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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-05 Daily Xml
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RAIL SAFETY

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (15:16): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Transport a question about train safety.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON: The minister will require no reminding that there has been a recent spate of violent incidents on the Adelaide to Gawler line. As has been reported by the local print media, Transit Branch figures show that the number of incidents reported, including assault, robbery and graffiti, increased in the second half of 2008 to 81 from 31 in the first half of the year. Included in those were some heinous attacks on commuters, most notably the vicious bashing of an intellectually disabled man.

Last week that man's mother presented my office with a petition of over 200 signatures calling for improved safety on the Adelaide to Gawler line. These signatures were collected at two different train stations in just an hour and a half and are a clear demonstration that commuters have had enough and are demanding that this government take action.

I am deeply concerned to hear of another attack this week, this time involving a security guard and a commuter. While the details of this incident remain unclear, the result was two men interlocked and rolling around the carriage, collecting other commuters in the shuffle, including a pregnant woman.

As has previously been discussed in this chamber, security personnel who accompany TransAdelaide PSAs under the Security and Investigations Act are powerless to actively intervene in violent incidents unless they are personally targeted. For this reason it was a shock to learn that the government has made a decision to increase the number of security personnel on late night trains on Fridays and Saturdays instead of increasing the number of transit police who, while still limited in their powers to intervene, do have greater statutory power than security guards to protect commuters.

Curious as to why there were extra guards, a constituent asked a TransAdelaide PSA, who promptly replied, 'Due to the number of attacks on PSAs, that's why.' The PSA further informed the constituent that guards are not there for commuters: their priority is the protection of PSAs. This follows another revelation, this time by a South Australian police officer, that transit police are SAPOL's version of labour hire. The reason so few commuters will ever encounter a transit police officer on a train, bus or tram is that if another branch of SAPOL requires additional staff for an operation or investigation it will second officers from the transit branch. This is apparently a daily occurrence and, as such, the number of transit police available to actively patrol public transport has been drastically reduced. My questions are:

1. How many assaults involving TransAdelaide and security personnel on the Gawler line have been recorded in the previous 12 months?

2. Of these, how many prosecutions have been recorded?

3. Will the government consider increasing the powers of both TransAdelaide PSAs and the security personnel who accompany them so that they are better able to intervene and protect commuters?

4. How many transit police are theoretically available per shift to police public transport?

5. Of those, how many are seconded to operations in other branches of SAPOL?

6. Finally, in the past three years has there been any increase in the number of transit police and, if so, by how many?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for her series of important questions and will refer them to the relevant ministers. I think some of the questions might span across portfolio responsibilities, but certainly I will refer the transport-related ones to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy. There may be some police issues that need to be referred.

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