Rural Crime
Page: 969
Mr GEORGE (Lismore) [12.25 p.m.]: I move:
(1) notes that the rural crime working party delivered its recommendations for changes to policy and legislation to the Government 16 months ago in October 2000;
(2) recognises the number of cattle, sheep, tractors, motorbikes, trikes, machinery, drenches etc which have been stolen during this 16 months;
(3) condemns the Government for its failure to address the recommendations of the rural crime working party and its lack of action in the fight against rural crime; and
(4) calls on the Government to urgently release the recommendations of the rural crime working party and to implement policies to counter rural crime in New South Wales.
At the outset might I say that it was 16 or 17 months ago that I raised in this House the Carr Government's non-acceptance at that time of the Rural Crime Working Party's report. It has since been tabled. I now wish to indicate some problems with the report that has been delivered. Stock theft in particular and rural crime generally are major problems. This is a matter of concern to all livestock owners and land-holders in this State. The growing scourge of stock theft is robbing farmers of their livelihoods. In 1989-90 the cost of stock theft in this State was $1.4 million. Given current stock prices, the cost is well in excess of $3 million.
Under the Carr Government the Stock Squad was abolished, with the result that stock theft has been continually on the rise. There has been a spate of serious stock thefts over the past 18 months right across this State. Farmers and primary producers deserve the support of this Parliament and government organisations such as the Police Service to address this problem. The Carr Government has sat on its hands for too long. I had the pleasure of representing the National Party at forums that it conducted throughout the State. As a consequence, we made submissions to the rural crime working party. I would like to express concern at the tardy manner in which the Government is dealing with the recommendations of the working party.
The recommendations address the hunting of feral pigs and goats, and I call on the Carr Government to urgently address those problems. The Wool, Hide and Skin Dealers Act is to be amended to reinforce the powers of the police force to clamp down on stock theft and rural crime. One major issue that must be addressed is stock identification. Unless we have proper means by which to identify livestock, not only in New South Wales but nationally, we will waste our time implementing any stock identification system. Most honourable members would be aware that cases of stock theft taken to the Local Court have been thrown out due to failure to adequately identify stolen livestock. We must have a means of identification that is clear, quick and unquestionable. This will require industry and government working together. It is not up to the Minister on his own to come up with a stock identification system. The industry must work with the Minister and government to come up with a national livestock identification system. I stress the importance of it being a national system.
It has been claimed that producers will need support to implement the measures outlined in my motion. However, suppliers of identification material suggest that costs will naturally decrease if there is a national system. The measures will be affordable for producers. We need to begin implementing an identification scheme as of yesterday, so to speak. The Police Service intends to train rural police officers with a one-week course on the basics of livestock practice and identification. As someone who has been involved in the livestock industry for the major part of a lifetime, I can assure the House that for some matters a 10-year learning period is insufficient. It will not be possible for police officers to learn what they need to know in one week. They may obtain background information in that short period, but rural people know that a one-week course will be insufficient.
Mr Glachan: It is nonsense.
Mr GEORGE: It is total nonsense to suggest that police officers can be totally educated about livestock in a week. As my motion indicates, people who have a rural background need to be recruited to the Police Service so they can handle rural crime. Much fanfare has surrounded the announcement of 32 police officers who will be appointed as rural crime investigators. Once again I make it quite clear to this House that those appointments do not represent an increase in the number of police officers. Thirty-two police officers who have been in the Police Service for some time and who have other tasks to perform are being given extra duties. Sadly, thieves do not stop their activities while crime investigators have a weekend off.
Investigators who are following a lead may find that by the time they come back to work after a weekend off the stock have disappeared—they may have been slaughtered—and the cheques have been made out. I reinforce what has been said about the need for sufficient resources to back up rural crime investigators. To do otherwise would mean that their appointment is just a bandaid solution. The need for a commonsense approach to the provision of stock statements requires serious consideration. I agree that a stock statement is necessary, and on behalf of the National Party I encourage a move towards a national system of livestock statements. Recently it was brought to my attention that as a result of a crackdown on producers who do not have stock permits more checks are being carried out. There are quite large saleyards at Wagga Wagga.
Ms Hodgkinson: And very good saleyards.
