April 26, 2013
The South Burnett Regional Council has no plans to introduce closed-circuit TV cameras in Kingaroy or Nanango in the foreseeable future, Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said today.
The Mayor said Council’s experiences using CCTV cameras to monitor local waste disposal sites had been “disappointing”.
“Murgon installed CCTV cameras in its CBD a while ago but the cost of them is being paid for by the Murgon Business and Development Association,” he told southburnett.com.au today.
“Our experience is that they get vandalised and are expensive to operate. So we have no plans to put them into the upcoming 2013-14 Budget.
“The issue hasn’t been discussed at any Council meeting I’m aware of.”
The Mayor was responding to reports the Federal Government would make $40 million available nationally next month for investment in security cameras and lighting through a newly announced National Crime Prevention Fund.
The fund would allow councils and non-profit community groups in crime hot-spots to apply for grants to set up CCTV systems.
Mayor Kratzmann said the South Burnett was not rated as a “crime hot-spot” so even if Council did apply it was unlikely to be successful.
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