A LOCAL businessman has hit out at those who say the Bricks for Life campaign is at risk of failure due to staffing problems.
Jim McCudden is disgusted with what he calls the usual "pathetic excuses from the pollies".
"When I saw that Adrian Piccoli and Tony Catanzariti said staffing would be 'a hurdle', I was angry. There is no excuse if you ask me," he said.
"The ridiculous amount of money being paid to our police force in overtime for the hundreds of hours they spend helping fill the mental health gap could easily be shifted into providing staff for this facility."
Mr McCudden said it's time to take a stand and has thrown out the challenge to other businesses in Griffith to back the initiative.
He is sponsoring the campaign and will produce promotional material to help advertise the project.
"The government has thrown it back in the people's court," he said. "If we can build this house it might embarrass them to get off their bums and do something."
While Griffith Police acting superintendent Denise Godden was reluctant to reveal the extent to which mental health issues placed a burden on local police, she did acknowledge it was a problem.
The campaign continues to gain support from local tradesmen, with a concreter, electrician and a tiler all offereing their services.
Darlington Point concreter Pat Duxbury said the call for support had struck a cord with him. "Someone has to do something. It's too serious an issue to ignore," he said.
Story by Tanya Pattison, The Area News, Monday March 27 2006. |
