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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-17 Daily Xml
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Police Numbers

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (14:43): My question is to the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services. Does the Port Augusta Police Station have its full complement of officers? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TELFER: There have been concerns raised with the opposition from the community and within the media, including on the front page of The Advertiser yesterday under the headline—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr TELFER: —'Kid gangs run wild', about crime levels within the Port Augusta area.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (14:44): I can advise that, in line with my previous answer, Port Augusta is one of the stations which has a currently live and active selection process for staff. I have met on a number of occasions with staff in Port Augusta. In fact, I have just recently met with a number of new graduate recruits who have been posted up to Port Augusta, all of whom are doing an outstanding job.

The response to Port Augusta from both South Australia Police within the department of my colleague the Minister for Human Services and other agencies is very significant. It is a very important task and one that our government is entirely dedicated to. The question of resourcing is not an issue. The reason I say it's not an issue is because every conversation that I have had with the police commissioner has been the support that the government can lend him in respect of resourcing, as well as the advice that I am receiving back from him.

There are very significant resources deployed in a permanent manner and in an operational manner and in a surge capacity into Port Augusta. Some of the tactics and some of the operations I won't discuss in this parliament, but I can say that there are resources from a wide variety of operational units within SAPOL that have been tasked and are actively and on an ongoing basis deployed into Port Augusta, including the member for Bragg's favourite operational unit, the Mounted Operations Unit, and the STAR Group, the special response unit, as well as the other units which I won't disclose here, including also, I should say, aviation resources.

The dedication of SAPOL is particularly intense, as is that of the government to support the Port Augusta community and, in a deep and meaningful way, to counter and address these particular issues regarding young people that have been many, many years in the making and will not have an overnight answer.

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