Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Ellison. Will the minister inform the Senate of Australian government initiatives to address the problem of crime in our communities?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The issue of crime is of course a matter of concern to all Australians. With the Commonwealth’s National Community Crime Prevention Program, we have a $64 million national program which seeks to provide communities with the resources to come up with their own solutions to the problems they have in their midst. This is, after all, where it works—at the grassroots level. I announced today that round 4 of this program will open, and we have invited applications from across a range of areas—the Indigenous stream, the community partnerships stream, the community safety stream and also the security related stream.

When I travel around Australia I see much good work being done by volunteers in relation to crime prevention. We have funded over 172 applications during the life of this program, and it is really fantastic to see the breadth of the work that is being done. Just the other day in Tasmania I saw a fantastic program, the big heart program, dealing with young mothers, many of them single, who are at risk of offending. I spoke to one in particular who said that the program had offered her a new window on her life and that her previous problem with alcohol and offending had ceased and she was able to embark upon a much more constructive life, particularly in relation to her role as a mother. This is an example of community work being done in a very constructive way and just one of the many crime prevention programs that we have funded.

As well as that, we have the security related stream. I have seen firsthand where such things as a closed-circuit television can offer a community a great deal of assurance in relation to crime prevention. That is another aspect of that. The Indigenous program offers many opportunities for people in the community to deal with crime prevention, not only in those remote regional communities but also in our urban areas.

It is no secret that the issue of illicit drugs has great relevance for the rate of crime in this country. The DUMA program, which we administer, tests those people who are arrested. As soon as they are arrested, they are tested and interviewed. Across the 11 major lockups, the statistics are that 42 per cent of those detainees reported that they had used illicit drugs prior to their arrest. In fact, over a third of them attributed illicit drugs—that is, drugs other than alcohol—as the reason for their offending. That is why it is so important that in our grants for community crime prevention we address the issue of illicit drugs.

Forty-one of those grants have gone to diversionary or drug prevention programs, and that is an essential part of crime prevention in this country. Whilst we have a strong approach to law enforcement, and whilst we endorse the actions of Customs, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission in the fight against crime, we also have to look at the other end of the spectrum, and that is crime prevention. This is a national program which is delivering the runs on the board. I urge all senators and members to avail themselves of it and to encourage the take-up of it in their areas.