Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp has hit back at suggestions he is to blame for a funding shortfall to install CCTV on Beaumont Street.
The MP made headlines this week when Liberal councillor Jenny Barrie said he had failed to deliver $100,000 to fund CCTV and accused him of abandoning Hamilton businesses and residents.
In response, Mr Crakanthorp has pointed the finger at City of Newcastle, arguing the council had to be dragged "kicking and screaming" to act on CCTV.
"If they had been cooperative from day dot, we could have CCTV installed already," Mr Crakanthorp said.
City of Newcastle and the Hamilton Business Improvement Association (BIA) agreed to fund CCTV earlier this year provided the state government covered half the costs.
Mr Crakanthorp said the council missed the chance to secure funding because councillors delayed and postponed debating the issue.
He said the state government's Safer Cities grant program offered funding to local councils to deliver projects to improve the perception of safety in public spaces and transport hubs.
The grant opened in January and closed on March 6, and was specifically targeted at safety measures including CCTV.
Mr Crakanthorp said that despite the community calling for CCTV for more than a year, the council "failed" to endorse the project in time to submit an application.
Liberal councillor Callum Pull said Mr Crakanthorp's comments were "either incredibly naive or deliberately misleading," pointing out the MP opposed the installation of CCTV when he was a councillor and was part of a move to make the council's position not to support council-run CCTV.
"Not only did he close the door, but locked it behind him," Cr Pull said.
"Council did in fact apply for the grant Mr Crakanthorp refers to and was once again knocked back.
"What residents can take away from this is that when Tim Crakanthorp says the NSW government will fund something, what he really means is that we can send in an application to a grants' program and we might or might not get it."
Cr Pull said the BIA and City of Newcastle had identified strategies to tackle crime in Beaumont Street, including the Hamilton Safety Audit, but said the government had been unsupportive or had failed to provide resources.
The audit report made more than 15 recommendations aimed at tackling antisocial issues on Beaumont Street.
"This is yet another lame attempt from Tim Crakanthorp to deflect blame," Cr Pull said.
Mr Crakanthorp said that after "months of inaction" he launched a petition calling for a CCTV trial in December 2025.
"Council had to be dragged kicking and screaming to act on CCTV. They said they would debate it at their first meeting of 2026, then it became the first quarter, and then it became the second quarter," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"The community had been calling for CCTV for over a year. I had been collecting signatures, meeting with ministers, community members and the BIA, trying to get council to take responsibility while they let the grant program open and close without making an application."
A City of Newcastle spokesman said policing, law enforcement and crime prevention were state government responsibilities and the CCTV pilot was developed in response to a request from NSW Police to install cameras.
He said Mr Crakanthorp supported the push but had not gone as far as providing direct funding, instead pushing the council to find a grant.
"City of Newcastle rejects the suggestion council actions have delayed the installation of CCTV on Beaumont Street," the council spokesman said.
He said the Safer Cities program closed before the Hamilton Community Safety Audit launched recommending CCTV, but said the council would have been ineligible anyway due to the grant guidelines.
"The remaining task is for Mr Crakanthorp to secure the state's 50 per cent contribution, rather than continually shifting responsibility back to council or the community," the spokesman said.
"As council has previously identified, NSW Police has mobile CCTV capability that can be deployed without City of Newcastle establishing a permanent network or securing an external grant."
The spokesman said the state government is already using CCTV on Darby and King streets through the Point to Point Transport Commissioner, which could have been expanded to Beaumont Street without council involvement.
Liberal councillor Jenny Barrie, who has been a driving force behind the push for CCTV, said now is not the time to play the "blame game".
"It is well past time to have CCTV cameras installed immediately for the three-year trial in Beaumont Street to aid police in the detection of crime," Cr Barrie said.
"With the NSW police minister and Member for Newcastle's support, is this more a Sydney-centric issue of not funding Newcastle projects?"
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