Fairfield Local Area Command Multicultural Liaison Officers

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-99068

Hansard session: Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session (56-1)

Fairfield Local Area Command Multicultural Liaison Officers

Mr GUY ZANGARI (Fairfield) (12:51:07):

I move:

That this House:

(1)Congratulates the Fairfield Local Area Command [LAC] for bringing the "Coffee with a Cop" initiative to New South Wales.

(2)Commends the Fairfield LAC for its ongoing commitment to community engagement.

(3)Acknowledges that the Fairfield Local Government Area is multiculturally diverse.

(4)Notes that currently there is one Multicultural Community Liaison Officer in the Fairfield LAC.

(5)Calls on the Minister for Police to support the addition of two extra Multicultural Community Liaison Officers to meet the needs of the area.

Business Paper

First, I acknowledge the tremendous efforts of every officer in the Fairfield Local Area Command. They give their all to keep our communities safe throughout the year. Since placing this motion on the , I am pleased to advise that the Fairfield Local Area Command has received an additional multicultural community liaison officer [MCLO], which brings it to the grand total of two in our area. That is a positive step. The role of the MCLO is incredibly diverse, as is the community in which they serve. The Minister and I have had discussions about the importance of MCLOs in our communities and he, too, shares my sentiments and understands the vital role they play in culturally diverse areas.

I am sure the Minister would agree that it would be great if such diverse communities could have an additional 10 MCLOs because they are an amazing asset to local area commands and to the communities they serve. MCLOs throughout New South Wales work with communities and police to strengthen the links and lines of communication between the NSW Police Force and our culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Recently there has been much media attention about Fairfield's humanitarian intake of refugees. Thousands of refugees have settled into the Fairfield, Cabramatta and Prospect electorates, which brings significant challenges. An increase in MCLOs in the Fairfield command would greatly assist in the settlement of refugees.

I note also how incredibly lucky we are in Fairfield to have such cultural diversity within the ranks of the LAC. It is one of our strengths. The flow-on effect is an array of linguistic services available to our frontline officers to assist them in engaging and liaising with our diverse community. It will come as no surprise to anyone who has heard me speak of my local area command that it is a strong believer in the importance of community engagement. It remains committed to maintaining an open dialogue between local officers and the community, and we support the "We Are You" campaign rolled out by Superintendent Peter Lennon.

In addition to ongoing community engagement through the MCLOs, the local area command runs a monthly Coffee with a Cop initiative that aims to promote policing in the area, to engage with local residents, to gather information and to build further upon the trust between the local Police Force and the surrounding community. These incredibly successful events are held in the electorates of Fairfield, Cabramatta and Prospect, and the initiative has received a positive reception from residents in all three electorates that are served by the Fairfield Local Area Command. To those members who have not previously attended a Coffee with a Cop event, they are exactly that—an event where individuals from all walks of life engage with their local law enforcement officers and often simply have an informal yarn about what is going on in their area.

A good cuppa is always on hand at a Coffee with a Cop event. This initiative has helped to elevate the level of trust within the community while helping to provide police with on-the-ground information from the community's perspective. This is so important. Informal discussion between residents and police officers is a key contributor to the success of Coffee with a Cop, and I hope this trend continues to grow, not only locally but also throughout the State. Indeed, I am happy to say that local area commands in many electorates have now adopted the Coffee with a Cop initiative, which is a sensational initiative that originated from the Fairfield Local Area Command.

Before I conclude, I offer my sincere appreciation and thanks to the dedicated men and women at the Fairfield Local Area Command for all their hard work. They always go above and beyond to engage with our local community. I commend and thank Superintendent Peter Lennon and Superintendent Wayne Murray of Cabramatta Local Area Command for their dedication and commitment to our communities and their ongoing support for the men and women in blue, who give us wonderful service each and every day. As I said, our area is uniquely diverse. Having the humanitarian intake of refugees creates its challenges, and one of the challenges facing police is getting the message across to those people that police are there for them.

