Crime Prevention Minister Andrew McIntosh, centre,with, from left, Active Taxis owner Michael Harrison, Member for Polwarth Terry Mulder, Austral Hotel manager Anton McCarthy and mayor Stephen Hart.
CIVIC leaders can start planning security cameras for central Colac after the State Government signed off on $300,000 for the project.
Colac Otway Shire Council chief executive officer Rob Small said he expected the next stage of installing cameras would be “relatively quick”.
“So now the announcement has been made we’ll put together a brief for the project, we’ll go to tender and then once the tender is accepted then we can install the cameras,” Mr Small said.
“One of the things we are considering is the extent to which we might need some level of consultation in the process,” he said.
“So we’re just thinking about how we proceed with that really.”
Mr Small said he hoped the cameras could be working “by the end of the calendar year”.
Crime Prevention Minister Andrew McIntosh visited Colac on Friday to inspect Memorial Square, site of part of the a closed-circuit television system.
Member for Polwarth Terry Mulder promised the cameras before the 2010 state election.
The council received confirmation of the funding last year, but needed to wait until the government officially signed off on the cash before planning could start.
Mr Mulder said Colac’s skate park at Central Reserve was a possible location for one of the cameras, along with intersections on Murray Street, the taxi rank and Memorial Square.
“They are the areas that have been identified at this particular point in time,” Mr Mulder said.
“But it will be a matter of discussion between the shire and Colac police,” he said.
Austral Hotel manager Anton McCarthy said he wanted to see the cameras working as soon as possible.
“The sooner something gets put in place, speaking from a liquor accord point of view, the better it’ll be for the town and everyone concerned,” Mr McCarthy said.
“It’s a good anti-social behaviour deterrent, police would be happy, I think a lot of shop traders in Colac would be happy and publicans would be happy,” he said.
