Are Local Councils Monitoring Us?

gomelbcityfc on 10/04/2020 - 18:11

Hi all,

This week I was told something that gave me chills. Namely my son is working from home and lives in city of Melton, western melbourne. This week he heard a motor noise outside, thinking it was the postman, he went outside to find a surprising sight he had never seen.

Going up and down the footpath was a golf buggy-like vehicle, with hi-def cameras on all 4 sides (like the ones on speed camera poles). Neither the driver nor vehicle had markings on it. He/she was going sistematically up and down local streets, covering all footpaths.

Initial thoughts were that they were checking for parking infringements, but seeing that there were no illegally parked cars in that whole street, there would be no need to sistematically cover all footpaths. Another thought is that they are checking for footpath or other local damage in need of attention, seeing that the area is brand new development, all facilities are brand new.

Any ideas? Conspiracy theorists (like my daughter whom I have mentioned previously) say that they are filming all houses, and review the footage later to subsequently issue social isolation fines if the cameras see anyone washing their car etc.

I have not seen or heard anything like this before. This is just FYI as there is basically nothing we can do about this obviously.

General Discussion

Comments

  • John Kimble on 10/04/2020 - 18:12
    +5

    basically nothing we can do about this obviously.

    Ask the council

  • bobbified on 10/04/2020 - 18:18
    +6

    I saw this somewhere else recently and someone mentioned that the buggy is used to check the footpath for holes, uneveness, etc.

    I'm in no position to confirm whether it's true or not, but I dare say that the council would much rather take money from us instead of spending money on monitoring us common folk.

  • kanmen on 10/04/2020 - 18:21
    +3

    Why do you think its the council and not the State or Federal Government or Victoria Police?

    If it's the council it would be the footpaths they were looking at, but I'd also be very surprised if a local council in a growth zone like Melton could afford a golf cart with cameras and the like.

    It could be surveyors or geographers or statisticians, who knows.

    • resisting the urge on 10/04/2020 - 18:33
      +6

      Private Data collectors, which come slurping with increasingly invasive technologies. They are probably logging local Wi-Fi Access Points too, and relating all the data. Likely paid for by mapdata, google, realmaps, yellow pages, etc. They sell the data to the LTO, gov depts and councils, real estate groups, insurance companies, banks, etc, but fleece the local councils first 'at a cheaper price' so long as they can access and come back to update the data whenever they like, for commercial purposes.

      Even if only one of those entities is paying to carry this out, they'll sell it to the others at the first oppo. And will be back to update it more and more regularly as they work out ways to sell it more widely and more often.

      They've been flying helicopters, planes and drones over your house to collect data for years now, since noone complains and the gov can't see/doesn't care about the problems it will cause, it just gets worse and worse.

      They can come right up to your threshold, and hover 50m or less above your house if they want. I had a blackhawk with a full crew directly about my place once for what seemed like 5 mins, doors open with an armed crew hanging out. So close it was deafening and I didn't need to blow the leaves around the place for a month. Could count the rivets on the side, and see the crews' eyes it was so low. If I was a returned vet, or had lived in war-torn location I would likely have been terrified out of my senses.

  • mapax on 10/04/2020 - 18:26
    +9

    I used to work for a different council. They’re used to monitor footpath condition as mentioned above and also tree condition amongst other things, but we used quads not golf carts.

    • kanmen on 10/04/2020 - 18:33
      +1

      Love this thread of engineers talking about it: here

      • JimmyF on 10/04/2020 - 18:54
        +1

        Love this thread

        Started reading, then seen this

        We have a 1600km network and around 80,000 defects.

        GASP that is a defect every 20 meters!

  • whooah1979 on 10/04/2020 - 18:32
    +1

    issue social isolation fines

    Social isolation policing comes under the purview of the states. Local council shouldn’t have legislative powers to enforce these restrictions.

    • pegaxs on 10/04/2020 - 21:48
      +1

      Was going to say the same. If a council sent me a fine over isolation, I would send it back, laughing. It would t be beyond a council to try, the money grubbing whores that they are, just trying to get a slice of that revenue pie…

  • Hithere on 10/04/2020 - 18:34
    +1

    Anything like this?

    It has four wheels, four cameras, a flashing light and travels at five kilometres an hour.

    http://imgbox.com/uwRbF87q

    (Survey vehicle operator Nick Moore with one of the vehicles used to survey the footpaths)

  • JimmyF on 10/04/2020 - 18:52
    +2

    Going up and down the footpath was a golf buggy-like vehicle, with hi-def cameras on all 4 sides

    Kinda should have given it away…. They are checking the footpath for faults/recording its condition so they can keep on top of the trip and fall scam artists :)

    I have not seen or heard anything like this before.

    and that doesn't mean it doesn't happen :)

    Nothing to see here…. Just the council checking the footpath, no tin foil hat needed today. They use the spy planes for that so they can see inside your back yard ;)

  • Clear on 10/04/2020 - 19:35
    +4

    They're doing Road and Footpath surveys. A lot of councils nationwide have contracted IMGPL out to do the job. Fleets of quad bikes and vans going down every street.

