Page 3366 - Week 11 - Thursday, 11 November 2021
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The ACT government has worked closely with ACT Policing to ensure that our police force is adequately resourced to respond to emerging crime trends, prioritising ACT Policing’s organisational needs as well. For example, in 2010-11 the government funded 16 additional police officers for liquor reforms and to establish an automated numberplate recognition team. In 2011-12 ACT Policing received funding for additional officers and equipment to enhance traffic operations to introduce random roadside drug testing, as well as staff to support the COAG security industry reforms.
In 2013-14 ACT Policing’s road safety team was expanded by eight FTE and additional vehicles were funded to improve road safety outcomes. In 2015-16 the ACT government increased ACT Policing’s baseline funding for enabling services provided by the broader AFP across the areas of financial and commercial ACT operations, IT operations, legal, human resources and forensics.
In 2016-17 ACT Policing received funding specifically to support victims of family and domestic violence as part of the ACT government’s Safer Families budget announcement. This was in addition to increasing the capacity for Taskforce Nemesis to combat organised crime.
In more recent years, we injected almost $34 million into ACT Policing to begin the police service model and support an additional 60 staff. I also draw members’ attention to the evidence provided by the Chief Police Officer at estimates hearings earlier in the year where he outlined the need to take care when comparing police numbers with other jurisdictions, particularly given our relatively small urban footprint.
Business—support
MS CASTLEY (Yerrabi) (3.45): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes that over 1800 establishments make up Canberra’s core night-time economy, employing 31 000 Canberrans and generating $3.35 million in sales turnover in 2019-20 (Council of Capital City Lord Mayors 2021);
(2) further notes:
(a) the 2021 lockdown in the ACT has had and, will continue to have, a long-term impact on all local businesses, but particularly hospitality businesses; and
(b) businesses have been let down by the ACT Government, with delays to emergency support payments during lockdown leaving Canberra’s businesses struggling to survive; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to encourage more Canberrans into town centres by making:
(a) ACT Government parking in all ACT town centres free after 6 pm and on weekends until March 2022; and
(b) all public transport free after 6 pm and on weekends until March 2022.
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