Residents of Palmerston will soon see enhanced technology used to address crime and anti-social behaviour and provide more efficient Council services, following the announcement of a $1 million grant through the Australian Government Smart Cities and Suburbs Program Round 2. This brings the total amount available for these initiatives to $2 million; matching the existing commitments of $500,000 from Council and $500,000 from the Northern Territory Government.

The program will address overcoming Palmerston’s growth challenges and capturing innovative opportunities, with a focus on crime and antisocial behaviour; delivering more efficient community-based services; providing greater transparency and accountability and contribute to a more sustainable Palmerston.

In partnership with the NT Government, NT Police and Charles Darwin University, smart technology will be utilised to enhance, enable and empower Council’s operations. In detail, the program will:

• Deploy HD CCTV, video and sound analytics combined with smart lighting to target crime hotspots and provide improved infrastructure and intelligence to our partners, NT Police.
• Deliver cost-effective waste management in the form of a smart bin trial, which will utilise real time fill-level monitoring in combination with compaction and odour control, to improve the service, reduce transportation costs, and emissions.
• Improve the monitoring and maintenance of irrigation equipment and water resources to provide more efficient irrigation within parks and green spaces.

The program will also result in a key outcome of innovation through open data and the creation of a smart device application, to make both new and existing data sets openly transparent to the public and transform the way Council engages and interacts with the community to deliver its services.

The program builds on the City of Palmerston Digital Strategy 2021 which is underpinned by the key principles of:

• Safe and Sound – “Deliver A Safer Community”;
• Connect and Enable - “Not Connected Is Not an Option”; and
• Interact and Engage - “Facilitate Better Outcomes for The Community”.

Quote from City of Palmerston Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell

“With almost universal NBN coverage and a young, tech savvy population, Palmerston is becoming the Territory’s hub for digital innovation. This transformational project for the Palmerston community will build on Council’s existing programs, like the Smart LED Lighting Replacement Program which sees all existing Council lights replaced with smart LED luminaires, with an aim to improving the safety and liveability of the municipality.”

“Palmerston has a promising future as the Family City of the Northern Territory and A Place for People.”