Anthony Roberts
Shadow Minister for Police and Counter-Terrorism
The NSW Liberals and Nationals welcome the Minns Labor Government’s endorsement of key elements of our plan to crack down on organised crime, but today’s announcement falls well short of what is needed to make communities safer.
Just two days ago, the NSW Opposition unveiled a comprehensive package that included tough new offences targeting violence brokers who recruit young people into organised crime, additional funding for the NSW Crime Commission and expanded powers to strip these criminals of their wealth.
There are also questions about how much of today’s announcement is genuinely new funding and how much has already been allocated for technology upgrades announced in previous budgets.
Shadow Minister for Police Anthony Roberts said the Minns Labor Government had delivered only part of the solution.
“The Minns Labor Government has taken elements of our crackdown on gangland violence but delivered less than half the investment,” Mr Roberts said.
“NSW families deserve a government that will stand up to organised crime and back that with the investment required to keep communities safe.”
Mr Roberts said organised crime could not be defeated with IT upgrades alone.
“Organised crime exists to make money, which is why we will properly resource the NSW Crime Commission to strip criminal syndicates of their wealth and dismantle their operations,” Mr Roberts said.
“The Minns Labor Government has also failed to address the decline in police numbers per capita at a time when communities desperately need more officers on the beat, not fewer.”