Mr PETER DRAPER (Tamworth) [11.57 a.m.]: Respect and responsibility are two very important fabrics of our community that sadly appear to be treated with less deference than I seem to remember. Our small rural communities, towns and regional centres are experiencing the effects of this phenomenon, similar to the large coastal metropolitan areas, often with their own particular socioeconomic causes. The media have never-ending revelations of antisocial behaviour, from property crime to sexual and domestic violence, and alcohol-fuelled crime, all painting pictures of a society none of us can feel proud of. Respect is something that has to be earned by each individual in our society, but unfortunately there are many who, in many instances due to socioeconomic circumstances, have little self-esteem and as a consequence little respect for generally accepted community standards. In many cases simple desperation compounds the situation. Until we address these issues we will see a continuing decline in the standards of the world we live in.

Each and every one of us should have to accept responsibility for our actions. In order to be a responsible society we have to acknowledge that because of the socioeconomic differences some need more support than others to achieve that goal. As a responsible society we must draw a line in the sand as to where an individual must recognise that they have overstepped the mark and they must face up to their responsibilities. There has been a sceptical community response to recent changes that result in police issuing on-the-spot fines for a raft of offences that reasonable people regard as antisocial behaviour. I can see many benefits in freeing up police manpower from copious amounts of paper work and court attendance time in order to provide more front-line policing. To ensure that such a system works and, more importantly, that it gains public confidence, it is imperative that the system has triggers. It is no use handing out fines to habitual offenders, and I think it is fair to simply question how many will in fact finance the payment. There must be a limit to the number of such infringements issued before the offender has to face more serious consequences through the judicial process.
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Our police service has one of the most important roles to play in maintaining the acceptable standards that the community demands. To fulfil this role they must be adequately resourced and supported by other agencies dealing with the social and economic circumstances that determine the situation we are trying to deal with. Police are not and should not be social workers. The two must complement each other to reach the desired outcomes. For example, we have unacceptably high levels of domestic violence. In many instances police are returning to the scene of the crime night after night. We reach a point where medical treatment must become a mandatory part of a package designed to assist habitual offenders reform their behaviour, and where the justice system and social support work hand-in-hand to deliver these outcomes. However many police cannot properly play their part in such a system when many local area commands do not have a domestic violence officer and the system in fact pays little more than lip-service to alcohol fuelled domestic and sexual abuse. Additionally, in many Aboriginal communities juvenile crime is a huge issue and is often centred in communities that face problems based on low self-esteem. Adequate funding and resources must be provided to deal with this issue head on and to increase police specialist and professional skills.

All of these issues revolve around allocation of resources. The one-hat-fits-all approach to policing will not satisfactorily meet individual community expectations. In the allocation of resources rural and regional police commands have different needs to metropolitan centres of population. As such the police service could well benefit from the appointment of a deputy commissioner to the commissioner's executive team to equally represent the position of country local area commands. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find officers who want to work in our one-man police stations. Tambar Springs has been vacant for a great length of time now. It is imperative that some sort of incentive scheme or assistance is provided to make talented people want to go and live in these small communities.

In our towns and regional centres investment in late night public transport would save millions in violence and vandalism and free up the police resources and support the great work of the local alcohol industry accords. Towns such as Werris Creek and Quirindi share six officers. If two are sick and somebody is away on professional courses 50 per cent of the resources are lost. I would like to know whether the police service has ever carried out a review of the front-line operational needs of our local commands? If they have what are the outcomes, findings and recommendations? We need to improve high visibility policing to complement first-response policing. In Tamworth we are very lucky to have police on bicycles and horses. Whilst they are welcome, they could always do with more resources. Everything comes down to responsibility and respect.