Grant millions wasted as community groups forced to beef up security

Not-for-profit community clubs constantly targeted by criminals are being forced to make a huge sacrifice on funding their core services, just to protect their facilities.

The Burdekin Men's Shed Association has fallen victim to criminals in the past.

Not-for-profit groups are resorting to using community grant money to protect their facilities from crime, diverting desperately needed funding from core services.

The Courier-Mail has identified more than 20 not-for-profit groups who have used the Gambling Community Benefit Fund to pay for security-related costs.

The fund – the largest of its kind in Queensland – is designed to provide services, leisure activities and opportunities for Queensland communities through not-for-profit groups.

Multiple groups, including two Men’s Sheds – organisations that support health and wellbeing in older males said they were forced to balance the grant money to pay for security and critical services because crime was so bad.

Asked directly if the purpose of the grants was for security, the Attorney general directed the questions to a Liquor, Gaming and Fair Trading spokesman who said organisations could apply for a diverse range of projects from purchasing sports equipment, tools and upgrading facilities.

There’s no suggestion the use of grant money on security breaches any rules in relation to the funding.

The fund’s website says its top priority is to provide items or facilities affected by natural disaster, followed by equipment and facility improvements – but it has an overarching ethos to help “these groups to provide services, leisure activities and opportunities for Queensland communities”.

Waterford Rugby League Football Club

West Arana Hills Rugby League Football Club secretary Anne-Maree Davis said the club had installed four security cameras since receiving the grant.

“We got the cameras to be vigilant,” she said.

“There had been quite a few break-ins, stolen vehicles and things around the local area.”

Ms Davis said the club had to divert funds from part of the grant into security and the other part for a multimedia room.

“We are a not-for-profit club so what we do have, we have done a lot of fundraising for. We are just recovering from the recent flooding last year so we obtained a bit of damage around the grounds to that.

“We were fortunate enough to get some grants, but we also had to divert funds over there.”

Ms Davis said if we didn’t have to think about security there were other things that could’ve been done to help the club but it was always a balancing act.

“There’s always bits and pieces that we need but if something becomes available we try to get that otherwise we use our fundraising,” she said.

Atherton Men’s Shed president Glyn Mitchell said there had been multiple break-ins to the men’s shed and surrounds before the group took action deciding to apply for the grant.

“Its sad that it has to come to that but we’ve got to protect what we’ve got because what we have we think is invaluable to the community of Atherton,” he said.

“The men’s shed is pretty important, it’s for guys that have retired sitting at home, doing nothing, a few guys have a few mental issues.

“Some of them are pretty devastated with some cancer results.”

Mr Mitchell said instead of funding for power tools and other drills, they had to prioritise and the security was something they needed at that stage.

“We got worried because they smashed a lot of glass to get into the RSL. Even at the men’s shed they smashed glass,” he said.

Other groups including the Waterford Rugby League Football Club told the Courier Mail they used the CCTV as a deterrent.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said QPS was committed to keeping the people in Queensland safe and would always ensure a strong police presence in communities.

“Our officers are always mobile and proactively perform intelligence-driven patrols throughout the divisions,” she said.

Gayndah Men’s Club treasurer Mark Harm said they used the grant for cameras but also to reinstate locks for better security.

“It was driven by the fact there’s more break-ins and disturbances of that sort of type happening in country towns then we used to have,” he said.

“It had become a priority because it can set you back even if someone can steal a bunch of second hand tools.

“It sets the shed back quite a long time in terms of accumulating that stuff.”

Mr Harm said when they applied for the grant they knew they had to balance a couple of issues.

“It is a need now to balance security against the other things which we wouldn’t have even considered even five years ago,” he said.

A Liquor, Gaming and Fair Trading spokesman said since its establishment in 1994 $1.1 billion had been handed out to more than 66,000 organisations.

“A committee, independent of the government, decides which applications are successful,” he said.

“Community and sporting groups and organisations looking at applying for funding can do so in the next round with applications opening next month.”

Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said members should be able to be focused on running the organisations not fighting those running from the law.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear they have to divert funds away from community services to bolster security, simply to avoid becoming the next victim of crime,” he said.

“The LNP has put solutions on the table to fight youth crime including consequences for actions, unshackling the judiciary by removing detention as a last resort and gold-standard early intervention.”

Originally published as Grant millions wasted as community groups forced to beef up security