Page 1310 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 April 2019
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Put simply, the ACT government is expecting our police officers to do more with less and less. It was made abundantly clear in the 2013-14 ACT budget when, as Treasurer, the current Chief Minister ripped $15 million out of ACT Policing. The Canberra Liberals warned that these cuts would lead to job losses and a smaller police force. The AFPA, the Australian Federal Police Association, warned the same. The government believes, perhaps, that if it tells a lie often enough it will become the truth. The then police minister, Ms J Burch, gave assurances that the cuts would not impact on front-line policing. She said:
There is no intention to cut from front-line policing staff … I can assure the people of Canberra that front-line policing services will not be affected by the general savings measures being implemented across ACT Policing.
When the impacts of these cuts were being felt in 2015, the then police minister, Simon Corbell, assured the public that stripping $15 million from ACT Policing would not lead to any personnel cuts. He told ABC News:
The Australian Federal Police Association are being alarmist.
Minister Corbell was pretty good at shooting the messenger. He said:
The Government does not have plans to reduce police numbers in that way.
He said:
We do not expect any reduction in the level of policing … ACT Policing has a very large budget.
Fast forward to today and we are 75 front-line officers down and we have a smaller front line than at any time in a decade. The government’s ongoing cuts to ACT Policing have led to job number losses. It was as clear as day in 2013, it was as clear as day in 2015 and it is as clear as day now.
This is supported by the latest Report on Government Services, released in January. The latest Report on Government Services data shows that the ACT has the smallest per capita police force in the country. At 205 per 100,000 people, the ACT is far behind Victoria’s 290 officers per 100,000, Queensland’s 288 officers per 100,000 and South Australia’s 308 officers per 100,000. Even the second lowest jurisdiction for police force per capita, New South Wales, has a much higher 237 officers per 100,000. Just to get to the New South Wales level of police staffing, the second lowest in the country, we would need over 100 more police officers in ACT Policing. Clearly, there is much more that the government should be doing, and should have been doing for the last decade.
ACT Policing officers are our best and bravest people. They are the ones on the front line, protecting the community day in and day out. Despite the hugely important role that these front-line officers have in our community, the government has not appropriately prioritised them. Instead, the government seems more focused on other pet projects. It is appalling to think that the government happily and actively seeks to
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