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2290 Appropriation (Parliament) Bill; Appropriation Bill 31 Oct 2012 Members, we need to look at what is the bigger agenda that this government is pursuing on this issue. What is the bigger issue? How much will it cost to have this further investigation of the CMC? I think these are real questions that Queenslanders need to ask because, as I stand here, I understand that we still have not got a response from the Attorney-General to the 38 recommendations. (Time expired) Miss BARTON (Broadwater—LNP) (5.51 pm): I do not know what it is this week but I seem to be following the most emotive contributions every single day, and again I am not quite sure how I am going to be able to follow— Mr Hathaway: It is because you are a calming influence. Miss BARTON: I will take that interjection from the member for Townsville. Thank you very much. I will return to the matter at hand, and I do rise today to speak to the report of the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. At this time I would like to put on the record my thanks and gratitude to the chair, the honourable member for Condamine. As a new member of the parliament, it was an unusual experience for me to be a member of an estimates committee— Mr Hopper interjected. Miss BARTON: I will take that interjection from the member for Condamine as well. It was certainly a novel experience, and the great leadership that the member for Condamine demonstrated certainly made the process a lot easier for me and my colleagues. I would also like to put on the record my thanks and gratitude to the committee secretariat. Brook, Kelli, Ali and Gail do a fantastic job for us week in, week out, and we certainly would not have been able to carry off such a fantastic estimates hearing if it were not for the great work that they do. Mr Choat: And Sharon too. Miss BARTON: I will take the interjection from the member for Ipswich West—and Sharon. The estimates hearing for the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee illustrated just how committed the Newman government is to law and order and community safety right across Queensland. We have seen significant funding commitments not only for the legal affairs sector but also for the Department of Community Safety and the police department, particularly on the Gold Coast. I would like to highlight that we have received significant funding with regard to the community safety and police areas. We have received $1.1 million for a Major and Organised Crime Squad, and that particular squad will also incorporate an illegal firearms squad. I know that members of my community in the electorate of Broadwater have been calling out for funding for this kind of organised crime squad for a very long time, and it is nice to be part of a government that is actually listening to what the community wants and offering them real solutions. Whilst I am talking about the funding commitments in terms of the police sector on the Gold Coast, it is also important for me to note that the police minister was able to guarantee $18 million worth of funding over the next four years for the police helicopter on the Gold Coast. I think what is really significant about this $18 million worth of funding is that this $18 million has been funded through savings. This is a clear sign that our government is committed to getting the economy back on track, that we are committed to stopping the economic waste and mismanagement and that we are committed to offering real commitments for the people of Queensland and making sure the dollars we do spend are spent in the right areas and for the right reasons. There was also a significant amount of funding from the Attorney-General. As a woman who studied law, I am particularly pleased to see that the— Mrs Frecklington: Did you study law? Miss BARTON: Yes, I did, member for Nanango. I am particularly pleased to see that the Women’s Legal Service in Brisbane has received funding of $750,000. This will enable them to offer their services right across Queensland. When I was able to ask the Attorney-General further questions about that particular funding, he informed the committee that this funding will mean that not only will we see some more lawyers at the Women’s Legal Service in Brisbane but they will be able to restart their telephone help line which will be of particular benefit for those in rural and regional areas. Whilst I am not from a rural or regional area, I do understand that some of my colleagues from those regional areas will be very appreciative of this funding because it will mean that women who are suffering from family and domestic violence will have someone they can turn to who will be able to talk them through anything they may need. Coincidentally, I was able to go to Bond University just the other day to launch the Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence STEP program. This is a program which is designed to help women through the processes when they have suffered domestic and sexual violence. There was a representative from the Women’s Legal Service there who expressed her deep gratitude to the government for that particular funding.
31 Oct 2012 Appropriation (Parliament) Bill; Appropriation Bill 2291 In the time that is remaining, I think it is important for me to highlight that this government has a plan to get Queensland back on track. As all of my government colleagues have illustrated today, this government is committed to making sure that funds get to the areas where they are needed. We are not going to see economic waste and mismanagement across Queensland. We are committed to ensuring that the state gets back in the black and is able to offer real, common-sense solutions for the people of Queensland and real, revitalised front-line services. Mr BYRNE (Rockhampton—ALP) (5.56 pm): Providing a budget for the police and emergency services is a serious matter. It actually has real life or death implications for members of our community and emergency workers themselves. Therefore, the integrity of the budget requires a serious level of scrutiny, but in my view this was sadly missing from the process. I can say today without doubt that I agreed wholeheartedly with something the Premier said in this House. He stood in here and made a series of comments and statements regarding the appointment of the new Police Commissioner. His effort was only required to redeem the statements made by the minister in a press conference earlier today. It seems that the minister, without a prepared script, is unable to provide appropriate information and messages to those who want to know. Mr Dempsey interjected. Mr BYRNE: Well, this is a fact. You had the Premier come in and sweep up your comments about the police union. Mr Dempsey interjected. Mr BYRNE: It is the truth. That is what happened. The Premier came in here and swept up the mess again. Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Miss Barton): Order! Member for Rockhampton, please direct your comments through the chair. Mr BYRNE: Madam Deputy Speaker, the 2012 estimates for the portfolios of Police and Community Safety can only be characterised as a monotone of prepared scripts designed to comatose the members of the committee. This was a brilliant tactic in many respects that very nearly succeeded. The level of scrutiny of the budget was suboptimal by any measure and raised more questions about the future direction of policing and emergency services than it answered. I will give this example to illustrate my point. In an equivalent time, our good comrade the Attorney-General answered over 200 questions but the police minister managed to get through just over 60. While it may have been a very interesting tactic to limit scrutiny of this slash and burn budget, the public ought to be given a bit more respect and have important questions answered by the minister. If I do not make some sort of stand here today, little by little, inch by inch, all of those opposite will further undermine transparency and erode public confidence in the police and emergency services. So far we have highlighted the reduction in staff members of the CMC and questioned the reduction of investigators and other staff in the police Ethical Standards Command, and this was achieved despite the limiting of scrutiny of the budget at estimates. Mr Dempsey: You just said that you liked the new commissioner and now you’re bagging him. Mr BYRNE: If there is no script there, you do not know. I promise those opposite that I will continue to expose the shortcomings of this government and not for some sort of political point scoring but because I intend to stand up for the public who are being betrayed. I will stand up for police officers, ambos, firies, custodial officers, the SES— Mr Dempsey: You voted against assaults on police. Mr BYRNE: We can talk about that some other time. I will also stand up for the RFS. Unlike those opposite, I will stand up for the young Emergency Services cadets whom those opposite have failed. Some of the delaying tactics used by the minister included answering questions in the most verbose manner using scripted answers for over 10 minutes, interrupting questions from the opposition, answering questions that were not asked, answering questions about the Ambulance Service by answering about Corrective Services and having the commissioner answer the same question just after the minister had answered it. I even helped the minister out a bit with the list of things that we did not have a chance to get to at estimates. Maybe you ought to take some notes about the things that we are going to be asking about in the future such as the loss of staff from the police, ambulance, firies, Rural Fire Service particularly and the SES not just in relation to this budget but also into the future. I have already spoken last night about firearms training and we have not forgotten recruiting.
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