Page 1808 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 May 2010
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various communities across Canberra and the other is the rate of crime more generally in Canberra, particularly in the inner north, I think, and Woden and Tuggeranong.
It is worth highlighting the fantastic work that Neighbourhood Watch performs in our community. I note that Neighbourhood Watch last year turned 25, which is a remarkable milestone. It has been built up from the grassroots. A number of my Assembly colleagues and I attended the Neighbourhood Watch dinner. I know that Mr Doszpot did. Many of the people who started that organisation, a grassroots organisation that was formed 25 years ago, were at that dinner. It is wonderful to see how it has grown in our community, and rightly so.
I will declare that I have a conflict of interest in that I am a member of Neighbourhood Watch. I am a member out at Weston Creek, in Holder. It is something I am very proud to be a member of. It is truly one of the community-operated organisations which seek to instil a sense of safety, security and wellbeing in the community. Neighbourhood Watch provides an invaluable service to the community, there is no doubt. Many people will be familiar with not only the work it does but also its history and its role. Since the 1970s, Neighbourhood Watch has acted to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour; reduce the fear of crime; assist local police in detecting crime; enhance the relationship between the police and the community; and promote community spirit.
There is really no other organisation that performs the same range of community services to the Canberra community. It is unique. Neighbourhood Watch serves as a very important link between the police and the community. It also serves to instil a sense of community spirit by fostering communication and awareness between people and families living in a particular community.
I think we would all be familiar with the Neighbourhood Watch logo. It is one of the most recognisable logos in Australia. We see it plastered on people’s wheelie bins—I have got one on my own wheelie bin—and it is on street signs. That logo is a symbol of the collective responsibility felt within our community to look out for each other and to look out for our neighbours.
There are more than 3,000 members of Neighbourhood Watch in over 45 locations across the ACT. I think that is a remarkable number. There is a central management committee and I will just highlight the members—they have been noted by others—Margaret Pearson, Graeme Hush, Clare McGrath, Brian Schiller and Christine Coulthard. I commend them for the great—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, could you resume your seat for a moment, please. Are members who are having this discussion—Mr Stanhope, Mr Coe and Ms Le Couteur—nearly finished? Your voices are carrying quite a lot down here. Thank you, Mr Hanson. I could not quite hear you.
MR HANSON: I know that members were avidly listening to what I had to say and would not want to be disturbed from hanging off every word that I was saying.
ACT Neighbourhood Watch operates across a number of districts in the ACT. There are two Belconnen districts. We have David Ault and Matthew Watts in Belconnen. In
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