Message from The Area Coordinator
What an extremely informative and well received event we held in June. In place of the normal NHW meeting we invited a speaker from the Beyond Blue charity who gave his own account as an ambassador for the group after having sought help from them many years earlier. Paul Walshe is an ex police detective from Melbourne and we were very grateful that he made the journey to the warmer climes of sunny Qld to provide information and advice. If you need to talk on line you can chat to a professional direct between 4pm and 10pm each evening or log onto beyondblue.org.au call 1300 224 636 (24 hours) or check their facebook page. Mens health is a big subject and you may see
the adverts on the tv or online at the moment worth a look at!
As you may have seen in the media it is now possible to obtain crime statistics from www.police.qld.gov.au site. The crime map is available on line and you can key in the details of what type of crime, what area and what dates. It will not give individual addresses so your privacy is confirmed. It does not specify streets so the concerns many people have that it will affect insurance and property prices is not indicated. Just think of how many properties do not have insurance of any kind! This is an important tool for all residents to use and if you key in the NHW area the Crestmead
one is actually Berrinba Estate - that was the first NHW area formed after Crestmead police station started up, so does not apply.
Instead you need to key in Crestmead as the suburb. The original NHW group for Crestmead only took in part of the suburb and was named Browns Plains 17 - that area was then enlarged to cover the whole of the suburb and is now the largest NHW group in Queensland covering over 4750 premises.
This is why we are unable to deliver a newsletter to every single home I am afraid - we just do not have the resources or bodies able to deliver that many newsletters. However the newsletter will always appear on the website and you will be able to pick up a copy at many business premises - we are trying to encourage many local shops and offices to carry copies to inform people that we do exist. If you have any comments regarding this please contact me on the email address shown overleaf.
Finally I am very pleased to say that we have now been successful in obtaining a grant to purchase our own printer which will be much easier to provide information when necessary - up to now we have had to use the services of our local councillors, state and federal members of parliament and I wish to record our thanks for the help and support given to us in the past.
Another item that can be accessed from computers is the NHW Qld blog. Go to www.nhwq.org and you can see comments on the blog and find up to date information on crimes. It is hoped that Logan will soon be added to the blog locations.
There is also a facebook page for this area - Logan Crime Watch and although not a government organisation it gives real time information regarding crimes in the area. This can vary between car accidents, thefts, hooning and domestic violence situations to warnings about dog thefts (a very big thing at the moment for ILLEGAL DOG FIGHTING) and stolen cars, missing people etc. It is worth a look and may answer some questions -such as why is the police helicopter hovering over the suburb at a particular time etc. All of these tools are being added so that it empowers people to obtain more information. HOWEVER DON’T FORGET THAT WE ALL CAN BE THE BEST HELP FOR THE POLICE AND AUTHORITIES SO I URGE YOU ALL TO DO YOUR PART. If you see something amiss (alfoil in windows, a lot of activity at particular premises, people with different vehicles at regular times - this can all be indicative of drug activities, stolen vehicles and stolen rego plates) don’t forget to ring Crimestoppers 1800 333 000 or POLICELINK 131 444.
Please see overleaf regarding new driving penalties and I look forward to seeing you at one of our next meetings, take care
Geoff
NEW QLD ROAD RULES & PENALTIES
Driving with person or animal on lap $256 + 0 points
Reversing for longer than necessary $44 + 0 points
Following another vehicle too closely $256 + 1 points
Driving without a clear view in all directions $256 + 0 pt
Playing loud music $352 + 2 points
Using mobile phone including use by cyclists—$330 + 3 points
Making a U turn across a single or double continuous line $198 + 3 points
Making a U turn at an intersection controlled by lights (unless permitted by signage) $88 + o points
Parking/stopping within 10 metres of an intersection without a traffic light $44 + 0 points
Driving in right hand lane of a multi lane road with an 80km/h or higher limit $66 + 2 points
Entering an intersection when the road beyond is blocked $44 + 0 points
Leaving vehicle without handbrake left on $44+0 points
Tooting the horn (unless as a warning) $66 + 0 points
More information next newsletter
