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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-10-19 Daily Xml
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POLICE ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:31): Yesterday, my leader, Isobel Redmond, spoke at the Police Association conference and, in the dying days of the reign of Premier Rann, reflected on his undermining of the public's trust and relationship with its police. I would like to summarise my leader's thoughts.

One of the most damaging impacts of the Rann Labor government is its use of the police as agents of RevenueSA. The opposition is concerned that our police are increasingly being used as tax collectors for the government. Indeed, in September 2010, former treasurer Kevin Foley made this very point about speed fine increases, saying, 'I make no apology. It is a voluntary method of taxation.'

It is not the role of the police to be revenue-raising for a cash-strapped government and, unfortunately, our police officers and the respect for their force is bearing the brunt of this government's revenue-raising priorities. What we want is to have our police seen as leaders within the community, rather than as punishers or tax collectors.

This year the New South Wales Liberal government ordered the Auditor-General to determine the impact of mobile and fixed speed cameras on road safety. One hundred and seventy-two fixed cameras, six mobile cameras and 60 safety cameras were scrutinised. The New South Wales Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat said at the time:

Overall, speed cameras change driver behaviour and improve road safety. Fixed speed cameras reduce crashes and speeding. While the overall impact of speed cameras has been positive, 38 of the 141 fixed speed cameras need to be closely examined as they appear to have no significant road safety benefit. Other road safety measures may be needed for these sites. If a camera is there to improve road safety, RTA (Road and Traffic Authority) must publicly provide the information to support that decision. They need to publicise trends in crashes, revenue and speeding or infringement data for each speed camera.

Following the New South Wales audit, which took just three months, New South Wales roads minister Duncan Gay ordered that 38 speed cameras across the state be switched off immediately. Those cameras were to be relocated to actual black spots where they could genuinely have an impact on road safety. The move brought an end to years of New South Wales Labor Party prioritising revenue-raising over road safety, and I would reflect also undermining the public's relationship with its police.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: They are doing it here.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Indeed; let me tell you about that. Since Labor came to office in South Australia, expiation revenue has seen exponential growth. This has particularly been the case in recent years. In 2005-06, the expiation revenue collected by the government was $50.4 million. In 2009-10, Labor collected $76.3 million from expiations (a greater than 50 per cent increase). This year, the budgeted figure was over $82 million, a further 10 per cent. We need to reassure South Australians that the government and the police are acting in the interests of their safety, not just propping up more Labor mismanagement.

My leader also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the service of SA Police and the service of some officers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. She particularly highlighted the service of Constable Nathan Mulholland, 26 years of age, and Constable Tung Tran, 23 years of age, who both attended a feigned call-out and were shot. Despite serious physical injuries and severe psychological scarring, both officers returned to work within the month. These are heroic young South Australians who have been able to triumph over a frightening and difficult incident and continue to serve their community.

The 2010 Police Officer of the Year award was jointly awarded to Senior Constable Monique Anderson and Senior Constable First Class Ian Skewes. Both of these officers have contributed to their respective communities and remind us of the benefit of having responsible, alert and caring police officers serving throughout our state.

I conclude by reflecting on the fact that South Australia is a relatively safe and creative community. It is that significantly because of the work that the South Australian police force has undertaken to make it so. It is the responsibility of this parliament to give the police the most effective laws that we can and to ensure that we hold our government accountable to fund and appropriately support our police force.

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