**IMPORTANT**

- Leave a comment outlining your reason for signing (this helps us tell council about the impact on community members!)

- List your postcode accurately (ie. 3012, not Melbourne 3000)

- Forward this petition to anyone you know who lives on Suffolk St or surrounds

To: Maribyrnong City Council, Mayor Cr Sarah Carter, Cr Cuc Lam PSM, Cr Bernadette Thomas

What Are We Asking Maribyrnong City Council To Do?

We the undersigned hereby petition Maribyrnong City Council to lead the engagement of Victoria police and other legislative bodies – in relation to activities and behaviour at a property adjacent to Montgomery St, on Suffolk St, West Footscray - to:

·      Uphold local and criminal law;

·      Preserve the peace, safety and wellbeing of the community;

·      Protect public and private property;

·      Eliminate public and private nuisance and;

·      Prohibit and control dangerous, illegal, detrimental behaviour

Further Information:

1. PETITION SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION – OVERVIEW
2. PETITION SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION - INCIDENTS, RISKS AND ACTIVITY (2021 – PRESENT)

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1.     PETITION SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION - OVERVIEW

What is the Problem?

Community safety risks, illegal activity and disturbance coming from a property adjacent to Montgomery St, on Suffolk St, West Footscray.

Examples include:

·      Death threats to neighbours

·      Domestic violence incidents

·      Drug overdoses on the property and on the street

·      Drugs and drug paraphernalia left in neighbours’ yards

·      Used needles disposed of on Suffolk and Montgomery Streets

·      Residents and visitors to the property seen to carry weapons

·      Suspicious activity around movement of goods, cars and equipment into and out of the property

·      Regular police and ambulance attendance (25+ police visits Aug 2021 – Aug 2022)

·      3 attendances by Victoria police between Sunday 30th July & Friday 4th August 2023

Refer to ‘Incidents, Risks and Activity’ heading for specific examples.

Why Are we Petitioning Maribyrnong City Council?

This petition is necessary because contact by multiple households with the following government departments and services (2021-2023) has so far failed to address this issue:

·      Maribyrnong City Council

·      Footscray Police station 

·      Sunshine Police

·      Crimestoppers

·      Westgate Divisional Response Unit - Werribee Police Station

·      Environmental Protection Agency

·      Greater Westen Water

·      Department of Families Fairness and Housing

·      Ambulance Victoria

·      000

 

Is this issue the responsibility of Maribyrnong City Council?

Yes. 

We need Maribyrnong City Council to enforce local law and engage Victoria Police to address criminal activity that compromises public safety. 

The stated purpose of Maribyrnong City Council General Purpose Local Law 2015 is:

This Local Law is made for the purposes of providing for the peace, order and good government of the municipal district by managing, regulating and controlling activities and uses on any land to:

(a) promote a physical and social environment free from hazards to health or public safety, in which the residents of the municipal district can enjoy a quality of life that meets the general expectations of the community;

(b) prevent and suppress nuisances which may adversely affect the enjoyment of life within the municipal district or the health, safety and welfare of persons within the municipal district;

(c) prohibit, regulate and control activities or behaviour which may be dangerous, or detrimental to the quality of life and the environment of the municipal district or which could compromise public safety, Council land or assets;

What are the risks and issues relating to the property?

Failure to comply with General Purpose Local Law 2015 under the following clauses:

• 16  Standards applying to Land and Buildings

Examples:

·      House is boarded up with all windows smashed

·      Waste and rubbish piles accumulated in the front and back yards of the property

·      Shopping trolleys in the yard, left on the nature strip and on Suffolk Street

 

• 53 Maintenance of Drains

Examples:

·      Discharge of raw sewage onto adjacent private and public land 

·      Illegal discharge of raw sewage into stormwater drain 

·      Undertaking illegal plumbing works without qualifications or a permit

·      Gutters and downpipes overflowing to neighbouring properties

 

• 63 Noise from deliveries and other uses and activities

Examples:

Excessive and continued nuisance noise audible from neighbouring properties at all hours of the day and night including:

·      Banging and smashing in the house and garage

·      Shouting, arguments, abusive and aggressive language in the house and on the street

·      Multiple incidents of domestic violence reported to Victoria Police.

