Basketball great Andrew Bogut raises concerns about Melbourne

AUSSIE basketball great Andrew Bogut has opened up on his fears that crime, congestion, speed zones and nanny state laws are holding back his beloved home town.

Andrew Bogut relaxes at his private training facility in Melbourne. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

AUSSIE basketball great Andrew Bogut has opened up on his concerns for Melbourne, fearing crime, congestion, speed zones and nanny state laws are holding back his beloved home town.

The NBA champion has lived in the US for years but after returning in April to recover from injury believes Australia’s sporting capital is going through worrying growing pains.

Bogut, 32, reckons Victorian courts go too soft on crime, that the city is poised for terrible traffic gridlock and that several “ridiculous’’ state laws unfairly hurt hardworking families.

But the rise of youth gangs and people living in fear drew the biggest foul in the mind of the former No.1 draft pick, born and raised in Endeavour Hills.

Andrew Bogut relaxes at his private training facility in Melbourne. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“I hate to say it but it is going to take people dying before anything is done,’’ he said.

“I grew up in areas with people that were the rougher bunch and you kind of knew when to duck your head and mind your own business, but it’s changed these days.

“A lot of these people involved in that stuff are robbing women and children when there are babies in the car and that is something that was just not done back in the day.

“Criminals used to rob criminals when I was younger and it’s kind of changed now.’’

Bogut said the justice system had to be held at least partially responsible for youths running wild.

“I hate to be a bearer of bad news but I just don’t see the courts reacting right,’’ he said.

“You go to juvey and eat pizza for a couple of weeks, network, meet more criminals and you come out even stronger than you were before.

“There is obviously an issue with the system and you feel sorry for the people running the juvey centres because they can’t do anything.

“They can’t touch the kids, they can’t lock them in solitary, they can’t do anything.’’

POLICE SHOOT MAN AT MELBOURNE NIGHTCLUB

Andrew Bogut, playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, looks on during the game against the Miami Heat in March. Picture: David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images

Bogut is one of Australian sport’s greatest success stories, a multi-millionaire with an investment portfolio to match his 12-year career in one of the most famous leagues on Earth.

After growing up the son of a mechanic in Melbourne’s south east, he returns to Victoria each year, and stays in touch with Aussie issues as best he can from the other side of the globe.

His first impression upon touching down at Tullamarine this year was: “The city is massive.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger every time I come back and it’s a good thing and a bad thing.’’

“The good’’ according to Bogut is more people moving here and stimulating the economy and jobs market.

“The con’’ is our freeways are at breaking point.

“Rush hour in the southeast suburbs starts at two o’clock in the arvo.

“Infrastructure I don’t think is going to catch up to the growth and that is the scary thing down the track.’'

Andrew Bogut reacts after suffering an injury in the first half against Miami in March. Picture: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP

Bogut, who has lived in San Francisco, Cleveland, Utah and Milwaukee, predicted traffic hell for Melbourne.

“I don’t see how they are going to fix it,’’ he said.

“They’ve welcomed the population growth but forgot about the most important things — roads and land and all that kind of stuff.’’

He said new “moon’’ laws that can see anyone baring their butt jailed for two months went too far and flew in the face of Aussie larrikinism.

“To see our once-great state and country go in the direction it is where you can get jail time for mooning someone but if you’re 16 and belt someone in the head with a metal pipe and steal their car and get away with it is ridiculous,’’ Bogut said.

In a wide-ranging interview, Bogut told the Herald Sun Victorian speed zones were unfair.

“My issue is when they go from 60 to 40 and there is a cop waiting 30m down the road to book someone who hasn’t slammed on the anchors,’’ he said.

“I understand you shouldn’t speed, especially in school zones, and you would have to be an idiot to flying through those.

“But I think some of the stuff is just not fair ... if you’ve got highway patrols waiting at the bottom of hills, that kind of gets me a bit.

“Growing up in a working-class family, when you get one of those fines, it definitely hurts you financially, and I think the average Joe gets stitched up more often than not, which is not great.’’

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