Piccolo must address concerns about SAPOL restructure

Embattled Minister Tony Piccolo must address concerns raised by the Police Association of South Australia over a planned restructure of SAPOL.

A planned restructure of SA Police, which has come under fire from the Police Association, must not be hijacked by the Weatherill Labor Government's Police budget cuts, according to the State Liberals.

"Any restructure of police must be focused on improving operational outcomes for better public safety, not on cost-cutting," said Shadow Police Minister John Gardner.

Mr GARDNER ( Morialta ) ( 14:21 ): I note that other speakers have spoken at length about the incredible contribution that Trevor Griffin made to the legislative framework as Attorney-General. I want to spend a little bit more time talking about his incredible contribution to the Liberal Party over a number of decades, but I do note that Trevor Griffin would almost certainly hold the record as an Attorney-General who served the people South Australia in four decades: the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and 2000s. With all due respect, I hope that that is a record that is not met any time soon.

Mr GARDNER ( Morialta ) ( 15:56 ): Last week, I was undertaking a speech to recognise the winners of the Morialta Citizenship Award last year, and I did not have the opportunity to identify the achievements of all of them; I do take the opportunity now to conclude these remarks.

The State Liberals have introduced amendments to strengthen the Weatherill Labor Government's Extended Supervision Orders (ESO) legislation in Parliament this week.

The Government has introduced a Bill to create Extended Supervision Orders, whereby certain offenders considered to be at a high risk of re-offending have supervision orders placed on them at the conclusion of their sentence.

The State Liberals have welcomed the appointment of Deputy Police Commissioner Grant Stevens as South Australia's new Police Commissioner.

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (12:56): I am very pleased to speak on this motion acknowledging the continuing work of the Down Syndrome Society of South Australia and Down Syndrome International on the 10th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day. I do so for three primary reasons. As shadow disability minister for a period of time, I particularly appreciated the engagements and interactions I had with the Down Syndrome Society of South Australia. I know they work very hard to deliver services and assistance to children with Down syndrome as well as families of children with Down syndrome and, indeed, adults with Down syndrome. They provide services and effective advocacy on behalf of that group.

The Weatherill Labor Government's refusal to admit that it will not meet its "Recruit 300" election promise was ridiculed today in Parliament, with comparisons made to Monty Python's sketch in which the shopkeeper maintains that the dead parrot is alive despite all evidence to the contrary.

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (14:30): My question is to the Minister for Police. Will the government meet its commitment taken to the last two elections to deliver an extra 313 sworn police officers over and above the 2010 numbers?

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (15:18): My question is to the Attorney-General. Does the Attorney-General believe that crime will rise as a result of closing police stations?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform) (15:19): It's a very, very general, almost philosophical proposition. It's the sort of proposition one would expect to get in debating, where three people would be asked to say, yes, it will get worse, and three people will be asked to say, no, it won't.