Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be able to talk today about something I worked very hard to achieve in my electorate of Stirling—that is, to make my electorate safer for local residents, especially elderly people and families. The week before last I was very pleased to welcome the Leader of the Opposition to the Stirling electorate and, jointly, we visited the Nollamara Shopping Centre, where, along with the Mayor of the City of Stirling, Councillor David Boothman, we had the pleasure of launching the new CCTV surveillance camera system. The CCTV camera system was installed at Nollamara shops by the City of Stirling after the federal government offered a grant from the National Communities Crime Prevention Program of $85,000, as part of the previous Howard government’s $1.5 billion national security package. I am very sorry to say the Rudd Labor government has since disbanded this very effective local law and order program.

The need for increased security measures at Nollamara Shopping Centre became apparent following a vicious attack last year on a man who was using a bank ATM at the centre outside of business hours. The incident was particularly serious. This man was attacked with an axe in an absolutely unprovoked way, and urgent action was warranted to address security in the area. I was happy to join forces with the City of Stirling to lodge a funding application to the National Community Crime Prevention Program for the installation of CCTV at the shopping centre. As I just said, $85,000 was allocated from that program and that system has now been launched. Sixteen security cameras have been installed around the shopping centre precinct. That includes six additional security cameras, which is beyond the 10 initially considered to be adequate for the scope of the project. This new CCTV system will help make the Nollamara Shopping Centre safer for older people and families as well as making it easier for police to identify and subsequently catch criminals.

It was very important to secure this federal funding so the City of Stirling could proceed with this project. The city has done an excellent job in delivering the new security system; it does generally do an excellent job in providing for local security needs. The CCTV system aims to increase the feeling of safety at the centre and will be used to assist police. I am sure the new CCTV surveillance system at the Nollamara shops will increase the feeling of safety at the centre for the local community.

Following the CCTV launch, the opposition leader and I met with local residents and shop owners, and they were very pleased about the installation of the new system and very pleased that we had taken this positive step to secure the shops and the local area. I am always pleased to work with my local government area, the City of Stirling, and to help to improve safety and security within the electorate of Stirling. This project is only one of several that we were able to fund through the previous program, and I congratulate them on their efforts.