Page 3108 - Week 07 - Thursday, 1 July 2010
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their support for most parts of the motion and their supportive comments on community legal centres generally.
There were some slight differences of opinion as to what the government should be able to commit to in the next 12 months in terms of providing an office accommodation solution. What was agreed to, however, was worth while. We got the agreement of the Assembly to the statement that the government must, firstly, work with CLCs to provide assistance in the coming 12 months and, secondly, consider proposals for improved accommodation in the 2011-12 budget. As I have said, I do not think action without a specific budget line is precluded, and I acknowledge that the Attorney has arranged for senior officials of his department to meet with community legal centres and discuss their issues.
I would also like to talk about the 10 new late night police, funded through this budget, and pick up on some of the welcome news that we got during the estimates hearings. The Greens are concerned to ensure the new police officers are trained to operate as proactively as possible to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence before it happens. What this means in a practical sense is that the new police will need to be encouraged to enter pubs and clubs to observe the sale and consumption of alcohol, as well as talking with licensees to help them understand their obligations.
One way of thinking of that model of policing is the “bar-side” approach, where police are involved in the early stages of the night, where an actual difference can be made. The alternative is to wait until later in the night, when the alcohol has been consumed and for police to deal with the consequences. I guess we consider this the “kerb-side” approach to late night policing, where police wait until patrons are intoxicated and misbehaving out on the streets.
We were pleased to see that the Chief Police Officer confirmed during estimates that the focus of the new police would be on prevention. He agreed that he wanted to ensure that he was not “just throwing additional beat police at the problem”. The Greens support this approach to try and tackle late night violence. The only option we have to make headway in reducing late night violence is to use these sorts of evidence-based strategies—ones that are formed on the basis of experience—to make our night-life safer and more vibrant.
The 10 new late night police are also dependent on the Liquor Bill, to be debated later this year in the Assembly. The Greens will support those elements of the bill that are backed by strong evidence. To be clear, we think the late night police are one such evidence of supported policy. The late night police will be funded from a risk-based licensing regime that places higher fees on higher risk pubs and clubs. This is based on evidence that factors such as trading hours do influence the level of violence. By making higher risk venues pay their way, more late night police can be funded and, so long as they are well targeted police teams that act to prevent violence, that is a sound policy initiative. The Greens contrast this type of policy with ones such as lockouts, which are not backed by clear evidence that they reduce late night violence. The evidence is far from clear, and the Greens will not support those elements where the jury remains out on their efficacy.
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