Mr GEORGE: They are very good saleyards. Recently a person was telephoned by his agent and informed that he had a dead sheep and two "downers" in the saleyards. He was asked to collect and dispose of them. That is normally done at saleyards. Plenty of people take home animals that are not able to be sold and do the right thing by disposing of them. At Wagga Wagga, the person was pulled up and asked, "Have you got a permit for these three sheep?" He did not have a permit and he ended up with a fine of $150. The penalty notice states that he was fined for moving two live sheep and one dead sheep without a permit. The policy has gone from one extreme to the other. For months in this State there was no control on the movement of stock. If the example I have cited is a sample of the new approach to the implementation of the policy, I deplore it. I ask for commonsense to prevail. The approach exemplified in the incident to which I have referred is unacceptable.
Mr Campbell: Make up your mind—do you want control or do you want no control?
Mr GEORGE: If the honourable member for Keira supports that type of control, he has a lot to learn about the rural way of life.
Mr Newell: You tell us how laissez faire you want us to be.
Mr GEORGE: I look forward to hearing the contribution of the honourable member for Tweed. No doubt, in line with his usual practice, he will make no comment. I will be interested to hear what he has to say about stock theft in the Tweed electorate. The Lismore, Tweed and Clarence electorates have a major stock theft problem. I am pleased that the Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Development, and Minister for Rural Affairs and honourable member for Clarence is at the table. I will be looking for support from the honourable member for Tweed, who has seen fit to interject. I hope he will take part in this debate. I certainly encourage the use of stock statements, but when implementation of the policy goes from one extreme to the other it is hard to accept. In the example I cited the person was merely disposing of animals that were not able to be sold. He was doing so because, under RSPCA conditions applying to saleyards, the owners of stock have to dispose of animals that have died or that are in poor condition. Before honourable members interject, they ought to know the workings of saleyards and the rural industry.
Mr WOODS (Clarence—Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Development, and Minister for Rural Affairs) [12.35 p.m.]: The Government opposes the motion moved by the honourable member for Lismore. I seek leave to table a joint press release headed "Rural Crime Measures" which was issued by the Minister for Police and the New South Wales Farmers Association on 27 February 2002.
Leave granted.
Document tabled.
Mr SLACK-SMITH (Barwon) [12.35 p.m.]: I support the motion moved by the honourable member for Lismore. The incidence of rural stock theft and rural crime is increasing at a very rapid rate throughout New South Wales. It is a multimillion dollar industry run by professionals. New South Wales is the laughing-stock of Australia. In 1998 there were 766 reports of stock stolen in New South Wales, compared to 234 in Queensland. No convictions were recorded in New South Wales, yet Queensland achieved a 40 per cent success rate. The reasons why Queensland has done so well are quite simple. First, Queensland has an identification program. Second, Queensland has a stock squad in the Queensland Police Service. Police officers in the stock squad are active, they have experience, and they have a thorough knowledge of stock and of livestock husbandry. New South Wales has nothing. In spite of that, the Minister for Police has been saying that 32 police officers will be trained in rural crime investigation.
At the Barwon Local Area Command, which is in my electorate, those so-called rural crime investigators have to deal with the highest incidence of stock crime in New South Wales. The area stretches from Pallamallawa north to the Queensland border along to the Newell Highway, and 50 kilometres east and west of Pallamallawa. The police constable who is the so-called rural crime investigator is also in charge of the Pallamallawa police station, which is a sole police officer station and residence. The police officer is also the special weapons instructor in the region. Constable Allan Bridge spends a great deal of time doing his job. He is a very fine police officer. He has great experience, a lot of commonsense and is a very hard worker. However, because he does not have the time, he will not be able to get the rural crime investigation job done. His position is typical of police officers throughout rural New South Wales.
I support the remarks made by the honourable member for Lismore with respect to identification. I am sure that members opposite agree about the need for stock identification in New South Wales. It is amazing that New South Wales is the only State in Australia that does not have any stock identification laws. Producers do not have to earmark, brand, tattoo, or use radiofrequency tags or plastic tags. New South Wales is a Mecca for stock thieves in Australia. Even if a stock thief were charged there would be no way in the world a conviction would result because the stock cannot be positively identified.
Under the current law, the only way livestock can be identified in New South Wales is by the owner proving that the offspring is being mothered by an animal that has the owner's identification. That is the only legal way to establish the identity and ownership of an animal. Rural theft is a huge problem, and it is not confined to livestock. A barrel of chemicals taken out of a shed on a property could be worth $50,000 or $60,000. The theft of chemicals is another example of rural crime. I keep chemicals on my farm under lock and key, but thieves have only to break that lock to take the chemicals that I keep in my storeroom. Thank goodness I have good caretakers and staff on my property.
