Anthony Albanese makes public safety key priority

Anthony Albanese is seeking to strengthen Labor’s credentials on crime ahead of the next election, announcing millions in prevention and policing measures.

Anthony Albanese in Alice Springs on Friday. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Anthony Albanese is seeking to strengthen Labor’s credentials on crime ahead of the next election, announcing millions in prevention and policing measures as party members raise concern over the number of constituents highlighting public safety among their key concerns.

The Prime Minister on Friday unveiled the government’s $842m package for policing, alcohol harm reduction and crime prevention across remote communities in the Northern Territory, declaring spending would be closely monitored, as he made the announcement in Alice Springs.

But ahead of Mr Albanese spruiking his policies for the Territory – which he has visited more than a dozen times this term – he engaged in a heated exchange on local radio, slamming the ABC host for verballing him.

Host Stewart Brash asked if it was “a bit dumbfounding that a first-term prime minister is claiming underdog status”, and if Mr Albanese recognised he was “a bit on the nose with the electorate”, and the Prime Minister hit back.

“You’re verballing me there,” he said.

Brash said in response “that’s my job”, to which Mr Albanese disagreed. “No, it’s not actually. It’s not the job of the ABC,” he said. “There’s enough other media outlets engaged in that.”

After departing Alice Springs – where Peter Dutton visited a week earlier – Mr Albanese flew to NSW to announce a $3m crime prevention funding package for local shires.

Ballina, Byron and Tweed councils will each receive $1m to invest in projects such as additional CCTV or lighting in areas that had seen spikes in crime.

“We want to make sure that people can enjoy the quality of life which brings them to be here in the first place, and to stay here and to raise families here in this community,” Mr Albanese said.

According to surveys in Ballina, safety and security are “at the top of the list” of community concerns.

Labor MP Justine Elliot, whose seat of Richmond takes in Ballina, said a growing number of people had been raising the issue of crime. “We’ve had increasing crime in our region, particularly youth crime here in Lennox Head,” she said.

“And of course with this funding, I know the council are keen to use it for CCTV, which is exactly what the community have asked for. But we look at that million dollars, it can be used for a whole range of measures that go towards community safety.”

Labor holds Richmond by a margin of about 4 per cent, but frustration over cost of living and crime have raised concern in the party that it could be a challenge to hold.

The federal government this week broke with Labor’s national platform and introduced mandatory minimum sentences for terror offences, in the wake of violence fuelled by anti-Semitism and the Middle East crisis.

While some Labor MPs raised concern the legislation did not include a sunset clause and could catch children for copying anti-Semitic vandalism they had seen online, many ministers and backbenchers told The Weekend Australian there was a clear political imperative for the measure.

Mandatory minimum sentencing is one of several policies Labor has adopted after calls from the Coalition, including a social media ban for under-16s and audits of how money is spent in NT communities.