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2.     PETITION SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION - INCIDENTS, RISKS AND ACTIVITY (2021 – PRESENT)

Most of the below information has been reported to the relevant authorities. The authorities have failed to address the ongoing issues at this property.

At the Property:

·      Regular Police, ambulance attendance and raids

·      Residents making armed threats to kill neighbours (2021)

·      Residents and visitors observed carrying weapons including: machete, hatchet, knuckle dusters, fire extinguisher, metal pole (2021 – 2023)

·      Residents bucketing raw sewage out of their property onto public land and into waterways (2023)

·      Residents of the property feeding poison to neighbour’s pets (2021)

·      Multiple neighbours taking out personal protection or intervention orders against residents of the property (2021 – 2023)

·      Police seizure of bags of evidence including: drugs, fake IDs (2022)

·      Direct neighbours being forced to move house because of safety concerns and threats (2021 – 2023)

·      Crack pipes and bags of drugs being placed in hiding places on neighbouring properties by residents, who later came to claim the items (2022)

·      Cars observed with different number plates on the front and back. Same Cars observed with different number plates on different days (2021 – 2023)

·      Different vehicles regularly arriving at the property at night, being emptied and cleaned by people wearing plastic gloves, before the number plates are changed, after which the vehicle is never seen again (2021 – 2023)

·      Regular aggressive, violent, threatening or drug-affected visitors to the property. Intimidating neighbours, making threats to kill the residents of the property or their pets, smashing windows and doors, and physically attacking residents (2021 – 2023)

·      Strangers knocking on neighbours’ doors at night or trying to access neighbours’ properties, asking for the residents of the property. One such visitor knocked on a neighbour’s door wearing a full face balaclava (2022)

·      Goods and equipment being loaded into cars or into the property in the middle of the night. Items regularly observed going in and out of the property: cars, electric scooters, electric bikes, bicycles, motorbikes (2021 – 2023)

·      Frequent overdoses and people losing consciousness on the property, on the nature strip, or in parked cars outside the property. People entering the property briefly, before using drugs outside. (2021 – 2023)

·      At least 3 attendances by Ambulance for drug overdoses on 1 day, 21st December 2022

·      Residents of the property frequently bringing new dogs, cats and puppies to the property. After one such occasion, a third party turned up at the property, accused the residents of stealing their dog (2022) and made death threats and threats to burn the house down.

·      Residents driving, damaging and then dumping stolen cars (2023)

·      Cars arriving outside the address and exchanging small bags of white powder on the street (2021 – 2023)

·      People jumping the fences, from the property into neighbouring gardens, to hide from other people or from Victoria Police (2022 – 2023). People hiding from Victoria Police on the property (2021 – 2023)

·      Hammering, banging, smashing, groaning and wailing noises and violent and aggressive behaviour at all hours of the day and night, creating fear, disturbance and anxiety for neighbours (2021 – 2023)

There is also a very high level of constant and suspicious traffic to and from the property:

·      Multiple children between the ages of 3-12 being taken into the property for some hours at a time – this property is not safe for children

·      Constant pedestrian and vehicular traffic to the house at all hours of the day and night, with visitors generally only staying on site for a few minutes

·      Regular bike and scooter traffic at all hours, with riders arriving multiple times a day and staying for a couple of minutes each time, leaving carrying big bags

·      Visitors passing money between themselves out the front of the property

In addition to the specific examples above, action needs to be taken to investigate suspicious or illegal activity at the corner of Suffolk St and Montgomery St:

·      Used needles found in neighbours’ front gardens, on nature strips on Suffolk and Montgomery Streets, and in the gutters (2021-2023)

·      Theft of items from nearby residents’ front yards, sheds and vehicles (most recently in late July 2023).

·      Vehicles being dumped in neighbours’ driveways (2023)

After two years of inaction from authorities, we urgently need Maribyrnong City Council to enforce local law and engage Victoria Police to address the criminal activity that compromises the safety and wellbeing of families, children and residents.

Please sign now to support a safer Suffolk Street and surrounds.

CONTACT US

wefowatch@gmail.com