Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to speak today in support of Liverpool police superintendent Ray King and his call for CCTV cameras to be installed throughout the Liverpool CBD. It is unfortunate, but today in the Liverpool CBD the many small businesses that are doing an outstanding job there are victims of shoplifting and vandalism and have to put up with drug-dealing on the streets. To have CCTV cameras in Liverpool was actually a commitment of the coalition at the last election. If the coalition had won government at the 2010 election, we would have those CCTV cameras in Liverpool today. I note that my call has been supported by my neighbouring MP, Mr Chris Hayes. I note that the Liverpool Leader has quoted Mr Hayes as saying that he had called on the then Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O'Connor, to put Liverpool on the priority list for federal funding for CCTV cameras. It is very good to have that support, but unfortunately, when it comes to the funding, there has been a deafening silence. This government has had time to change the minister but has not had time to change the lives of people in Liverpool by taking this most basic step to ensure safety in the CBD.

But it is not only federal Labor that is failing the good city of Liverpool; on the Liverpool City Council, 4½ Labor councillors—

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Four and a half?

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is right, 4½—have actually voted against installing these CCTV cameras in the CBD, even though the council's budget has set aside more than half a million dollars for their installation. Could it perhaps be that they need this half a million dollars for something else? That is very close to the figure that they will need to pay the extra costs for their electricity as a result of the carbon tax.

Instead of spending this money on the CCTV cameras, the Labor-controlled Liverpool City Council has elected to install a series of parking meters in their CBD. The local councillors have been most eager to install these money-hungry parking meters. No hurdles were bypassed in their installation. One can only surmise that perhaps the Labor councillors are also looking at the extra revenue from these parking meters to fund the additional costs they will have to pay come 1 July, as soon as they are hit with the carbon tax.

Putting this aside for one moment, Mr Deputy Speaker, what do you think could have possibly happened to these newly installed parking meters without the cover of CCTV cameras? I have received reports that graffiti vandalism has already been covering these newly installed parking meters. Who could have seen that coming? We now find ourselves in the ironic position that Labor's parking meters are now actually costing the ratepayers of Liverpool money, before they have even been switched on.