Many of these people have come from backgrounds where police, members of Parliament and government officials are treated with suspicion. We know that is not the case here in New South Wales. Initiatives such as Coffee with a Cop, as well as having an array of talented multicultural community liaison officers, are important in breaking down those barriers. That is what is happening in the Fairfield Local Area Command. The member for Prospect, the member for Cabramatta and I are very proud of those police officers. I look forward to hearing Government members speak in the debate. I know the member for Seven Hills, a former police officer, will speak. I look forward to his comments about MCLOs and the Coffee with a Cop initiative.

Mr MARK TAYLOR (Seven Hills) (12:58:25):

It is a pleasure to make a contribution. I thank the member for Fairfield for recognising the important work of our hardworking and dedicated men and women of the NSW Police Force. I note his comments about his own local area command and his strong support for those police. I am sure they are glad to hear that support. In light of some updated information since the member for Fairfield gave notice of his motion, I move that the motion be amended as follows:

That the motion be amended by leaving out paragraph (5) and inserting instead:

"(5)Congratulates Police Commissioner Michael Fuller, APM, on doubling the number of Multicultural Community Liaison Officers in the Fairfield LAC during 2017 from one officer to two officers."

Since its creation in 1862, the NSW Police Force has fostered a tradition of interaction with local communities in a variety of ways in order to promote and to preserve harmony. Members are well aware of the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity of the communities scattered throughout the 93 State electorates that encompass 76 local area commands [LACs]. During its 155 years of existence the NSW Police Force and its outstanding officers and unsworn staff have developed numerous strategies to engage with our local communities, including working in partnership with community members.

As part of this engagement, specific NSW Police Force positions, programs and bodies have been established, including community safety precinct committees, Neighbourhood Watch groups, police officers assigned to Police Citizens Youth Clubs [PCYCs], youth liaison officers [YLOs], Aboriginal community liaison officers [ACLOs] and multicultural community liaison officers [MCLOs]. I understand that 33 multicultural community liaison officers are employed by the NSW Police Force across 25 local area commands to work with communities and police officers to strengthen links in our communities. They also facilitate communication between police and culturally diverse communities.

An important trait of being a successful MCLO is to have real-life experience and skills, such as the ability to speak another language and to recognise and respond to the cultural differences within our communities. MCLOs must be able to talk to the wide variety of people they encounter each day. They liaise with a variety of cultures to close the gaps between the police and the community. The MCLOs are assisted by the cultural diversity team, which manages the NSW Police Force cultural diversity training. NSW Police Force community engagement guidelines encourage police to prioritise engagement strategies at a leadership level, to know the local area, to plan strategies to fit local communities and to execute formal engagement strategies.

The Police Multicultural Advisory Council [PMAC] assists the NSW Police Force to identify significant issues and facilitates partnerships between police and non-Aboriginal communities from diverse cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds with the aim of reducing crime and antisocial behaviour. The objectives of the council is to inform the NSW Police Force's approach and priorities with respect to delivering culturally responsive policing services across New South Wales; to identify significant emerging issues; to lead and facilitate partnerships between police and other communities; and to facilitate open, direct and two-way communication between the NSW Police Force executive and external stakeholders.

The NSW Police Force works hard to interact with local communities in a variety of ways. As mentioned by the member for Fairfield, these include opportunities to interact, such as Coffee with a Cop; attending community open days; and participating in major community events such as shows, Australia Day events and community street parties. Coffee with a Cop is a relatively recent successful community engagement initiative. I am told that this year the state-wide Coffee with a Cop day saw 87 events held across 73 local area commands. The member for Fairfield spoke about the importance of police engaging with all sectors of the community. There is no doubt about that. Community policing relies heavily on maintaining trust. When trust is built by the excellent NSW Police Force it instils a sense of personal safety, improves two-way information flow between the police and the community, and builds a strong community.

