Cabramatta Policing

About this Item
Speakers - Meagher Ms Reba; Aquilina Mr John
Business - Private Members Statements

CABRAMATTA POLICING

Ms MEAGHER (Cabramatta) [5.52]: I would like to report to the House on the latest crime-fighting initiative in the Cabramatta electorate. Last Monday the Minister for Police attended an official ceremony in Freedom Plaza at Cabramatta when the newly introduced closed-circuit television monitoring system was unveiled. That system has been the subject of many statements I have made in this House. Implementation of the process has taken about 18 months. It is an important initiative to complement the traditional forms of policing that are already available within my electorate. For too long those who live in Cabramatta, visitors to the electorate and retailers have put up with the highly
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visible trade in narcotics. They have been afraid of different forms of crime, including opportunistic street crime. There has been great momentum within the Cabramatta electorate to find other ways to deal with the problem. That level of fear is debilitating for any community. People choose to do their shopping in other suburbs, resulting in local businesses suffering. People do not move around the town freely. Parents worry about their children using public transport, and commuters worry about their daily journeys to and from work. The problem certainly needed to be addressed.

Earlier this year, at the invitation of senior New South Wales police, I travelled to Brisbane to inspect models that had been established in the Queen Street Mall and Fortitude Valley areas. I was extremely impressed with the system for several reasons. The police reported a 60 per cent reduction in street crime within the first 12 months. That is quite remarkable. The most important aspect of the introduction of the cameras was a renewed sense of public confidence in street safety. When the public has that sense of confidence people begin to utilise public space more freely. The flow-on effect is that people once again start to patronise their local businesses and their local entertainment venues. Having more people on the street at any time of the day or night also assists in developing a sense of community safety.

As the local member I was keen to have this kind of innovative policing introduced to Cabramatta so that the long task of rebuilding community confidence in our town could commence. I commend the cooperative efforts of those people involved in establishing the system, notably Fairfield City Council, the New South Wales Police Service and the State Government, which contributed $327,000 to the funding of the system, which was launched on Monday. The ceremony was attended by the Minister for Police. Within half an hour of the cameras becoming operational, police reported five arrests as a result of camera detection. Before coming into the House to speak on this matter I spoke to members of the local patrol. There have been about 20 arrests, including 15 for drug-related crimes that have led to 36 charges. The local patrol has advised me unofficially that it is very happy with the system and holds great hopes about the kind of facility it will be able to use in coming months to address the town's problems.

The introduction of this system represents a second chance for Cabramatta. It is an opportunity to start addressing the crime problem and rebuilding public confidence. I look forward to being able to work with my local community and local businesses to make sure that a positive image is developed that will bring the tourists back to Cabramatta and will establish Cabramatta in the tourism bid in the lead-up to the Olympics. Cabramatta is certainly a unique, vibrant and diverse town, which has for too long suffered a negative media image. The new system is an opportunity to turn the tide. I look forward to giving the House regular updates on progress in the area.

Mr AQUILINA (Riverstone - Minister for Education and Training, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Youth Affairs) [5.57]: I extend my congratulations to the honourable member for Cabramatta on her consistent crime-fighting campaign in her electorate. She came into this Chamber with a commitment to ensure that crime in the Cabramatta area would be tackled, and tackled rigorously. She has been relentless and persistent in her campaign. I know that she and all other honourable members regret the fact that these sorts of measures are needed to fight crime. It is a tragic indictment of modern society that we need to resort to measures such as cameras in the streets of some of our major towns to eliminate crime. That is very much a leaf out of George Orwell's 1984. I believe all of us had hoped that we would never get to the stage in this day and age of having Big Brother watching. But extreme situations require extreme measures, and that is very much the case in Cabramatta. I congratulate the honourable member on the steps she has taken to ensure that her constituents have the security to which they are entitled in the streets of their community.

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