Article courtesy of The Canberra Times – view online here.
November 6 marks 24 years since the violent home invasion of Canberra grandparents Irma and Gregor Palasics, ending with the violent death of 73-year-old Irma.
Irma and Gregor, my grandparents, escaped Hungary in 1956 with only the clothes on their back, their two daughters in tow. They crossed the border into Austria just hours before the borders closed, and the Communist put down of the revolution began. Travelling through Austria, Switzerland and then Italy, they arrived at the port of Genoa, to be given a choice of migration to the United States or Australia. Both options were unknown to them, they spoke not a word of English, but after a little encouragement they made the right decision to choose Australia as their future home. Australia, the lucky country, a safe place far from the war and terror that had ravaged their homeland for many centuries.
After settling in the suburb of Red Hill where they lived for more than 35 years, they built their lives around family, generosity and friendship. Never ones to shy away from helping others in need, after all they knew what it was like to have nothing, having left everything behind in Hungary. They lived modest lives, starting a carpentry business, building kitchens and cabinetry. They enjoyed the odd gamble on the one-armed bandits and amassed a large circle of friends. Life was good.
Then on November 6, 1999, everything changed. We don’t know exactly what happened that night in their new little home in McKellar, but their neighbours were shocked when the street filled with the sound of sirens and dozens of police. My grandfather had come to, managing to untie himself from the phone cord, plug it in and call triple-zero to tell them “someone has killed my wife”.
For our family, the innocence of sleepy little Canberra came to an end that night. The capital made national news for the murder of a grandmother in the safety of her own home. The hours turned into days, the days into years, and ACT Policing’s call for public assistance to identify the offenders fell silent.
Jumping forward nearly 24 years to September 20, 2023, the announcement was made that a man had been arrested in Melbourne for the alleged murder of Irma. After all the years of silence, it was a breakthrough many people had been waiting to hear and one that our family had never given up hope for. However, there is still one other offender at large, as police have always suspected there were at least two people involved. The waiting game goes on to have justice served.
So just how safe are we in Canberra? ACT Policing, like so many other government services, are under-resourced with police numbers ridiculously low for our population. The ACT has a lower police-to-population ratio than every other state and territory; only 219 police per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 284.
In our bush capital, we are definitely not spared the crimes of the bigger cities like Sydney. According to police data, Canberra has seen increasing homicides numbers in recent years. Jumping from the trend of less than 9 per year up to 16 in 2021 (a ratio of 3.5 murders per 100,000), and 14 last year.
Comparatively, NSW homicide rates have been decreasing by almost 10 per cent over the five-year period. NSW reported 64 homicides in 2021/22, however with their larger population, that is 0.6 murders per 100,000 – really putting Canberra’s statistics into perspective. Murders in the ACT certainly are not a result of inadequate police numbers, but they do reflect the need for increased police resources to investigate them.
There are still several unsolved murders in the ACT, dating as far back as 1966. The most well-known include Frank Campbell, Kathryn Grosvenor, Allen Redston, Keren Rowland and Susan Winburn. For these cases, there are families and friends who are still desperately waiting for answers.
ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan has stated time and time again that the demand for police services far exceeds supply in the ACT. When was the last time you were stopped for a random breath test in Canberra?
Anecdotally, you hear that police will allegedly not come to a break and enter unless someone has been assaulted because they do not have the resources. With a website register for people to report their crimes, it begs the question, how safe are we?
Many people will be growing anxious about their family’s safety seeing these statistics, and will continue to ask when the ACT government will properly fund ACT police. Perhaps a better question is why this ACT government does not prioritise policing and community safety. How warped are the priorities if public safety is a discretionary area of expenditure? Maybe if we had fewer CIT “systems thinkers” and failed government IT procurements then police would become more affordable?
Canberra is heading towards the title of the unsolved murder capital. We need more police.