The frontline men and women of the NSW Police Force are building those relationships every day, whether it be through multicultural community liaison officers, Aboriginal community liaison officers, or the beat police walking the streets, patrolling the railway station or walking through the shopping centre speaking to the community. Those are the types of activities that build a strong community and generate an atmosphere that allows the police to do their job. It is a job they do on the streets with bravery—protecting us, our property, our loved ones and our extended family throughout the community. I thank the member for Fairfield for moving this motion.

Dr HUGH McDERMOTT (Prospect) (13:05:21):

I support the motion moved by the member for Fairfield and the amendment moved by the member for Seven Hills. This is an apolitical issue. It is about acknowledging the fantastic work that the Fairfield Local Area Command [LAC] does in our electorates of Prospect, Fairfield and Cabramatta. The Fairfield LAC works closely with the Holroyd Local Area Command and the Cabramatta Local Area Command further south. I am pleased with the amendment moved by the member for Seven Hills because it indicates that Commissioner of Police Mick Fuller and Minister Troy Grant have been listening to the community.

The member for Fairfield touched on the rich multicultural experience in the Fairfield Local Area Command and in my electorate of Prospect. It is vital to have community liaison officers with an ethnic background that reflects the community, and that is what we have. The Fairfield LAC is staffed by officers who are dedicated and who work hard for the community. Many of them live in the community and have close personal relationships and family members in the area. As a result of those community ties they exhibit a unique dedication that is wonderful to witness. I have spoken with the general duties officers, detectives, community liaison officers and unsworn staff at Fairfield and Wetherill Park police stations. They do a great job.

Wetherill Park police station is a small station within the electorate of Prospect that works closely with local communities near Stocklands. There are disabled groups and various ethnic communities such as Syrian, northern Iraqi, Italian and Islander. On a daily basis members of the local area command work with youth in high schools. The Wetherill Park Rotary Club works closely with the youth liaison officers to help youth who might be falling off the wagon and who need help and support to rebuild their lives. The Fairfield LAC also shows leadership in this area. I congratulate Superintendent Peter Lennon of the Fairfield LAC. He is a dedicated individual. No matter what time of day it is, if I am dealing with a police-related issue he will pick up the phone. The local area commanders in Blacktown and Holroyd are also dedicated. They act on any request we put to them.

I look forward to continuing to work with the Fairfield LAC. A number of its officers who deal with local schools and traffic issues have talked to me about presenting new legislation to Parliament to ensure the safety of children. We will be working on that over the next few months. I thank the Fairfield LAC and the NSW Police Force for protecting our community.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (13:09:44):

I thank the member for Fairfield for the opportunity to talk about the great work performed by the NSW Police Force not only in Fairfield but also across New South Wales. I endorse the amendment moved by my colleague the member for Seven Hills to paragraph (5) of the motion moved by the member for Fairfield. I commend the NSW Police Force for its work, particularly multicultural community liaison officers [MCLOs], who are helping to help strengthen links and to encourage communication between police and our culturally diverse communities. Many of the communities in my electorate, such as Hurstville, are culturally diverse. In fact, it is fair to say that St George has the highest number of people with a Chinese background. I thank the New South Wales Commissioner of Police, Michael Fuller, APM, and his officers for their work.

Following recruitment action taken over the past few months, the Fairfield community is now well served by two multicultural community liaison officers. As many of my colleagues will agree, we live in a culturally rich and diverse State, and we have a broad range of languages and traditions in our cities, suburbs and towns. I am sure we also agree that the NSW Police Force performs the difficult task of reducing crime and violence as well as improving public safety. Police continue to work closely with key community members and leaders and use a number of different strategies to engage with culturally diverse communities across New South Wales. I am advised that the NSW Police Force currently employs 33 civilian MCLOs across 25 local area commands to meet the increasing demand of demographic changes. As a councillor on Kogarah City Council and then as the member for Oatley for the past seven years, I have worked closely with the local area commands in our community, and particularly with MCLOs, who have done an outstanding job not only in reducing crime but also being a sounding board and providing education to many of the communities in my electorate.

