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- 25 May 2005
North Coast Policing Resources
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Page: 16104
The Hon MICHAEL GALLACHER (Leader of the Opposition) [5.38 p.m.]: Last week I travelled to the North Coast following representations by the honourable member for Lismore, the honourable member for Ballina, the honourable member for Clarence and the honourable member for Oxley to visit their electorates and meet with local people concerned about policing resources in that region. I saw members of the police force trying to do their best to spread the thin blue line as far as possible whilst the Government and the senior echelons of the force continued to ignore their pleas for help.
As I toured the North Coast the first thing that struck me was the lack of a visible police presence along the Pacific Highway. During my entire trip, which totalled over 2,000 kilometres, I saw only two police vehicles patrolling the highway. I have no doubt that the rosters look good on paper but listening to police on the North Coast has taught me just how tough their job is. For most of us the North Coast is our holiday destination, but for police this region is anything but a holiday destination. Huge increases in population over the past 10 years, improvements to the Pacific Highway and advances in tourism have resulted in an explosion of their workload in this area. However, there has been no such explosion in policing resources.
In addition, in these areas substantial numbers of officers are on long term sick report, with no replacement personnel to fill the gap. As a result the remaining officers must carry an even greater workload. I have visited many of these police stations in the past 20 years. The Kempsey police station building, for example, is riddled with cracks that one can literally put one's finger in and conditions are cramped. The future gaol is guaranteed to increase the stress on police, with no little talk of improvement in the near future.
At Macksville I attended a full meeting of the Nambucca Shire Council that had been called to discuss local policing problems. What I heard there was nothing short of a disgrace. Police are continually forced back to work on their days off because of the workload and lack of police. This has had a significant impact on both their personal and their professional lives. I heard also about police being directed to work in the Coffs Harbour court district instead of nearby Kempsey, resulting in officers constantly being stripped from the region and from their communities, and being forced to drive to Coffs Harbour and back when escorting prisoners to court. The local population has grown by more than 1,500 in recent years while police numbers have increased by two—and one of them is a part-time shared position. The area covers more than 1,400 square kilometres and a shocking stretch of the Pacific Highway runs through it but, surprisingly, neither Nambucca Heads nor Macksville have 24-hour police stations. Is it any wonder that 12 police in this area have gone on stress leave in the past 10 years?
But Kempsey station is not the only station that no longer meets the demands of the local community or the police. I was appalled to see the Casino police demountable building comprising the detectives' office and the station meal room—which doubles as a sauna for police in the summer months. I also met with Police Association representatives from the lower Clarence River area, including from Iluka, Yamba and Maclean. Everyone in this Chamber will be familiar with these areas and know of the growth that has occurred there in recent times. Twelve officers in that region are doing their best to provide a safe and secure community in which to live. Two of the officers are now on sick leave, and that makes the job much harder for those who remain. When we consider that nine ambulance officers serve Yamba and Maclean, we start to realise how outnumbered the police are on this part of the coast.
During my journey I spoke to many police—despite Government attempts to threaten officers and warn them against meeting me as to do so would contravene protocol. Many officers in this area have had enough. They are calling out for help, and no threats by staff of the Minister for Police, police headquarters or anybody else will deter them. These police do not want the world. All they are asking is that the promised staffing review be carried out as a matter of urgency and that local rank and file police be involved in the process. They believe such a review will substantiate, once and for all, their claims that they are totally overworked and understaffed.
I have been told that the file currently sits with the manager of workforce planning within NSW Police, who, for whatever reason, is yet to commence the inquiry. I foreshadow tonight that this might make a very interesting line of inquiry during the forthcoming round of estimates committee meetings. Of course, the opportunity to question the manager of workforce planning will give members a chance to examine police resources across the State. However, I am truly hopeful that the long-awaited review of North Coast electorates, which will include Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Ballina and Lismore, will commence before the estimates hearings begin. I intentionally did not mention Tweed Heads. I will return to that area in the future, and I look forward to raising more matters in regard to it.
I call on the Minister for Police—irrespective of whether he assumes the leadership of the Australian Labor Party during the forthcoming parliamentary recess—to visit police in the centres that I have mentioned. He should not listen to the yes-men who surround him but go and see for himself. There is a serious problem in this area that he must address now.
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