Anthony Roberts
Shadow Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism
Minister for Police and Counter Terrorism, Yasmin Catley, has been caught out misleading the public as part of a political stoush with Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone over policing in the Fairfield Local Area Command.
On Monday, Minister Catley told 702 ABC Sydney Breakfast that local police were not aware of, or involved in, a decision to fence off Fairfield's Crescent Plaza in response to ongoing violence and anti-social behaviour.
The Minister also called the Mayor's claim that police in Fairfield were under resourced "absolute garbage" and pointed to 64 recruits being allocated to the Fairfield area on her watch.
However, this morning on 2GB, Mayor Carbone called out the Minister, pointing to multiple emails showing local police were engaged with council and were aware of the decision to fence off Crescent Plaza well in advance.
Mayor Carbone also pointed to analysis which shows police numbers in the Fairfield Local Area Command have fallen from 290 officers in 2021 to just 221 in 2025, a loss of 69 officers while the local population has only grown.
Shadow Minister for Police and Counter-Terrorism, Anthony Roberts, said the Minister must come clean and owes both Mayor Carbone and the Fairfield community an apology.
"Minister Catley has been caught out here and needs to front up and apologise for misleading the public," Mr Roberts said.
"The reality is police numbers are going backwards in Fairfield and across Western Sydney, and the Minister needs to stop pretending otherwise."
"This is about community safety. You cannot have fewer officers, a growing population, and claim everything is fine when people's real experience is that crime is only getting worse."
Mr Roberts also pointed to broader concerns about police resourcing in the area.
"Under this Minister, key local resources have been scaled back, including the reduction of operating hours at Weatherill Park Police Station from 24 hours to 12 hours."
"The people of Fairfield deserve honesty, accountability, and proper police resourcing, not blame games from an underperforming Minister."
