More eyes in the sky on the way if the cash to buy them comes through
Shire security
The council’s security surveillance will be beefed up across Douglas Shire if a pair of State Government grant applications are successful.
Douglas Shire's management team is aiming to buy at least two mobile camera units, or “CCTV on wheels”, through a $400,000 Government grant in order to watch over areas such as Mossman town centre, the Port Douglas main streets, Craiglie industrial estate and parklands areas frequented by tourists.
And it is also applying for about $300,000 in grant money to continue its surveillance of known illegal-dumping spots - in February it installed CCTV near the Port Douglas Yacht Club to watch that area more closely.
“Mobile CCTV units could be used to curb antisocial and criminal behaviour,” a report about the $400,000 grant application tabled in last week’s council meeting stated.
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said the units could be easily moved between hotspots.
“Our community is aware that infrequent antisocial behaviour does occur in some of our towns and these units give us the flexibility to monitor emerging issues while providing a visible deterrent for local businesses,” she said.
The council aims to have the trailer-mounted cameras in use by July next year.
Meanwhile, illegal dumping in the Shire continues to take place on urban fringes, rural roads, forest tracks, boat ramps, near rivers and in tourism hotspots.
In February the DSC made a fresh plea to residents to stop the damaging practice after a huge pile of household waste was unloaded near the Yachty.
“Illegal dumping damages our environment, creates safety hazards, and diverts council resources away from essential services,” a DSC release stated.
“Every load collected has to be transported and disposed of correctly - which means avoidable cleanup costs and staff time that could be spent keeping Douglas running smoothly.”
The fine for an individual illegally dumping less than 2500 litres of rubbish is about $2700, and dumping more than that will attract a minimum penalty of about $3300.
For corporations, the penalty for less than 2500 litres is about $8300, and more than that attracts a minimum fine of about $12,500.
During a 2020/21 campaign to crack down on illegal dumping, close to 100 incidents were recorded and investigated by the DSC, including seven tonnes found near Port Douglas which included car bodies, a mattress and household goods.
The most prevalent forms of illegal dumping at that time were household waste (45 per cent), green waste (32 per cent) and car waste (7 per cent).
The council spends at least $55,000 per year battling illegal dumping, saying community reporting was one of the most effective ways to stop repeat offenders.
Report illegal dumping at douglas.qld.gov.au/report-illegal-dumping.