The NSW Police Force, through the employment of MCLOs, is working hard to establish ties with community groups and members of the public to reduce crime and reoffending. The presence of MCLOs offers me and the community an assurance that all members from culturally diverse backgrounds who attend police stations will be provided with assistance and support, whether they are victims, offenders or witnesses. MCLOs help communities to understand their rights and responsibilities when in contact with the police and can help explain what police do to respond to and to manage crime and community safety. They ensure communities are offered access to policing services that are culturally and linguistically sensitive and appropriate. I thank the member for Fairfield for moving this motion. Members are on a unity ticket on this issue. I support the motion.

Mr NICK LALICH (Cabramatta) (13:13:36):

I speak on the motion moved by the member for Fairfield relating to Fairfield multicultural community liaison officers. I commend the member for raising this matter in the House. We all know that our service men and women in New South Wales do a fantastic job to keep us safe each day. But we do not pay enough tribute to the hardworking civilians and volunteer staff who support our police on the job. The multicultural community liaison officers play a vital role in culturally diverse communities such as Cabramatta, Fairfield and Prospect. They assist police with their day-to-day work and build strong relationships with the community. We are fortunate to have three multicultural community liaison officers at the Cabramatta Local Area Command [LAC], who work primarily with our Asian communities. Phiny Yung speaks Khmer and works with the Cambodian community, Quynh Truong works with the local Vietnamese community, and Nina Long works with the Lao and Thai communities. The Cabramatta communities are blessed to have these three community liaison officers who, over time, have built up trust between our local police and the community.

The Fairfield Local Area Command is famously diverse. Having multicultural community liaison officers throughout Fairfield is a no-brainer. A cultural difference exists in multicultural communities when it comes to dealing with police. A large number of migrant families and people of non-English speaking backgrounds come from countries where it was neither safe nor wise to have relationships with police because of the high levels of corruption, abuse and misuse of power, or political instability. Therefore, it is important that our police make an effort to change that mindset and show our communities that we are partners in fighting crime, and that our police can be trusted and will look after our interests and the interests of our families.

I commend Fairfield Local Area Commander Peter Lennon for introducing the Coffee with a Cop initiative to New South Wales. I extend my thanks to Cabramatta Local Area Commander Wayne Murray for also taking up this great initiative. The initiative aims to further break down barriers between communities and their local police. When this event is held each year in our cities, hundreds of people attend to have a coffee with a cop. It is great to see that, no matter what community they come from, they speak not only to State members of Parliament but also to police. Together with the member for Fairfield and the member for Prospect, I am happy to support this initiative every year.

While there is an element of distrust in certain communities towards police because of cultural backgrounds and former experiences overseas, it is important that initiatives like this are implemented. With the growing number of new and emerging communities in New South Wales as well as people from refugee backgrounds, there has never been a more important time for us to back in our multicultural community liaison officers. I pay tribute to them for their hard work and commitment to keeping New South Wales safe, whether they be in the Cabramatta LAC, the North Shore LAC, the Mount Druitt LAC or the Eastern Beaches LAC. I thank them for helping keep our communities safe.

Mr CHRIS PATTERSON (Camden) (13:17:28):

I am happy to say that although the member for Fairfield had a dig at me yesterday we have since reconciled.

Ms Kate Washington:

Because there have been no digs towards him from that side!

Mr CHRIS PATTERSON:

Not from the member for Camden. This is an opportunity to inform the House about the NSW Police Force. The Camden Local Area Command [LAC] does an outstanding job, led by Ward Hanson. Although we are discussing the motion moved by the member for Fairfield—to which the member for Seven Hills moved an amendment, which I wholeheartedly endorse—I acknowledge the men and women of the Camden LAC for doing a wonderful job. The Fairfield community is now well served by two multicultural community liaison officers. A significant part of their ongoing work is backing up police officers in the important strategy used in Fairfield, "We Are You". When talking about "We Are You" earlier this year, Fairfield Local Area Commander Superintendent Peter Lennon stated:

We, the police, are part of the community. We work here, we live here, we shop here, our children go to school here. The safety of the community is a shared goal and we want to work towards it together.

