Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Primary Healthcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on a matter which is of great concern to many residents in my electorate, and that is the topic of local crime, vandalism and antisocial behaviour. Local crime and vandalism have been on the rise, particularly over the last 12 months and particularly in the area of Blackwood and the surrounding suburbs. Blackwood and Belair sit in the foothills of Adelaide and are beautiful, generally quiet and relaxing suburbs to live in. But, despite a state government which claims to have put more police on the beat, Friday and Saturday nights are still marred by teenage vandalism and crime. Not more than a fortnight ago, a 26-year-old man was robbed at knifepoint by three teenagers while exiting a train at Belair one evening. The victim was, thankfully, unharmed but had his backpack and wallet stolen. In January, two fires were deliberately lit in the suburbs of Belair and Hawthorndene, and more recently, in late February, a deliberately lit fire burnt through 6,000 square metres of scrub behind the Blackwood High School. It took 19 CFS fighters to contain the blaze.

These brazen acts of crime and vandalism are concerning. But more concerning are more crime and vandalism along Main Road in Blackwood. The vandalism and crime became so bad last year, with graffiti and smashed windows, that the Blackwood Business Network, in conjunction with local businesses, funded private security patrols of armed guards and dogs to patrol the shopping precincts on Friday and Saturday nights, at a cost of up to $2,000. These measures reduced the vandalism and criminal activity in the area by almost 90 per cent. Unfortunately, these measures were financially unsustainable for the local small businesses, and the patrols ended on 31 December. Since then, vandalism has again been on the rise in Blackwood, with a spate of graffiti attacks not more than a month ago.

On 9 August last year, the Hon. Brendan O’Connor, the Minister for Home Affairs, visited my electorate and, with the then ALP candidate, announced $100,000 for CCTV cameras along Main Road in Blackwood. Now, more than seven months on, there are no cameras, no poles and no cables—nothing. This is just another example of saying one thing before the election and doing another thing afterwards. It is another example of all talk and no action. While it is only a fraction of the $300,000 for CCTVs, graffiti-cleaning squads and other security related infrastructure for Blackwood that I announced would be funded by a coalition government, this $100,000 of funding is sorely needed by the local community and long overdue. CCTV cameras assist law enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend criminals. More importantly, they act as deterrents to those who decide to engage in unlawful and criminal behaviour. I call on the federal government to meet their promise to fulfil their election commitment—to get on with it and fund the CCTV cameras in Blackwood to ensure that Blackwood remains a safe place for all residents to live.