Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity) Share this | Hansard source

Our government's first priority is always to keep Australians safe. The Safer Communities Fund, a $40 million initiative, is just one way we are making this happen. A further $30 million in this year's budget will fund another round of the safer communities program. It's a popular program with the public, and rightly so. As we head towards another funding round, I encourage anyone listening or watching from a council or community group to take a good look at how the application process works and to apply. The program is simple and practical and can be used to fund infrastructure like CCTV cameras and new streetlighting and car park lighting, things designed to ensure that communities can tackle street crime and antisocial behaviour. These visible, practical solutions really work.

In Picton, in my electorate, there is a newly funded project where smart streetlighting will be installed in the local car park. The sensors on the lights detect movement nearby and allow the lights to intensify. Combined with CCTV cameras, it's proving to be an effective strategy to scare off troublemakers. Councils right across Australia are installing exactly this type of technology with funding support through the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, another great initiative promoting community safety, amongst other things. The predecessor to the Safer Communities Fund was the Safer Streets Program. It had a similar idea, but in its case we deliberately unlocked $50 million from the proceeds of crime, money that the previous Labor government had frozen to prop up its bottom line. Under the coalition, proceeds of crime are being invested as they should be, in local communities to prevent crime.

As the Minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security I can assure the public that the government is putting in place unprecedented measures to keep Australians safe in their homes, in their streets and online. In my electorate, under the current safer communities funding round, I'm delighted we have practical funding for safety measures for three local communities: Camden Council, for lighting and safety works at Narellan; Wollondilly Shire Council, for lighting in the new car park at Picton; and Goulburn-Mulwaree Council, which will receive funding for lighting and CCTV cameras in its CBD's Belmore Park. Combined, these projects total well over half a million dollars in safety measures for Hume. I'm looking forward to hearing more detail about these projects at the end of the week, when I'll be joined by the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, who has responsibility for these projects, in Picton and Narellan. The coalition government is getting on with the job of prioritising safety for our communities.

See this speech in context