The government has committed two million dollars for CCTV cameras and lighting along the part of the Central Coast where Audrey Griffin was killed, a measure officials say is intended to make a real difference to safety in the area. The commitment is the result of persistent lobbying by Kathleen Kirby, Audrey's mother, who has campaigned for changes to the dark stretch since her daughter's death.
Audrey Griffin, who was 19, was killed on the banks of Erina Creek last year. She had been walking home along the poorly lit stretch after a night out with friends when she was attacked. The court process has treated the killing as a random attack, leaving her family searching for both answers and lasting change in the place where she died.
For Kathleen Kirby, the funding represents a measure of progress after a long fight. She described the announcement as one of the stepping stones she had wanted in relation to the situation, saying she felt one step closer to feeling a little bit more relieved. The commitment, she was told, would go some way towards helping Audrey's loved ones begin to heal.
The man charged with Audrey Griffin's murder is Adrian Torrens. The court heard that at the time of the alleged attack he was on bail on unrelated domestic violence charges, a detail that has sharpened questions about how he came to be at liberty. His case continues to move through the justice system as the family waits for it to be resolved.
Beyond the criminal case, Kathleen Kirby remains deeply troubled by the way the death was first handled. She is still struggling with the fact that police initially put her daughter's death down to a misadventure. She has said those involved need to be held accountable and that their jobs should be on the line, arguing that her daughter was treated with no respect at all.
Kirby is now hoping that the question of how the death was initially treated will form part of a coronial investigation, although a coronial inquest into Audrey's death is still yet to be formalised. Acknowledging the wider failure, the government said its number one responsibility was to keep the public safe, and admitted that in too many cases it had not done that.