Crime and public safety are usually the domain of state politics. But the Coalition tried to elevate them as key issues for voters in the recent federal election.
Claiming crime had been “allowed to fester” under Labor, the opposition promised a A$750 million Operation Safer Communities plan, which included police strike teams targeting drugs, a national child sex offender register, and more money for Neighbourhood Watch.
A Coalition government would also have given grants to community groups to install public lighting, bollards and CCTV cameras.
