Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-05-08 Daily Xml

Contents

MOTORCYCLE GANGS

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:52): I have a supplementary question. By the minister's own admission there has been infiltration into public office by organised crime—

The PRESIDENT: The honourable member had better ask his question.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: —and by his own admission it is endemic. Why will the minister not support an ICAC?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:53): I did not say it was endemic—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I will tell you why we do not need an ICAC; we know it now because the police have detected it. These people have been charged under the current system. Why would we need an ICAC to do it? What would an ICAC do that is not being done now? It is certainly not endemic, but we do know that associates of organised criminals seek to infiltrate every organisation. That is true everywhere in the world, and it has been for many years. It is a feature of organised crime, and we are fortunate in this state that we now have legislation that enables those criminal associations to be dealt with much more effectively than they would be in almost any other jurisdiction in the world.