Shepparton has 60 cameras across the town’s central business district, Victoria Park Lake and Shepparton Sports City as part of its Safe City network.
Cr Fern Summer wants to see the surveillance system expanded to Mooroopna.
She moved a motion at the March council meeting that council begin consultation with police to assess the feasibility of installing mobile CCTV cameras in Mooroopna’s central business district.
The move comes after arson attacks that destroyed two Mooroopna tobacco stores in February; however, Cr Summer said this was “not simply a knee-jerk reaction” to those events.
A third convenience store in MacIsaac Rd that was also selling cheap tobacco was also rammed in January, after being set alight two months earlier.
Cr Summer said an earlier motion put to council in June last year to review the need for CCTV had been “met with limited enthusiasm” by police and council, but she felt that the issue needed to be raised again now.
“These tobacco wars are a looming scourge in Victoria, and we don’t want it in Greater Shepparton,” Cr Summer said.
“Firebombing shops is not okay. It is beyond reprehensible.”
Cr Summer said while the shops were not illegal, this sort of surveillance was one way council could help.
She said the mobile CCTV cameras could be positioned on a trailer and linked to the CCTV network at a lower cost than stationary ones.
“Mooroopna is so much more than negative headlines,” she said.
Cr Summer’s motion had the support of the other councillors, who moved it unanimously.
Cr Paul Wickham said this was “council’s sign to be a good neighbour”.
“These tobacco stores are located across (Greater) Shepparton,” he said.
Cr Brophy also spoke in favour of the motion.
“Given the escalation in Mooroopna, the ram raids and the break-ins, I support it,” he said.
Cr Kieron Eddy said that while the introduction of CCTV in Mooroopna was “a good first step”, he would like to see the Mooroopna police station open full-time.
