Team StreetSafe and the Inter Agency Gang Taskforce (IAGTF) are “alive and kicking”, according to Jeff Baron.

Speaking in the Senate on the Throne Speech and the Opposition’s official Reply, the Junior Minister for Public Safety noted that Marc Bean had questioned the lack of updates on the initiatives, both of which were aimed at tackling gang violence. In the speech, Mr Bean also noted the shootings which took place on November 11, days after the Government delivered the Throne Speech.

Sen Baron, the chairman of the IAGTF, said Mr Bean was right to mention the shootings, in which four men were reportedly injured.

“It’s not just unfortunate, it’s not sad, it’s disgusting what happened,” Sen Baron said. “It’s unacceptable.”

Sen Baron said that the Inter Agency Gang Task Force remains active, stating that the task force has met on 14 occasions and subgroups have met on “countless” occasions.

He also told the Senate that Team StreetSafe is quietly continuing its work, stating that he could give little information about the activities of the programme due to confidentiality.

“Team StreetSafe is not only alive, but it’s alive and kicking,” he said. “We trust in it. We know that it’s making a huge difference.”

Sen Baron explained that the group are deeply involved in the community, and is working to discourage violence.

He noted that Team StreetSafe was recently awarded $100,000 from the Cash Back for Communities programme, which redistributes confiscated assets to charitable and community organisations, saying: “We are excited about the new injection of funds to keep them on the forward leading edge.”

The Senator also noted that Mirrors and Team StreetSafe will be working together to ensure that there are no gaps in delivery of service as they continue to “disrupt and dismantle the lure of gang activity.”

He further noted that some 300 students have graduated from the GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training) Programme, which is aimed at deterring young people from gang activity, and that a checklist had been produced to help educators and others in contact with young people identify those at risk of joining a gang.

He and other senators emphasised that the community must play a critical role in tackling the issue of gang violence if it is to be resolved.

PLP Senator Renee Ming noted the OBA had spoken a lot about ending the gang-related shootings prior to the 2012 election, saying: “I think the reality is we don’t have an on-off switch to manage violence and gang violence.”

She said the only way to get to the bottom of the issue is to forge partnerships with the community and stakeholders.

“We need to get really serious about this now,” she said.

“I don’t think that anyone of us around here would like to see more of what we saw on November 11.”