Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes: I ask the Minister for Planning, representing the Minister for Police, is he aware of the recent figures by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research [BOCSAR] showing that Sydney has emerged as the rape capital of New South Wales, and that the number of sexual assaults in Sydney increased by 12.1 per cent last year, which is more than twice as fast as the State average? Is he aware that the bureau’s figures show that 4,311 sexual assaults were reported in New South Wales in 2009, which represents an increase of 239 sexual assault cases? In particular, is he aware of a recent case in which a man was charged last month with raping two women in the unisex toilets of exclusive Sydney nightclubs, the Ivy and the Piano Room? Given the increasing number of sexual assaults taking place in hotels, pubs and clubs, will he take decisive action by introducing a tougher approach to reduce the number of rapes and sexual assaults that occur in those types of premises?
The Hon. Tony Kelly: I will refer the question to the Minister for Police. My understanding is that this is the first time 17 out of 17 major crime categories either remained stable or have been reduced. When I was the Minister for Police and during the term of my predecessor, we were always hoping to get 17 out of 17 for major crime categories being reduced or becoming stable, but the best we were able to achieve was 16 out of 17. The statistics represent a major achievement by all involved in the justice system—the courts, the police and those involved in caring for victims. It means that the years of working together are starting to achieve results.
Although recently released crime statistics show that rates of sexual assault are stable throughout the State, I am aware that the statistics also show there has been a recent increase in incidences in the Sydney region. The New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre has suggested that these increases may be due to more incidences being reported. The Government has noticed that as clean-up rates have improved in recent years, people have become more inclined to report offences. The Rape Crisis Centre manager, Karen Willis, was reported in the Australian as saying:
The state government and the police have done a terrific job in introducing reforms in the way these incidents are handled, which appears to have encouraged more women to come forward.
The reforms to which she refers were aimed at improving the legal system so that it works better for victims. Karen Willis, the New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre and other groups should take some of the credit for reducing the incidence of rape.
Last year, in the most significant crackdown of sex offences in a generation, the New South Wales Government implemented the recommendation of the Sentencing Council’s report into penalties for sex offences by creating new offences and increasing penalties to protect the community from sexual abuse and exploitation. The new laws doubled the maximum sentence for possessing child pornography from 5 to 10 years and introduced a life sentence for aggravated sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years of age. The new laws will prevent courts from taking into account good character, reputation and a lack of criminal history as mitigating circumstances in relation to offenders who use those factors to gain people’s trust in the commission of their crimes. By hardening the sentence regime and toughening sexual assault offences, the Government is sending a message to sexual predators that they will not escape unpunished.
This seems a little early to us, but the folks at 