Theft, which is a huge problem, is occurring across the board. I believe that the fines for stock theft are inadequate. Recently $20,000 worth of goats were stolen from a farm at Inverell. The thieves were given 200 hours of community service. No wonder thieves are willing to take such a risk. I am disgusted that the Carr Labor Government has ignored this problem. The Minister for Police is running around New South Wales making airy-fairy statements. Nothing is being done to prevent crime in rural New South Wales. Crime in that area is increasing. Crime will not stop unless we go back to good old-fashioned policing and we have a stock squad in regional and rural New South Wales.
Mr McGRANE (Dubbo) [12.40 p.m.]: I, like the honourable member for Barwon, support the motion moved by the honourable member for Lismore. As other members have said, theft is a serious problem in regional New South Wales. Earlier today honourable members stood united in their support for the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (General Sentencing Principles) Bill, which was introduced in this House by the honourable member for Northern Tablelands and which was aimed at protecting vulnerable people in our community. This motion is about protecting vulnerable farmers in our community. Thieves in rural New South Wales are professional. Goods are stolen from farms on consignment. Thieves know what they want to steal and they have a market for the goods even before they are stolen.
Professional thieves have no fear of being caught because there is no crime squad and there are too few police officers. The Government said that an additional 32 police officers would be assigned to a crime working party. However, as I understand it, that does not represent an additional 32 police officers. The officers required to fill those positions, which have not yet been funded, will be taken from the police force. The Government said that an additional 32 police officers would assist in preventing crime in rural New South Wales, but if those positions are not funded and there are no back-up vehicles it will not assist in preventing crime. Stock theft is really big business. Thieves may steal 90 head of cattle—which may be valued at $500, $600 or $700 a head. That is a lot of money.
Some 18 months ago a property at Gilgandra in the Tooraweenah area lost 90 head of cattle. Thieves stole the farmer's cattle and portable yards, set them up some distance down the road, loaded the cattle onto trucks and disappeared. Those cattle, which had no means of identification, were probably in saleyards within 24 to 36 hours and then transferred to a meatworks. The farmer said to me, "The thieves erected the portable yards in a much more efficient manner than I have ever been able to do", which just shows how efficient these people are. A truck came onto a property in my electorate, thieves loaded goods onto that truck, the truck bogged down, they telephoned for another truck and then offloaded the goods from the first truck onto the second truck.
Thieves know when farmers leave their properties. They know when someone has gone to town. They ring up their mates and say, "Joe Bloggs is in town. There is no-one on his property." When the farmer comes home he finds that his place has been raided and various things have been stolen. We need a police force that pursues these thieves and brings them to justice. That will not happen unless the police force is adequately funded and more emphasis is placed on preventing crime in rural New South Wales.
Mr WEBB (Monaro) [12.45 p.m.]: I support the motion moved by the honourable member for Lismore, who has an incredible amount of experience in the stock industry in New South Wales. This important motion has been moved in support of agricultural producers in New South Wales. Many people who live in country areas make a valuable contribution to the agricultural industry. It is interesting to note the value of stock that is stolen each year. At present lambs are worth about $148, so thieves would not need too many lambs to make quite a lot of money. A chainsaw, a motorcycle worth over $5,000, fuel, a gate and fencing material have been stolen from my property. That left gaps in the fence which could have resulted in stock escaping onto the road. All honourable members would be aware that farmers are responsible for any stock that are found on the roads.
Every year expensive shearing equipment is stolen from woolsheds at shearing time. Saddlery which was stolen out of tackle sheds was traced to New Zealand and the ring of thieves was apprehended. That problem is compounded because this Government has refused to engage a specialist stock squad and employ additional investigators in the police force. Police already investigate stock and other theft, but that takes some time. As the honourable member for Lismore said earlier, we need experienced police investigators with rural backgrounds who know how to identify goods and produce, and who have an understanding of country issues, rural production, saleyard techniques and the transporting of stock and rural goods. Those officers must be deputised as special constables within the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia to assist them in tracking stolen goods across State borders.
As I said earlier, stock thieves run for cover—sometimes as far as New Zealand—to sell stolen goods. We need an effective stock identification system in New South Wales. I support the suggestion made earlier by the honourable member for Barwon that we have a national stock identification scheme. Compulsory branding and tagging will enable police to track and identify stolen stock. I have heard stories about whole herds of cattle being taken out of a paddock—usually at night—from an absent landlord's property, from a paddock down the road or from a neighbouring property. The honourable member for Dubbo said earlier that in some cases the value of those herds is $90,000.
