Should Lismore Council be involved with crime prevention? This question was debated for 33 minutes during yesterday's Lismore City Council meeting. The two opposing points were council showing leadership versus crime prevention is a police issue.

The events that led to a Goonellabah man's body being found near Clifford Park last Friday, and another man in a serious but stable condition at a Gold Coast hospital, plus recent complaints from business owners in the CBD, makes crime prevention a hot topic in the Lismore LGA. It led Councillor Dalton-Earls to put forward a motion, where Council:

1. reinstate the Social Justice and Crime Prevention Committee to continue the work of this committee before it was disbanded

2. appoints a chair and alternate chair

Cr Rob seconded the motion because he wanted to make an amendment to the original motion. One that was very different to the first, but was accepted by Cr Dalton-Earls.

'That council prepare a report looking at the pros and cons of establishing a Crime Prevention Advisory Group to be reported back to council for further consideration."

"The reason I brought this is because we have significant issues in our community. They're undeniable. We've just had an indigenous man killed in a park that's now under investigation. We've got another one that's on life support in the Gold Coast hospital. One was left dead and wasn't found for hours after. We've got all these issues that are happening every day in the CBD that we've passed resolutions about ourselves.

"What I'm trying to clarify is it's not looking at the old report and the old recommendations and picking up where that was left off. This, in my view, should be seen as a new something that we can show leadership in. The community is crying out for the council and everybody to take leadership for the issues that are happening in our community right now. And this is one way that we can get people involved and start that process, and whether it leads to the crime prevention plan in the future or not, that should be up to the advisory group committee through that process."

Interestingly, the last Social Justice and Crime Prevention Committee was discontinued by council in February 2022, following three years of inaction by the committee. They had not met since August 2019.

The original committee was set up because of the passion of one councillor, and when that councillor did not seek reelection, the committee stopped operating. You have to ask the question whether this will have the same result?

Cr Dalton-Earls said, "We need to liaise with our community leaders, indigenous leaders, our youth leaders, our health, our police officers, everyone at the same table. And I think that if Council passes this, it's showing leadership in that space, and it's getting the ball rolling. So that's why I believe this motion is worthy of being supported."

Cr Knight-Smith spoke against the motion. She said she supported the original group and the passion it displayed, but didn't want it to be "symbolic rather impactful".

"Today, we are still in the midst of significant organisational and community recovery. Our staff are stretched. Our resources are limited, and our strategic priorities are now under review, reinstating a committee of this scope and complexity, without a clear plan for its governance, resourcing integration into our broader strategic framework and community risks repeating the challenges that led to it led to its discontinuation."

"I do not want this to be the end of the conversation. Quite the opposite. I believe we should commit to revisiting this proposal in the future, perhaps as part of a community strategic plan review or in conjunction with the development of a broader community safety and wellbeing strategy. Let's take the time to get this right. Let's be guided by staff who understand the capacity in this space. Let's consult with our community partners, assess our internal capability and check the appetite of stakeholders."

"We do not need to duplicate work that they're already doing. We need to ensure that if we do bring this committee back, it is with structure, leadership and the support that it will need to succeed, because it will need a lot of support. I don't want to introduce something to just fail. So while I support the motion in principle, I cannot support its implementation at this time, so I respectfully suggest that we defer this matter until we are better placed to deliver on what it aims to achieve."

It was here that Cr Rob introduced the amendment that changed the motion for council staff to create a report that may lead to establishing an advisory group.

"That's because it should be an advisory group, and we've got that policy now. I think there's only two committees at the moment, everything else is an advisory group. So if we do it as a committee, it's going to be complicated and difficult. If it's an Advisor Group, it's be more flexible and easier to maintain and manage.

"If the staff can find a way, I would hope that it comes back with a lot of pros and not many cons. And I hope there's a way that we can do this. And hopefully, by early in the next year, I don't think we'll get it done this year, but maybe by February or March next year, we might be able to look at getting this going with some community input, and get some business owners and community members, some social groups, everything involved in an advisory group."

Cr Hall said she absolutely supported a motion like this.

"Obviously, our community is struggling, and we need to do something, but we need the right people to drive it, and we need to make sure that it's followed up and followed through completely, you know, bringing a resolution to council that we create this group or that group and then some and then being all excited about it doesn't actually have any follow through.

"I hope we can get it off the ground. I hope it can go well, but I hope it's not just something that comes up at a committee meeting. We all clap and say, yeah, we've done this, and then nothing fruitful actually comes from it. You know what I mean? And that's the risk. You know, we have advisory groups that the community aren't even attending. We have advisory groups that people don't have any interest in, and I know this is very on the money right now, but we need to make sure we've got buy-in from the right people to make it successful."

Cr Battista took the non-populist side, thinking the advisory group would be a staff waste of time, as he cannot see anyone strongly passionate about driving the agenda.

"All I see is another cost for council in staff time, having to prepare a report that's going to come to us in a briefing, all right, where no one wants to get involved, or there's no real groundwork and the willingness to do anything about it. You'll end up seeing another report sitting on the shelf.

"And that's the reason why I'm going to vote against. Not because I don't want something to happen, but I want something meaningful to happen."

On the other hand, Cr Waters was looking at receiving options from the staff report.

"Our community is crying out. Our community is hurting, and we need to start looking at ways how we can support that. It can be through advocacy, it can be through going for grants, but we need to start working on it, and we need to be working on it with all of our other stakeholders in the community. So I actually will appreciate a report coming back, and I understand that it will cost us money, and that's not ideal, but I think that we just need to look at, we need changes happening in our community, and we need to support our community through lots of different ways."

Cr Gordon was another that felt the supporters had well-meaning intentions, but ultimately it is the responsibility of NSW police.

"I totally get the idea of a Crime Prevention Advisory Group. I do. I do, and I applaud anybody that thinks that they can make a significant contribution into helping what's going on in Lismore right now. But I tell you what, next time, if someone's bashing my door in, am I going to be ringing the coppers, or referring to our Prevention Advisory report? I'll be ringing the coppers.

"I think the population is generally sick and tired of council thinking they can be something to everybody and getting involved, and perhaps, in a token way, lead the community down the path of crime prevention. I've worked at the coalface. I know exactly how it works. Every single one of you, when something goes wrong, you will ring the police, and we don't have enough staff. Lismore is known, it's well known to be what they call a disadvantaged station, and we simply are not resourced.

"The police force in Lismore should be twice the size it is. It should easily be twice the size it is. The area these guys and girls have to service is just enormous. And I think a bunch of well-intentioned people, and I get they are well intentioned, sitting around formulating a plan and then relying on the police to enact that plan is probably just a reach too far."

When it came to the vote, the motion was carried 7/4, with Crs Guise, Dalton-Earls, Jensen, Waters, Rob, Knight-Smith and Hall voting for and Crs Gordon, Bing, Krieg and Battista voting against.

We now await the staff report in the December or February 2026 meeting before the councillors vote on whether they form a Social Justice and Crime Prevention Advisory Group.