I guess you can say the same thing for police officers in Adelaide, but they have a lot more backup in Adelaide than they have out there. If you are the only fella within 100ks of a community, it is pretty scary at times; and they do put their lives at risk.

Also, their families are probably more at risk than perhaps in anonymous Adelaide, because everyone knows where the local police officer lives. They know what they are up to, they know their families, and I continually think about that, about how much more difficult it is for people in those areas, for young police officers going out there, male or female, taking their families, and the pressures and tensions they have. In all those outback areas they do an incredible job.

They are often required to live in Aboriginal communities, where there is a lot of tension. They are identified as the police officer, so they have extra risks and involvement. Often, when police officers go out to these areas, there are housing issues, and sometimes we are lacking a bit in housing. I am hoping that, with the expansion of Roxby, there will be adequate housing for police officers and the public servants who live there.

It is one of the richest communities in South Australia, with the highest weekly wages in the area, because of the hours that people work and the good conditions and good pay they receive. One of the big issues in such a community, however, is that the people who do not work in the mine are often contractors or public servants, and their pay rates just do not match up with those who do. The cost of living is extremely high and rents are exorbitant, so we have to make sure that we have good housing for our public servants, particularly our police officers and teachers, in those communities. I am certainly keeping an eye on that and making sure that that will happen with the expansion of Roxby Downs.

Roxby Downs is the jewel in the crown of South Australia. It will bring incredible money into our state, but we have to make sure that the people who are living there have the right health and education resources, policing, etc. I am really pleased that the team that is looking after the Olympic Dam expansion has been so involved over a number of years and will continue to be so. I think they are doing a great job under the leadership of Paul Case, and I pay tribute to them.

I am very happy about this police station. It is a good day. I am pleased to see that this has happened, and I certainly will be supporting my community in the future.

Mr PISONI (Unley) (11:35): First of all, I have to take issue with the stereotyping of men, miners in particular, by the member for Giles. I would imagine there would be a thriving arts community up there at Roxby Downs. There might also be a book club the miners might attend, or there might also be quilt making or lawn bowls. There are plenty of activities up there for those miners. I find it offensive that it has been suggested that a man's only avenue for leisure is to drink, when there are so many other things men could do. Some of us might even know how to knit! I am shocked by the member for Giles' stereotyping of men.

The member for Finniss made an interesting point about the fact that, in a part of the state that receives in excess of 300 days a year of sunshine, we have not seen solar panels used in this project. As a matter of fact, I think the report stated that it was not a viable option. This reinforces the concern the opposition has had for quite some time that the Premier is interested in renewable energy only when he can cut a ribbon and attach himself to a project where it can be seen.

Of course, up at Roxby Downs, they do not have much traffic in the main street bringing journalists from metropolitan Adelaide to see these solar panels, and it is clear to me that there can be only one reason we have solar panels on our buildings. The solar panels we do see, particularly in our schools, are not enough to make any difference. We were told during one of the Public Works Committee hearings that solar panels on schools would barely be enough to run a single computer, yet we are told that part of the plan is to save power for schools. The real agenda is all about the Premier associating himself with green energy without his making any concerted effort to make the industry or the technology work. This is a classic example of where we had the perfect opportunity to use solar power, yet it was ignored.

Another point raised was that we were told there is no guarantee that the police station will be open 24 hours a day. I think that a police station with a staff of 30 in a town of 30,000 and the fact that, at this stage, we are not sure whether that police station will be open 24 hours a day puts in doubt the use of the cells; otherwise, I do not know how you can have a police station closed from about midnight to 6am. That would mean that we would still be seeing a waste of police resources, with police having to transport prisoners by road from Roxby Downs—perhaps at midnight every night—to Port Augusta because the police station at Roxby Downs will not be open 24 hours a day.

If I were a resident of Roxby Downs, that would be a concern and I would want to know why that was the case. Of course, we still could not get any idea of numbers or the time frame as to when more police would be stationed at Roxby Downs once the project was completed. It was made clear to us that there would not be 30 when the police station opened, but we were not able to identify just what the actual number would be.

I want to pick up on the point the member for Giles made about housing. She neglected to say that this government, in its last budget, earmarked 600 houses in rural South Australia to be sold. We heard the member for Giles refer to how expensive housing is in places such as Roxby Downs. The sad thing about this is that we did identify that police housing would be exempt from the 600 houses, and that means that the houses to be sold are those predominantly used by teachers in rural areas. It is already difficult to get teachers, particularly experienced teachers, into rural South Australia. Here we have a budget measure by this government identifying the selling of 600 houses in regional South Australia that will make it even more difficult to attract experienced teachers into the area.

Motion carried.

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