Graffiti, hooning, and burnouts are not major crime problems in Kingborough, but they are a persistent nuisance. They degrade community amenity, damage property, and undermine residents’ sense of safety and pride in their neighbourhood. The Twin Ovals precinct and surrounding public streets have been recurring sites of anti-social vehicle behaviour, predominantly by visitors to the area.
Council currently operates CCTV infrastructure, but cameras are monitored by Tasmania Police reactively following incidents rather than proactively. Neighbourhood Watch and Crime Stoppers are under-utilised partners. These are solvable problems. They require better coordination, clearer obligations, and more efficient use of existing tools.
Graffiti reduction
Graffiti is an offence under section 15CA of the Police Offences Act 1935 (Tas). Marking graffiti without a lawful excuse carries a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units. Possession of graffiti equipment in a public place without lawful excuse is also an offence, and police may search and detain without a warrant. Destruction or injury to property under section 37 carries fines up to $3,460.
Council already has a rapid removal policy for graffiti on its own assets, though residents rightly point out that the bypass, the underpasses and Council’s own bus infrastructure are not always kept to that standard. Graffiti left in place signals neglect, invites repeat offending, and is well documented as a driver of further anti-social behaviour. The “broken windows” effect is not a theory. It plays out in communities that fail to respond quickly to visible disorder. The answer, though, is not to hand the bill to the property owner who has already been the victim of a crime.
As Mayor, I will:
- Pursue offender responsibility for clean-up, through police referrals and the courts, rather than the property owner wearing the cost of someone else’s crime
- Establish a Council-facilitated graffiti removal service, at a reasonable fee, so an owner who wants help gets help instead of a notice
- Apply anti-graffiti coatings to Council assets, and hold Council’s own infrastructure to the standard we ask of others
- Back mural and street art partnerships, with passive plantings to block access at the worst affected sites, including the Hungry Jacks retaining wall and the wall behind the Coles building
- Maintain Council’s existing rapid removal policy for Council-owned assets
- Work with Tasmania Police on enforcement referrals for repeat offenders
Youth crime, hooning, and anti-social vehicle behaviour
Hooning in Tasmania is governed by the Police Offences Act 1935 (Tas) and the Traffic Act 1925 (Tas). Offences include deliberately creating unnecessary noise or smoke, causing loss of traction through burnouts, drag racing, and reckless or negligent driving. Maximum penalties include fines of 20 penalty units ($2,800), up to three months imprisonment, driving disqualification of up to two years, and immediate vehicle confiscation and clamping by police. Prosecution and confiscation are Tasmania Police powers, not Council’s. Council’s role is to facilitate enforcement conditions, remove opportunity, and coordinate response.
Hooning and burnouts on and around the Twin Ovals precinct and on public streets in Kingborough are a recurring problem, largely driven by visitors to the area rather than residents. Repeated burnouts and street racing are criminal behaviour, not merely anti-social behaviour, and they should be described, reported and policed as such. It causes real harm: noise, safety risk, property damage to grounds, and community distress. It is largely preventable with better-designed responses and smarter use of the infrastructure Council already has.
As Mayor, I will:
- Commission a CCTV coverage audit of high-incidence locations, including the Twin Ovals precinct and adjoining streets, and the locations residents have identified: Algona Road; Redwood Road at the Channel Highway end; Beach Road, Margate; Tinderbox Road and Brightwater Road; the Channel Highway near Barretta; Snug; Huon Road between Sandfly and Vinces Saddle; Cloudy Bay on Bruny; the Golden Grove Drive area; and the Tinderbox Track carpark, to identify gaps in current camera placement and coverage quality
- Develop a prioritised installation plan based on audit findings, with funding considered through Council’s annual budget review process and state co-funding explored where available
- Formalise a protocol with Tasmania Police for regular review of CCTV footage at identified anti-social behaviour hotspots, not solely in response to reported incidents
- Investigate access to real-time or near-real-time monitoring options for high-priority sites, including whether current infrastructure supports this capability
- Strengthen Council’s partnership with Crime Stoppers Tasmania, including co-branded community awareness and reporting campaigns targeting hotspot areas
- Support and resource Neighbourhood Watch networks in Kingborough, including a formal partnership arrangement with Council for information-sharing, community alerts, and coordinated responses to emerging hotspots
- Review Council’s existing CCTV governance policy to ensure it reflects contemporary privacy obligations and operational effectiveness
- Advocate to the State Government for a 24/7 staffed Kingston police station
- Run a reporting campaign with Crime Stoppers, because Kingborough currently reads in the statistics as one of the safest municipalities in the state, those statistics drive police resourcing, and an incident that is never reported never generates resourcing
These commitments involve a mix of administrative action, partnership building, and targeted capital investment. No budget envelope is fixed at this stage. Costs will be reviewed through Council’s normal budget and procurement processes. State co-funding for CCTV infrastructure will be actively pursued.