Dr Craig Buchanan JP
Councillor, City of Rockingham
McGowan on Law & Order
Sometimes you just have to laugh at the way things fall out. Back in August, Mark McGowan arranged a rare photo shoot down at Point Peron, and publicly called for CCTV cameras to be installed in an attempt to cut down on crime and vandalism in the area.
Let me say from the outset that I agree with Mark on this. The car parks at Point Peron can be isolated places, especially at night, and the lack of any permanent facilities on the Point - facilities like the visitor / education centre or museum that we would have if we committed to the establishment of a properly funded Coastal Park - mean that people can find themselves in vulnerable situations very easily.
What amused me wasn't Mark's call, though I saw the irony in it. Instead, I laughed when I heard that the Council had responded by deploying one of its three new mobile CCTV rigs to the area. Why is that funny, you ask? It's funny because Mark McGowan is a full time politician representing the people of Rockingham and earning in excess of $260,000 a year for the privilege, yet he wasn't responsible for securing the $225,000 worth of federal funding that paid for the five new mobile CCTV cameras. That funding was secured by me, back in late July, during the federal election campaign!
Don't get me wrong, I'm actually very happy to see the mobile CCTV rigs being used to help secure Point Peron from vandals and criminals. It's not before time. But wouldn't it be nice if someone who had been paid to represent Rockingham's citizens for twenty years could have secured those funds, rather than leaving it to a bloke who's wasn't even in office? And a month later, wouldn't it be nice to see some acknowledgement of the help received?
If nothing else, it shows the people of Rockingham two things - how diligently their local MLA is working for their benefit, and what they can expect from me if I am elected in March. And won't we all be laughing if we get a surprise result then?
