House of Representatives on Wednesday 31st July 2019

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Today I want to talk about crime in Mandurah, in my electorate of Canning. It is the first role of government to keep its citizens safe. As federal legislators, our focus must be on Australia's borders, defence and national security. State governments take the lead on local policing—and rightly so. But in this place the law and order of our local communities is also front of mind. I speak today because of the failures of the WA Labor government. Labor removed local police in Mandurah. We lost local sergeants, and our overall police patrolling presence has shrunk. This has led to increased crime. We have suffered repeated business break-ins. We've had retail workers harassed by shoplifters. We've had an increase in hoons on residential streets. We've seen CBD night crime. People are generally feeling unsafe at home and in public places.

That's why this weekend I'm joining the Liberal member for Dawesville, Zak Kirkup, at his rally this Saturday for more police in Mandurah. The McGowan government has ignored Mandurah's pleas for action, so we are escalating the situation. Our local police do a great job, and I thank them publicly in this House. But we need more of them. We will rally for more police, at 10.30 this Saturday on Mandurah's eastern foreshore, and I encourage all concerned citizens and residents to join us and help send a message to the McGowan government: stop ignoring Mandurah and step up and do what needs to be done to keep our community safe.