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Fix crime, invest in grassroots over Olympic con job: KAP Mulgrave Candidate
October 7, 2024
Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) candidate for Mulgrave has slammed the clear lack of local priorities, after the Mulgrave Combined Cricket Club was once again the victim of senseless crime.
Steven Lesina, a well-known and respected local sporting personality in his own right, said that at the same time as the Brisbane parties trek up to Far North Queensland to announce shiny upgrades to Barlow Park – to pretend that the Olympics extend outside of Brisbane – the crime epidemic is spiralling out of control and impacting grassroots community sport.
“I’ve spent most of my adult life at and around clubs like the Mulgrave Combined Cricket Club, and to see the failings of the Brisbane parties threatening clubs’ viability breaks my heart,” Mr Lesina said.
“Sporting clubs are the heart of any community, but more importantly they provide a genuine way for troubled young people to get the support they need before they too get sucked into a life of crime.
“This is the eighth break in this year alone – it has to stop, and real consequences like Send ‘em Bush are a darn good start,” the KAP Candidate for Mulgrave said.
The Mulgrave Combined Cricket Club has had to pay over $50,000 in repairs and has been forced to invest a further $30,000 in additional security. Averaged out across the membership, this equates to at least a $250 increase in fees.
“During a cost of living crisis, made worse by Brisbane’s Climate Tax, the people I know, and love just can’t cop that sort of additional increase,” Mr Lesina said.
“And the greatest kick in the teeth is to see the $91 Million proposed to tart up Barlow Park – we all know that it is a short-sighted attempt to con us that the so-called spoils of the Brisbane Olympics can be shared outside of Brisbane – we can see straight through that here. Imagine how $91 Million could be spent for good!
“KAP’s tough and effective youth crime policy would send young offenders to remote locations, for a minimum term, with intensive rehabilitation, and would ensure that such rehabilitation was not the last resort for the judiciary.
“The people I speak to right across Mulgrave are screaming for a solution to crime, not a tokenistic one-time-use Olympics white elephant.
Photo: Mulgrave Candidate Steven Lesina and Gav Lovett from Mulgrave Combined Cricket Club