Copper theft leaving Perth roads in darkness, streetlights without electricity

Australia Broadcast Center

02-07-2025

Stretches of highways in Perth remain in darkness every night as authorities struggle to tackle a huge amount of copper theft leaving thousands of streetlights without electricity.
About 65 kilometres of street lights and 14 km of pathway lights in the metro area are not turning on at night because the cables that power them have been stolen.
Copper theft has a lucrative resell value on the black market.
Some of the worst spots include Tonkin Highway around Ellenbrook, and major roads in Mandurah.
Transport Rita Saffioti said theft of the copper cables that power the lights has increased significantly since 2018.
"This is across the network, to be honest ... there has been increased theft," she told parliament.
Main Roads WA estimated it spends $2 to $3 million a year replacing stolen cabling, yet the problem persists.
The agency's James Pinnington said more sparse sections of Perth's highways were vulnerable.
"Thieves are accessing the pit and conduit system with a variety of different tools, and they're becoming more creative in how they're doing it," he told ABC Radio Perth.
Mr Pinnington said the agency was investigating new measures to secure its access pits, including trialling different lockable lids and cable management systems.
"We're pretty confident that it's going to slow people down and reduce the amount of theft across the network," he said.
But with more than 10,000 cable access pits across the state, he conceded the cost of implementing the measures would be significant.
"It is [a lot]. Unfortunately if we don't make these changes we're going to experience more and more theft," he said.
"It's important we do this work otherwise we're just going to be replacing cable after cable without keeping the lights running."
Ausgrid — the biggest power provider on Australia's east coast — said thieves are going as far as cutting down power poles with chainsaws to access the internal wires.
"These criminals are not just putting their own lives at risk but are also endangering [others] by leaving powerlines exposed, often cut and lying on the ground," the agency's Sam Sofi said.
The increase in copper cabling theft comes despite laws introduced several years ago requiring scrap metal traders or anyone wanting to sell copper to have a licence.
Mr Pinnington said those laws have merely created a wider underground market for thieves to pursue.
"Not all of the scrap metal is being scrapped locally. With some of it going into ship containers, offshore or maybe over east, to mask the behaviour of what's happening," he said.
Ms Saffioti yesterday told parliament the government was looking at installing alarms and CCTV in some heavily targeted areas to deter would be thieves.
Mr Pinnington said while those measure would be useful, the public remained the best weapon against cable theft.
"I think the most effective measure really is people reporting suspicious behaviour to police," he said.