April 2024
Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper
Eyes on the street The City of South Perth is ramping up its crime prevention efforts with the recent acquisition of a state-of-the-art mobile CCTV trailer, aimed at enhancing community safety and deterring criminal activity within the local area.
City of South Perth Mayor, Greg Milner and Community Development Officer, Meredith Skinner, with one of the ‘Eyes on the Street’ footpath decals.
Deployed in strategic partnership with local Kensington Police, the mobile CCTV trailer serves as a proactive measure to address crime ‘hotspots’ identified through collaborative efforts between the city and WA police. To date the trailer has been deployed to Millers Pool carpark in South Perth, Sandon Park in Salter Point, the South Perth Foreshore near the Scented Gardens and Kwel Park playground in Karawara. The new initiative is bolstered by the installation of ‘Eyes on the Street’ footpath decals at various locations throughout the city. These eye-catching stickers are strategically placed to encourage community members to report suspicious activities to Crime Stoppers WA, using a convenient QR code that directs individuals to the Crime Stoppers WA reporting website. The rollout of the new CCTV mobile trailer and footpath decals complements the fixed CCTV cameras already in operation throughout the City. With a focus on addressing crime concerns, the City’s proactive approach to increasing CCTV coverage is poised to make a significant impact on reducing anti-social behaviour and criminal activity across all City of South Perth suburbs. City of South Perth Mayor, Greg Milner said: “By strategically deploying surveillance resources in collaboration with local police, we aim to deter criminal behaviour and foster a greater sense of security within our City.”
Insurance spike Queensland homeowners are being slapped with $10,000-a-year flood insurance hikes despite living in towns ringed by flood levee banks that have protected them against floodwater for decades. Queensland councils are demanding answers from the insurance industry after receiving complaints from residents that bills have soared – in at least one case from $3500 to $13,500 a year. Murweh Shire Mayor Shaun ‘Zoro’ Radnedge said he feared residents would have no choice but to drop their insurance, meaning they were at risk of losing everything if their homes caught fire or were otherwise damaged or destroyed. Balonne Shire Mayor Samantha O’Toole said residents in her shire had been hit with 100 per cent price rises year on year on year and soaring insurance bills risked a damaging knock-on
effect for housing availability and affordability. Mayor Radnedge said he had called insurance companies to ask how they were calculating the soaring premiums only to be told they did not realise Charleville had flood-proofing levee banks. “We are really asking the question of the insurance companies in Australia why our insurance premiums, especially in the Murweh Shire have risen sometimes up to 500 per cent,” Mayor Radnedge said. “We are asking why because we have mitigation in place, we have a levee bank in Augathella
and in Charleville but we have seen these huge rises in these places. “Council and government have put a lot of money into maintaining that mitigation and we’re asking where does the mapping come from that insurance companies are using to make the assessments on these insurance policies. “We’ve had rises from $3500 to $13,500. We advocated on behalf of that resident and the insurance company came back and said they were not even aware that we have a levee bank in place in Charleville. “So, my question, and South West
Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils’ question, is where are these insurance companies getting their information from as far as flood mapping goes. “There’s a huge deficiency all across Australia and we need the insurance companies to be more accountable. “It’s really scary in that people are choosing not to have insurance. “They can’t afford it. We are talking sometimes up to $270 a week just to have that insurance. Continued page 2