Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I was very pleased to join with the mayor of the Maroondah City Council, Councillor Tony Dib, to announce that we are going ahead with the government's $435,000 commitment to improve CCTV cameras for the Croydon main street and town square. The funding will provide an upgrade to 14 existing security cameras in the area and install seven new cameras. We know from prior experience that CCTV is a proven crime deterrent and that these new and improved cameras will provide vital crime-fighting information to local police at Croydon police station and help them improve safety for our community.

I want to assure the residents of Deakin that I will continue to work with police, the local traders and the council on ways that we can improve safety above and beyond these measures. My focus on community safety is more important than ever, with a weak Labor state government that has presided over lawlessness and soaring crime rates. Every day, we hear more reports of thefts, burglaries, assaults and carjackings, with parts of Melbourne becoming the playground of violent gangs.

In the face of this situation locally, we have seen Nunawading police station forced to close its doors to the public. So, with a Labor state government too weak to address crime, initiatives like the installation of CCTV in Croydon are more important than ever, and I want to assure my electorate that we will keep working for ways to improve that safety.(Time expired)