Cherbourg council issues scathing rebuke to Sports Complex vandals
The Cherbourg council has condemned the actions of vandals who broke into the sports complex, set fire to equipment, flooded the basketball court, set off powder fire extinguishers and damaged offices.
South Burnett
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The Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council has condemned the actions of vandals who broke into the Cherbourg Sports Complex, setting fire to equipment, flooding the basketball court, setting off powder fire extinguishers and damaging offices.
The council said the community worked hard to acquire the equipment and facilities which were damaged or destroyed by the vandalism.
“(They) are destroying our community, tearing apart the infrastructure and breaking down the services vital to our community that have taken years of effort by our elders before us to bring here,” it said.
The council said the people who vandalised the complex had brought “shame to their families and their community,” and the physical damage done to the complex was only part of the harm caused.
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“The hurt and mental anguish to our elders, the workers, families and community as a whole is real.”
Photos released by the council show offices ransacked and weight training benches burnt.
A professional grade wooden basketball court was “basically destroyed” by water damage from a fire hose being turned on.
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Outraged locals and South Burnett residents expressed frustration with the vandalism.
Debbie West said it was “disgusting for the community”.
“Put curfews in place and get them doing a community clean-up,” she said.
The council said the people doing this were “not heroes”.
“This must stop and it must stop now … That’s our home, stop destroying it.”
It wasn’t the first time the complex had been broken into this year.
In early January, a door was allegedly damaged after someone gained access inside the complex.
Police have been contacted for comment.
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