Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to advise the House that on Wednesday, 30 August I convened a community crime forum for residents of Malak and Karama in Darwin’s northern suburbs at O’Loughlin Catholic College gymnasium. There were almost 200 people in attendance. The community in Malak and Karama is made up mostly of families where both parents work, and to get 200 people to turn up on a busy weeknight means that the issue of law and order is very strong there. I would like to thank the organising committee, particularly Ken Mildred from Neighbourhood Watch and also Bill Turner from the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory, who had put his support behind the initiative. The committee organised a speaking panel that included Senator Chris Ellison, the federal minister for justice; Peter Adamson, Lord Mayor of Darwin; Paul Henderson, a Northern Territory government minister; Delia Lawrie, the local Labor MLA; Paul Wyatt from Neighbourhood Watch; and Bill Sommerville of Offenders Aid and Rehabilitation Services.

Why did the group come together? The hard truth is that the community came together to discuss law and order problems because they do not feel safe and secure in their own homes. In these times, not feeling safe and secure in your home in the Top End shows that we have moved somewhere, somehow, that we should not have. Not long ago you could leave your back door wide open and your car unlocked on the street and still feel pretty safe. In Malak, Karama and other parts of the northern suburbs there are young gangs that roam the streets at night. Astoundingly, they are generally underage kids who should be at home under the safety and protection of their parents and fast asleep.

Laurie Ferguson (Reid, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Laurie Ferguson interjecting

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Reid!

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In these areas at 3.30 in the morning there are children as young as seven, eight and nine years old roaming the streets, drinking alcohol, creating a mess, vandalising, destroying people’s property, breaking into shops and smashing up cars—not the sorts of Territorians we are proud of.

Only two weeks ago a juvenile was apprehended in relation to property offences dating back to 3 September last year, when it is alleged he unlawfully entered the Karama Primary School. On 3 March this year it is alleged the youth and co-offenders broke into the Karama Tavern, stealing a considerable amount of alcohol. Over a month later, on 26 April, the youth is alleged to have been involved in the unlawful entry of a unit in Leanyer and a home in Palmerston. Several items were stolen from the Palmerston residence while a Holden Commodore station wagon was taken from the unit in Leanyer. The car was later located dumped and burnt out. And this is typical of the situation in Malak and Karama—not the sorts of Territorians I am proud of.

The lack of police on the beat was a major concern of the residents at the meeting, and something has to be done. Despite the NT government saying that there will be an extra 200 police on the beat by the end of the year, that is simply not the case. The fact is that, if the NT government were doing its job properly, residents would not be up in arms, crime would not be of such concern and I would not have residents ringing me up and telling me how they continue to suffer as victims of crime.

Laurie Ferguson (Reid, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And vicious dogs!

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Reid will be thrown out if he is not careful.

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will be working with the community to develop an action plan for the Karama and Malak suburbs in an effort to tackle crime. A task force will be formed and there are already several volunteers. Considering the number of incidents that take place, it might well be worth expanding the community crime forum idea to other parts of my electorate. I wish to thank the local residents in particular for their positive turnout and their keenness to be involved. I would also like to thank the local community organisations that gave up their valuable time to attend the meeting. It is very difficult to organise any sort of forum these days, and to get the sort of turnout we did that night shows that there is a real problem in the northern suburbs. But there is only one way we will solve this, and that is by working together. The federal, Territory and local governments need to work together to combat this problem simply because we have to.