Page 1796 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 May 2010
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drive that has seen further expansion into the nearby suburb of Theodore, where Russell Morison and Werner Albrecht are working hard at energising their community. Gay Davis is also heavily involved in the newly established Monash Neighbourhood Watch and Carol Vincent, similarly, in the soon to be established Neighbourhood Watch group in Bonython.
I also wish to give credit to Nick Tsoulias, the Tuggeranong district officer for Neighbourhood Watch, for his suggestion for and commitment to a closer working relationship between Neighbourhood Watch and the schools in that area and a suggestion to set up junior Neighbourhood Watch and mirror the models already used in Victoria and Queensland. I understand that moves are afoot to trial such a junior Neighbourhood Watch program with MacKillop Catholic College in Isabella Plains.
The ACT Neighbourhood Watch board of management have performed miracles to date with their limited resources and hardworking Canberra-wide network of volunteers. President Margaret Pearson and her committee of Graeme Hush, Clare McGrath, Brian Schiller and Christine Coulthard have done wonders. I strongly suggest that they deserve the support of this Assembly to enable progress and recruitment to be enhanced for the benefit of the ACT.
The Canberra Times recently reported that the police patrol zones of Woden and Tuggeranong account for approximately 52 per cent of crimes in the ACT. Woden alone leads the crime statistics for property damage, with 197 incidents; burglary, with 113 incidents; and motor vehicle theft, with 60 incidents. Equally, city accounted for 32 per cent of assaults and 53 per cent of sexual offences.
Some might say that these figures highlight nothing more than the status quo. However, for me, the time for the government to support organisations like Neighbourhood Watch and to find more effective ways to work with them is now.
I seek the support of this Assembly to join me in calling for this government to explore ways to better partner with Neighbourhood Watch, especially in higher crime areas such as Tuggeranong and Woden; to work productively with the Neighbourhood Watch program to improve the effectiveness of the program and, through it, the safety of the community; and to commit to fair, ongoing funding for the Neighbourhood Watch program.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Women) (4.36): I welcome the opportunity to talk to this motion. The ACT government acknowledges that people have a right to feel safe in their own community, and the government has confidence in ACT Policing in safeguarding this community. The government recognises the significant role that Neighbourhood Watch plays in preventing crime in the ACT. It is generally said that $1 saved through prevention activities is $8 saved in later intervention, support and the impacts arising from crime. So investments in crime prevention initiatives save us money as a community.
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