Residents take stand
Neighbours speak out on disturbance
DISGRUNTLED Mareeba residents have expressed outrage at a Northern Tablelands Neighbourhood Watch meeting about ongoing problems near their homes.
Most nights residents on Ward and Royes streets say they have to call police so they feel safe in their own homes.
Residents are now calling for the Department of Housing to step in and take responsibility for disturbances in the two streets.
The meeting on Monday at the CWA Hall on Wilkes St gave residents the chance to talk to Mareeba Police and Mareeba Community Housing about what they have to go through on a regular basis.
Ward St resident Noressa Sullivan said that the noise, alcohol, kids screaming at all hours were not the best circumstances for her and her son or for some of the other residents living in the area.
She said that police responded in a timely manner but there was constant family disputes, break-ins, littering and broken beer bottles.
“(The) housing commission needs to be involved more,” she said. “You can’t rest at all and there is music 24/7.”
Ward St resident Mrs Rechiye Latif said her husband was 90 years old and could not get the rest he needed as there was too much disturbance.
Mareeba Senior Constable Megan O’Brien said it was important that residents experiencing issues called police for noise complaints, disturbances, break-ins and acts of violence. With the introduction of the Northern Tablelands Facebook page, Senior Constable O’Brien said the aim was to target major problems before the page went live.
“It is about everyone coming together for a better community,” she said.
Mareeba Community Housing supervisor for housing services Rob Larkin said Ward Street was on their radar.
“Tenants need to start standing up. They have a right to peace and quiet.,” he said.
Northern Tablelands NHW area co-ordinator Keith Nelson said they hold a meeting every third Monday of every second month.