Thursday, 6 March 2025

 Kim WELLS (Rowville) (09:59): This statement condemns the Allan Labor government for continuing to falsely state that the Liberal–Nationals coalition never funded a single additional police officer during its period in government of 2010–14. The claims made by Labor are blatantly wrong. The facts are undeniable. At the 2010 state election the Liberal–Nationals committed to 1700 police numbers and funding along with 940 PSOs. By the time the Liberal–Nationals coalition came to government in December 2010 and the lead-up to the first budget, the budget funding envelope supposedly left by the previous Labor government within its forward estimates had all but evaporated as part of the fiscal mess left by Labor. It needs to be highlighted that it was a bigger financial hit than what occurred following the 2008 global financial crisis. This comprised around $6.1 billion in GST and state distribution share writedowns and $1.5 billion from reductions in state-owned revenue sources. Despite the fiscal challenges, the Liberal–Nationals coalition succeeded in building the required new budget capacity to fund and eventually overdeliver on its police promises. By December 2014 we had delivered 1975 police and 1020 PSOs – that is, 80 more than promised.