Council fed up with vandals following spate of attacks

Lockyer Valley Regional Council’s Facilities Portfolio Councillor Anthony Wilson is taking a stance against vandalism following a series of senseless attacks.

Cr Wilson said Council was fed up with vandals disrespecting community assets, with Fairways Park, the Laidley Recreational Reserve and the Laidley Mall toilets the latest in a long list of targets.

“We’ve had enough of mindless vandalism, and we have and will continue to provide CCTV footage to the police to assist them in prosecuting offenders.

“Vandalism is disrespectful to the whole community and can lead to a decrease in community pride, erode people’s feelings of safety and affect the overall appeal of impacted neighbourhoods, which is why we want to stamp it out,” Cr Wilson said.

The latest clean-up bill is estimated to come close to $4000, with around $15,000 of damage for this calendar year. That is a cost that will ultimately be borne by ratepayers, Cr Wilson said.

“At Fairways Park, works will involve replacing parts of the oasis gravel pit play equipment, while at the Laidley Recreational Reserve, Council officers have had to paint over graffiti and clean fire extinguisher foam that had been sprayed all over the toilets. The Laidley Mall toilets, which are privately owned, were also damaged due to a fire in the toilets, with the cost to fix them not yet known.

“Vandalism is frustrating and costly for the whole community and a waste of Council’s valuable resources, which could be better spent on positive community projects or enhancing our facilities.

“Fairways Park and the Laidley Recreation Reserve are both very well-maintained, and we are trying to keep it that way. There are so many visitors from out of town that see them and say it’s fantastic to have top quality community recreational assets like these.

“It’s also inconvenient for the community to have facilities such as public toilets or playgrounds out of order while they are being restored.

“Sadly, vandalism is also impacting our local businesses and property that belongs to our community service non-profits and their hard-working volunteers.

“We are proud of our facilities and desperately want this senseless vandalism to stop so we can preserve and make the most of our region’s assets, going forward,” he said.

Cr Wilson said at the end of the day, vandalism was a crime.

“We need to instil in our young people, and some other members of our community, that vandalism and damaging other people’s property is not on, it’s not trivial; it’s a crime punishable by hefty fines, criminal records and even jail.

“There are absolutely no excuses for this behaviour, and we’ll be assisting police in any way we can to help them catch these vandals, and we urge the community to do the same,” he said.

Anyone who witnesses vandalism is encouraged to contact police.