In one hit, a few truckloads of stock are stolen and taken across the Victorian or Queensland borders, to continue their production for someone else's benefit. This practice must cease. I call on the Government to provide additional police resources, confirm where the stock squad rural crime investigators will be located, and name them. This would give agricultural producers the opportunity to co-operate and communicate with those people and put an end to this dreadful problem. I support the motion and applaud the honourable member for Lismore for moving it.
Mr GEORGE (Lismore) [12.50 p.m.], in reply: I thank the honourable members representing the electorates of Monaro, Barwon and Dubbo for supporting my motion. Their contributions have finally brought home to me that members on this side of the House are the only members who are representing country people. The Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Development, and Minister for Rural Affairs, who represents the seat of Clarence, and the honourable member for Tweed, where rural crime is a serious problem, did not contribute to the debate. The only contribution made by the other side of the House was the issuing of a press release. That shows that Country Labor does not represent country people; the Coalition represents country people.
Country areas need additional police with proper resources. I encourage the Minister to use local people to back up police. I am sure that volunteers with plenty of experience can advise police and assist them with respect to rural crime. The Government's press release refers to on-the-spot fines. However, we need intelligence to back up the on-the-spot fines. For example, a bloke may receive an on-the-spot fine for being on a property illegally and the following week he may receive another on-the-spot fine for being on another property illegally. We need intelligence to show a pattern of such offences. If we do not have such intelligence on-the-spot fines will be a waste of time. I plead with the Government to understand that rural people simply want to be heard. Rural crime is a major problem that is robbing them of their livelihood. As the honourable member for Dubbo said, if 90 head of cattle, at a value of $45,000, are taken from a property tonight a policeman might come out to investigate. Yet, if a city store is broken into tomorrow and 20 video recorders are stolen 10 or 15 police will be on the job looking for the perpetrators.
Mr Glachan: Don't count on that.
Mr GEORGE: The honourable member for Albury says, "Don't count on that." I simply ask the Government to understand that rural crime is a serious problem for country people. The problem must be addressed. It is appalling that 16 months after the tabling of a report by the Rural Crime Committee to the Minister the Government has finally issued a press release on the matter. A proposal relating to livestock identification will go before Cabinet in the near future. It took 16 months to get to this stage—I hope it does not take another 16 months to get to the "near future". If a national identification scheme is not established we will be wasting everyone's time, including that of the police. The establishment of a national identification scheme must be a priority. When the rural crime investigators—whoever they may be—are appointed we will be pleased to know who they are so we can try to work with them. Country members are continually presented with rural crime problems. As the honourable member for Monaro said, even drenches and other items are being stolen from property sheds. We need to tighten up on this issue. The Government has simply issued a press release today, which is an indictment on rural and country people. I am embarrassed to think that that is what the members of Country Labor think of country people.
Question—That the motion be agreed to—put.
The House divided.
Ayes, 36
Mr Armstrong
Mr Barr
Mr Brogden
Mr Collins
Mr Cull
Mr Debnam
Mr George
Mr Glachan
Mr Hartcher
Mr Hazzard
Ms Hodgkinson
Mrs Hopwood
Mr Humpherson | Dr Kernohan
Mr Kerr
Mr Maguire
Mr McGrane
Mr Merton
Ms Moore
Mr Oakeshott
Mr D. L. Page
Mr Piccoli
Mr Richardson
Mr Rozzoli
Ms Seaton
Mrs Skinner | Mr Slack-Smith
Mr Souris
Mr Stoner
Mr Tink
Mr Torbay
Mr J. H. Turner
Mr R. W. Turner
Mr Webb
Tellers,
Mr Fraser
Mr R. H. L. Smith |
Noes, 47
Ms Allan
Mr Amery
Ms Andrews
Mr Aquilina
Mr Ashton
Ms Beamer
Mr Black
Mr Brown
Miss Burton
Mr Campbell
Mr Collier
Mr Crittenden
Mr Debus
Mr Face
Mr Gaudry
Mr Greene | Mrs Grusovin
Ms Harrison
Mr Hickey
Mr Hunter
Mr Iemma
Mr Lynch
Mr Markham
Mr Martin
Mr McManus
Ms Meagher
Ms Megarrity
Mr Mills
Mr Moss
Mr Newell
Ms Nori
Mr Orkopoulos | Mr E. T. Page
Mrs Perry
Mr Price
Ms Saliba
Mr Scully
Mr W. D. Smith
Mr Stewart
Mr Tripodi
Mr Watkins
Mr West
Mr Whelan
Mr Woods
Mr Yeadon
Tellers,
Mr Anderson
Mr Thompson |
Question resolved in the negative.
Motion negatived.