South-Eastern Metropolitan Region
Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:47): (1150) My question is to the Minister for Police, and I ask: is the government considering the use of water cannons for crowd control at demonstrations as called for by former police chief commissioner Kel Glare? The respect for police has been lost in this state, as further evidenced after an anonymous collective, alleged to be a pro-Palestinian group of protesters, squared off with police outside a weapons manufacturer in my electorate in the south-eastern suburbs. More than 70 protesters wearing masks, goggles and headscarves were forced back by mounted police after swarming outside AW Bell in Dandenong South in August. Water cannons have been used to control badly behaved and unruly demonstrators at rallies, and water cannons are actually going to save the taxpayer $20 million as they are only $10 million and it cost $30 million at that rally to control the people. So we ask whether the minister is actually considering the use of water cannons.