More cameras added, but for what real purpose?
Photo: XMI

Big Brother is Watching.

CCTV EXPANSION

A $2 million CCTV rollout aimed at ‘curbing hooning’ across Logan City has sparked criticism, as authorities move to ‘address growing dangerous driving incidents in the region’.

The Queensland Government has committed funding for the installation of approximately 40 new high-tech surveillance cameras across several suburbs, including Rochedale South, Springwood, Daisy Hill, Shailer Park, Mount Cotton, Sheldon and Priestdale.

The cameras are expected to feature advanced capabilities such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), with some reports indicating potential facial recognition technology.

The initiative comes in response to mounting community concern over hooning, which includes illegal street racing, burnouts, drifting, and excessive vehicle noise.

According to recent figures, Logan recorded 4,593 hooning-related incidents in 2025, placing it among the worst-affected areas in the state.

Residents have increasingly complained about late-night disturbances, property damage, and safety risks associated with organised hooning gatherings coordinated via social media.

As always, the police have responded to these concerns of the community by saying more surveillance is needed across the area. The officers themselves are too busy chasing up people for public transport infringements, or someone growing a plant in their backyard.

Authorities argue that expanding CCTV coverage will ‘improve their ability to identify offenders, gather evidence, and deter repeat behaviour’.

They say the technology will enable police to track vehicles involved in hooning more efficiently, reducing reliance on patrol-based enforcement. Here is a look inside HQ:

However, the rollout has not been without controversy. Critics argue that the placement of cameras fails to target some of the city’s most persistent hooning hotspots.

Suburbs such as Browns Plains, frequently cited by residents as a major trouble area, have reportedly been excluded from the current plan. This has led to concerns that the initiative may not effectively address the worst-affected locations.

Some community members and observers have questioned whether political considerations have influenced the selection of sites, suggesting that certain areas have been prioritised over others, despite evidence of higher incident rates elsewhere. These concerns have fuelled debate about the overall effectiveness and fairness of the rollout.

Introduce a new network of cameras to ‘tackle hooning’, but miss the main areas where said hooning takes place? What is going on here?

Could it be that this expansion is not really about ‘hooning’ at all?

Logan already operates an extensive council-run CCTV network of around 1,400 cameras, yet the additional infrastructure is ‘needed’ to ‘strengthen law enforcement capabilities’?

While surveillance can play a role in addressing anti-social driving, its success often depends on strategic placement and integration with broader enforcement measures.

Without targeting known hotspots, there is a risk that offenders may simply relocate to areas with less monitoring – while innocent residents now remain under watch.

See how this all works?

For neighbourhoods that have experienced frequent disruptions, they don’t want deterrents – they want results. They don’t want to be treated like criminals who are constantly under watch because the police can’t catch the actual criminals.

But that isn’t the plan under Orwellian Australia moving forward, folks.

The concept of ‘privacy’ is no longer something seen as sacred and essential.

Everyone will be watched, regardless of whether you have committed a crime.

How long will it be before authorities ask local residents to link their own CCTV cameras to the database, like we have recently seen in Victoria?

‘Safer Places’: Victorians asked to register CCTV cameras for crime protection database
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Queensland has been on this path towards full surveillance for many years now.

The eyes of Big Brother are always watching, ladies and gentlemen.

ORWELLIAN QLD

It should not come as a surprise that the Sunshine State is moving in a direction like this, as the slow creep of mass monitoring has been advancing through multiple governments.

In 2020, it was announced that Queensland had taken another step towards a dystopian technocratic future with the implementation of new license plate microchip technologies.

Compulsory microchips for QLD number plates
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Couple that with Queensland’s adoption of digital licenses, and we can see that the entire transport agenda has been shifting towards more surveillance for a while.

Australia’s Rapid Shift to Digital Identification and Licenses
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So, forgive me if I am not very convinced when they tell me more CCTV cameras are for my ‘safety’ or to ‘prevent hooning’. The pathway seems a bit more sinister in nature.

Especially when Queensland’s public transport network already itself has a vast surveillance network that monitors from Gympie down to the Gold Coast in real-time.

QLD Rail boasts about surveillance capabilities in new ad
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This isn’t about protection, it is about spying on you.

Many of these cameras on the transport network are already equipped with highly sophisticated facial recognition capabilities, brought in to supposedly ‘catch potential terrorists’ ahead of the 2017 Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Games: Privacy Commissioner slams facial recognition plans as ‘unprecedented’
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As you would guess, there we no ‘terrorists’ found – and the technology that was brought in as a ‘temporary measure for protection’ was left in place after the event was over.

Facial recognition technology to stay following Commonwealth Games
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Our major airports have also had biometric monitoring incorporated into them for over a decade now, and you can’t visit a retail store without being watched anymore.

Brisbane Airport develops ‘intelligent’ CCTV technology
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Face scans set to become commonplace in Australia after Bunnings ruling
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Does the public ever get a break from being watched 24/7?

Meanwhile, in other regions, authorities seem to be a little bit more sensible – such as Adelaide council who blocked plans for police CCTV expansions in 2022.

Adelaide City Council blocks police bid for facial recognition CCTV
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For Queenslanders though, it seems things are only about to get worse, especially in south-east regions of Logan City. Areas that are already intentionally kept in crime and poverty.

Remember to smile for the cameras, potential criminal!

Everyone is guilty until proven innocent in 2026 Queensland.