That is reminiscent of the Camden LAC and could have easily been a quote from Ward Hanson.

Mr Guy Zangari:

We are you.

Mr CHRIS PATTERSON:

That is correct. The Fairfield MCLOs are part of a group of some 33 MCLOs in 25 local area commands throughout the State. What are those commands? They are: Bankstown, Blacktown, Burwood, Cabramatta, Campbelltown, Ashfield, Macquarie Fields, Eastwood, Auburn, Liverpool, Merrylands, Hornsby, Mount Druitt, Campsie, Green Valley, Granville, City Central—

Mr Guy Zangari:

Doors closing.

Mr CHRIS PATTERSON:

Doors closing. There is also Wollongong, Kogarah, Hurstville, Parramatta, Dee Why, Manly, Marrickville and Chatswood. The 33 MCLOs located in 25 local area commands are spread throughout the State. The MCLO program continues to grow as it supports and promotes strong relationships between police and diverse communities. MCLOs also work with domestic violence liaison officers and non‑government stakeholders to assist victims of domestic and family violence. This is important work because language and cultural barriers can make it harder for victims of abuse to seek support and protection. It is fitting for the MCLOs to work with our domestic violence victims because those officers have had a huge impact in breaking down barriers. I acknowledge the very good motion moved by the member for Fairfield, which the Government wholeheartedly supports.

Mr RAY WILLIAMS (Castle HillMinister for Multiculturalism, and Minister for Disability Services) (13:21:47):

— By leave: I acknowledge the motion moved by the member for Fairfield and the amendment moved by the member for Seven Hills. I no longer get many opportunities to speak in the House at this time of day but, as Minister, I take pleasure in acknowledging the important role of multicultural community liaison officers [MCLOs] in our communities, for our communities. As the member for Fairfield knows, I spend just about every weekend or evening in the field at cultural festivals and events in his electorate and at the wonderful Fairfield Showground in the backyard of the member for Cabramatta. These include the Tet Festival with the East Vietnamese population, Parramasala in Parramatta, Diwali, the Eid festival in Paul Keating Park at Bankstown or the Africultures Festival in Lidcombe.

I have noted that police, most often MCLOs, attend every important festival to build trust and to show faith with the local community. The member for Seven Hills, who is a highly distinguished former police officer, referred to the importance of building and maintaining faith with the community. I acknowledge the many new arrivals in the electorate of the member for Fairfield who may need to raise issues directly with police. That opportunity is gifted to them by our multicultural officers in the field. I take this opportunity to pay credit to them. The Government invests in significant partnerships—worth approximately $10 million a year—with, for example, the National Rugby League, the Australian Football League and, importantly, Police Citizens Youth Clubs [PCYCs]. I pay tribute to people like Dom Teakle, Chief Executive Officer of the PCYC. The PCYC reaches out into our communities and plays a very important role working with young boys and girls across our culturally diverse communities.

The PCYC embraces those young people who are struggling to find an opportunity to embed themselves in our communities and offers great guidance and mentoring programs. I had great pleasure in attending the awards night of the PCYC not only with Dom Teakle but also with the New South Wales Commissioner of Police, Mick Fuller. I congratulate Commissioner Fuller on the role he is playing in encouraging our multicultural community liaison officers to go out into the paddocks and fields to embrace our cultural diversity, to offer support, and to build trust and faith with our communities. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this motion.

Mr GUY ZANGARI (Fairfield) (13:26:05):

In reply: I thank members representing the electorates of Seven Hills, Prospect, Oatley, Cabramatta, Camden and Castle Hill for their contributions to the debate. I sincerely thank Nathaly Parish and Sozan Jabur, our MCLOs in Fairfield.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Adam Crouch):

The member for Fairfield has moved a motion, to which the member for Seven Hills has moved an amendment. The question is that the amendment be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Adam Crouch):

The question now is that the motion of the member for Fairfield as amended be agreed to.

Motion as amended agreed to.