A local council office on Western Australia’s Turquoise Coast has been closed temporarily while police investigate graffiti threatening harm to its staff.
Key points:
- Road signs in Lancelin were vandalised with threats to harm shire staff and councillors
- The Shire of Gingin’s president says the threats are “extreme” and “nasty”
- The Lancelin office remains closed while police investigate the incident
Several road signs in the small coastal town of Lancelin, about 125 kilometres north of Perth, were scrawled with comments targeted at the Shire of Gingin’s staff and councillors last week.
The threats were also left on signs in Nilgen, Cowalla and Seaview Park.
The graffiti was removed immediately, but Shire President Wayne Fewster said it had left staff shaken.
“I’m bewildered because it’s so unlike country people,” he said.
“You always get complaints … people get infringements or get told they’re doing the wrong thing at times, and they might get a bit grumpy … but not to this extreme.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.
“[Our staff] are very upset. They love their jobs, they love being out there, they love the people, but we’ve got to protect our staff.”
The shire is requiring rangers to work in pairs for the time being, and some council work has been postponed while the incident is investigated.
Mr Fewster hope the Lancelin office will re-open later this week before the local government election on Saturday.
“We understand it’s a massive inconvenience for the people in the upper coastal area,” he said.
“But from a staff point of view, we’ve got to take these threats seriously … and it’s really concerning.
“These threats could be nothing, but we’ve got to take all precautions.”
Anyone who witnessed or has information about the offences is urged to contact Crime Stoppers or Lancelin police.
‘Disappointing’ incident a one off
Mr Fewster said he did not know what triggered the threats, but he believed it was the first time shire staff and councillors had been threatened.
“This is a one-off event but it’s pretty disappointing,” he said.
“We’re not sure if it’s directed at councillors or council staff, it’s pretty general in its threats, but pretty nasty.”
The shire’s office in Gingin, about 80km south-east of Lancelin, is still open.
