Canberra Liberals MLA Peter Cain is Shadow Attorney-General.
Upholding justice and promoting community safety is at the heart of good government, yet the ACT justice system has never experienced a period as difficult as this term of the Labor-Greens government.
Under the heat of the national spotlight, Labor and the Greens’ failures in judicial administration were exposed for the nation to see.
Meanwhile, Canberrans continue to suffer the consequences of diminished resourcing for crime prevention and community safety, including the lowest number of police per capita in the country.
Earlier this month, Canberra Liberals Leader, Elizabeth Lee, alongside James Milligan [shadow minister for police] and myself, announced the $60 million ‘Make Our City Safer’ policy package for the upcoming ACT election.
Our package will re-prioritise community safety through boosting our police force, building a stronger justice system, and bringing our laws back into line with community expectations.
The ACT has fallen drastically behind the rest of Australia when it comes to police resourcing.
The ACT has the lowest number of police per capita in Australia, the lowest police funding per capita in Australia, the lowest clearance rates for property crime in Australia, and the lowest satisfaction of people who have had contact with police in Australia.
ACT Policing is over-worked, under-appreciated, and extremely under-funded. Even former ACT Chief Police Officer, Neil Gaughan, previously described demand for ACT police services as “exceeding supply”.
That is why we will deliver an extra 200 police officers over six years, or an extra 74 on top of what the government is offering, along with new and improved police stations across our city.
The stations our police officers and staff work in are not fit for purpose and, in the case of the Civic police station, even falling down around their ears.
The Canberra Liberals are promising to build a standalone police station in Molonglo, $5 million for upgrades to the Woden police station, progress scoping work to determine options to replace the Civic police station, and continue to transition the Gungahlin JESC into a standalone police station.
The police union, the AFP Association, has expressed strong support for these initiatives, describing it as “an excellent law and order package”, which “would allow ACT Policing to plug a lot of holes in the workforce that have arisen due to low numbers of officers”.
Our police are such an important element of the ACT community, and only the Canberra Liberals will genuinely support and appropriately resource those who protect and serve us.
The Canberra Liberals are sending a clear message: we will build a stronger justice system.
Community trust and confidence in the ACT justice system must be restored following the numerous failures of the Labor-Greens government.
Like many in our community, we have been moved by the admirable advocacy of Thomas McLuckie, Andrew Corney and many others who are fed up with the carnage and recklessness on Canberra roads and feel let down by the Labor-Greens government’s ineffectual enforcement.
Which is why we will crack down on dangerous driving by introducing tougher penalties for dangerous and culpable driving offences.
Our Territory’s bail laws need to be fixed too. Being on bail is a privilege, not a right, which is something Labor and the Greens do not understand and has resulted in a ‘revolving door’ of re-offenders committing crime.
The ACT is also the only Australian jurisdiction which does not use electronic ankle monitoring of serious offenders out on bail. This is after years of indecisiveness and inaction on this issue by [Chief Minister] Andrew Barr and [Attorney-General] Shane Rattenbury.
We will introduce a specific offence for breaching bail conditions, amend bail laws to appropriately punish offenders who assault frontline community service providers, and commit to introducing electronic ankle monitoring of serious offenders out on bail once and for all.
The Canberra Liberals will repeal the laws de-criminalising hard drugs like ice and heroin, introduce tougher penalties for ‘coward punch’ attacks to deter violent behaviour, particularly on nights out, and maintain the age of criminal responsibility at 12. Our promise is to re-align our justice system with our community’s expectations.
On October 19th, Canberrans can vote for a new government and community safety should be front of mind for voters.
Labor and the Greens have the worst track record for appropriately resourcing crime prevention and promoting community safety of any government in the nation.
Anti-police bias and misplaced spending priorities have seen fewer resources being devoted to tackling crime, reducing recidivism and boosting public safety.
Every Canberran deserves to feel safe whether they are out in the community or in their own home. Unfortunately, this is not the case at the moment. But it can be.
The Canberra Liberals are offering a fresh opportunity to boost our police force, build a stronger justice system, and make our city safer for all.
