Gold Coast, Crime

30 May 2012 12:00 AMMichael Hart

My electorate officer visited the club this morning. Manager Robert Newton and his business partner were on the verge of tears. Their club has been broken into nine times in the last 21 days. Next door, the Miami Grass Tennis Club has been broken into four times in the same time frame. The Bond Pirates Rugby Union Club, which is just a few hundred metres away, has been robbed five times in the same time frame. Windows have been smashed, graffiti sprayed and fridges broken—and all to steal a few bottles of alcohol, some food, sausages and snack food. On one occasion they stole a bottle of scotch and still had time to also get the lemonade. Obviously they are not scotch drinkers!

These are calculated crimes. These people have taken the time to case the clubs and pick the most vulnerable entry points, on one occasion pulling up the decking of one of the clubs to get in. They are coming back time and time and time again. Our police officers were so poorly resourced by the last Labor government that they are now forced to prioritise their response, and these types of crimes unfortunately sometimes end up down the priority list. I am more than heartened by the Newman government’s pledge of 1,100 new officers, with at least 100 of these officers coming to the Gold Coast. But obviously they will take a while to be put in place. I have spoken to police and they have increased patrols in the area, with some success. To stop the breakins and damage, some clubs have now resorted to caretakers living on site. The tennis club has actually put on security guards, but it should not have to do those things. I cannot stand by and see this happen. So after consultation with a local company and as a pilot project in the area we have arranged this Friday for the local DNA Security Solutions company to install spray equipment and CCTV cameras on the premises.

We are determined to catch these thieves and, in conjunction with the police, we will.

View Michael’s Speech Here…