Guy Barnett: Ulverstone Cenotaph Vandalism Confirms Need for Action

Vandalism of the Ulverstone Cenotaph last weekend confirms the need for new legislation introduced to Parliament by the Liberal Government last month.

We made an election commitment to introduce tougher penalties for vandalism of war memorials and we are following this commitment through in our first 100 days of Government as promised.

The legislation will provide greater powers for police and the judicial system to deal with offenders. We believe that penalties for such crimes should include restorative action and we have been liaising with the RSL in this area. Such actions could include requiring the offender to perform community service to fix the damage they have caused.

We recognise that when vandals damage war memorials they cause considerable hurt and distress to ex-service men and women, their families and the wider community.

The vandalism at the Ulverstone Cenotaph is extremely disrespectful to our veterans and it is exactly what we are aiming to address by introducing the specific crime of interfering with a war memorial.

The Liberal Government is fully supportive of our veterans and has moved swiftly to ensure that war memorials are protected from senseless vandalism.
Guy Barnett, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier