Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Health Services, Health and Wellbeing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to put on the record a major issue of concern for many residents in my electorate. The community of Boothby has recently seen an escalation of vandalism and antisocial behaviour, damaging the premises of local businesses and causing substantial cost to the livelihoods of owners. Petty crime, the defacement of personal property and violence have become prevalent in pockets of my electorate, in particular in the area of Blackwood. Recently there was a brazen attack by vandals where a suburban train which was stationary while collecting passengers was graffitied within a minute. This was captured on CCTV camera.

Blackwood by day is a picturesque community in the Adelaide Hills. However, by night it is an unsafe, sometimes frightening place to be. Deliberately lit fires, graffiti, destruction of shopfronts and assaults are standard for a Friday or Saturday night. On Saturday 3 April this year, four fires were started in the space of two hours near Main Road, the business precinct of Blackwood. The blaze which enveloped the premises of Jacob’s Tyres was reported to have caused $250,000 damage and led to a significant loss of earnings for the shop owner, Grant Jacobs.

Despite the supposed increase in police presence on weekends, Sturt Police Superintendent Graham Goodwin has confirmed there has been a proliferation of crime in the area of Blackwood. In March alone 18 graffiti reports were received, a 100 per cent increase in the monthly average. In just two months businesses reported 14 incidents of windows being smashed. So it is fair to say that the community, business owners, the local council and I are very disappointed that little action has been taken on local crime prevention.

At a recent gathering of small businesses through the Blackwood Business Network, I heard from many small businesses of the problems of local crime and petty crime and what they intended to do about it. Frustrated with the lack of government assistance, local business owners have taken this issue upon themselves and employed a security guard to patrol the streets on Friday and Saturday nights in an effort to discourage vandals. However, this is not nearly enough. Private citizens should not be expected to manage the safety of their local neighbourhoods. That is why I believe the government needs to act to increase safety on the streets of our local communities. Small business owners are lobbying for a 24-hour surveillance camera to combat the vandalism and violence that is plaguing the streets of Blackwood after dark. Closed circuit television systems have a twofold purpose—they not only assist the law enforcement agencies in identifying and apprehending criminals but also act as deterrents for those who are considering partaking in such unlawful behaviour.

Under the Howard government, the Community Crime Prevention Program was introduced in an effort to provide funding for such community based, security related infrastructure projects. This program was fundamental in promoting community safety and ensuring the bad guys were caught. However, it is disappointing to see that these local issues are simply not being addressed and are instead being neglected under the current government, with the Rudd Labor government not continuing with this program. Although petty crime, vandalism and graffiti are ostensibly local and state government issues, they are still important and should still be a priority at a federal level. The coalition recognises this and considers local crime prevention and community safety a legitimate concern.

It is my very strong view that more needs to be done to maintain the partnership between the local community and the federal government. As a matter of community safety, it is important that all levels of government contribute to the public discourse on law and order. Local communities such as Blackwood need to be heard. They need to receive more support and more funding to better combat the criminal activities plaguing their neighbourhoods. I stand with the residents of Blackwood on this issue and urge the federal government to take greater responsibility for local crime prevention.