    People often think the same about the quad bikes and utes that do late night weed spraying.

    • jason101 on 10/04/2020 - 19:53
      +4

      Years ago I built a new home, when I moved in to the new house the footpath out front was damaged. I complained to the council. They informed me they had photographic evidence that the footpath was not damaged before my house was built, but during construction it was damaged - therefore I was responsible to pay for the footpath repairs I requested.

      • Ryanek on 11/04/2020 - 09:28
        +1

        That must have been a very satisfied council worker.

  • try2bhelpful on 10/04/2020 - 19:36
    +2

    It’s aliens, I tell ya. “To serve man” is a cookbook.

  • field1985 on 10/04/2020 - 21:15
    +3

    The councils are doing asset assessments of their infrastructure. I used to work for a mapping/survey company that did this work capturing/mapping assets and recording their condition.

    We did footpaths, parks (bbqs, signs, fencing, etc), stormwater (pole mounted camera's for pit/pipe inspections), and power/gas utility infrastructure. With footpaths every crack was photographed and logged with a rating to prioritize repairs. Any cracks with a displacement greater then 1cm got the highest rating (trip hazard).

    Basically it just involves taking photos/videos of the Council owned assets (eg signs) and recording key information (type, condition, approx age, etc) along with GPS locations. This way council can maintain a database of their millions of pieces of infrastructure (every footpath slab, sign, pipe fitting, etc, etc) to plan and budget for their maintainence, upgrades and valuation/insurance purposes.

    While I was mapping park assets, Pokemon Go went viral, so I was literally getting paid $40hr to collect real world assets on a tablet while dozens of people wandered around me like zombies in the parks catching imaginary pokemon on their phones for no benefit. It was quite bizaare.

    On another note, the council's are watching by accessing your metadata under the Data Retention Act:
    "In one example, a local council attempted to use metadata to chase a litterbug, by asking a telecommunications carrier to report the location of calls by a man whose name was on an envelope dumped on the street."
    Councils pry into residents' metadata to chase down fines

    • ssquid on 11/04/2020 - 00:49
      +1

      So they're taking pictures of big cracks. Better warn the local tradies.

  • Nutrino on 10/04/2020 - 23:08
    +1

    Mate, I'm deducting 10 points off your social credit score….

  • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2020 - 23:16
    +1

    Checking if you are playing group Mario Kart under isolation.

  • Meho2026 on 11/04/2020 - 08:33
    +1

    That is the COVID20 dispersal vehicle, manufactured in Wuhan last month.
    It arrived on the first freight flight out this week with the faulty face mask delivery.
    The federal government funded the project as part of the population control stimulus package.
    Melton was selected for the pilot study due to disproportionate amount of undesirables.
    I can’t lie to you about your chances but you have my sympathies

    • gomelbcityfc on 11/04/2020 - 10:48

      No thats what the chemtrails are for ;)

    • gomelbcityfc on 11/04/2020 - 10:49

      I’m cancelling my Office 365 subscription today ;) ;)

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 11/04/2020 - 09:47
    +1

    The joke is that in my local council they don't fix hazards. They spray paint them yellow.

    • mapax on 11/04/2020 - 09:52
      +1

      It’s more likely that they’re just lower priority due to being less of a risk. Even if you see something and think it looks dangerous, it’s likely there are even more dangerous things out there, or a cynic might suggest there are “really dangerous” hazards near rich people that need fixing first.

      • peterpeterpumpkin on 11/04/2020 - 10:47

        Yeah, as a frequent hazard reporter, generally the hazards you can walk on have the lowest priority, unless the responsibility lies with a third-party (e.g. private resident, contractor or Sydney Water).

        Waverley Council, which serves a lot of tourists and wealthy people, refused to take action on an issue over the phone, unless I returned to the area and took a photo first. I'm sure in the pre-internet era they would require residents with urgent issues to develop photos from their cameras and mail them in…

  • gomelbcityfc on 11/04/2020 - 10:46

    Ok, conspiracy theorists stand down :)

    Thanks for everyone’s input. But seriously My immediate thought was footpath damage checks, but you never know. It is like @Hithere photo but bigger Vehicle and cameras on all for sides. But it could be Checking for parking fines too, as in my area I noticed in last few months the number of people parking on nature strips/across footpaths have dramatically reduced.

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