They’re not happy, Jann
Minister says locals fed up with MP’s Games negativity
COMMONWEALTH Games Minister Kate Jones says Gold Coast residents are fed-up with Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey bagging the event.
Ms Jones singled out the former LNP Commonwealth Games Minister in a stinging attack in State Parliament yesterday, saying the southern Gold Coast was “begging” Ms Stuckey to show “leadership and support”.
Ms Jones said the feeling in Ms Stuckey’s electorate toPOLICE wards the Games had been positive.
“The feedback has been very positive. Of course that’s not the view from the local member for Currumbin,” Ms Jones told the Parliament.
“Even locals are getting fed up with the member for Currumbin bagging the Games.”
Residents had emailed Ms Stuckey “begging her to show some leadership and support” for the event because they feared losing out on economic benefits, Ms Jones said.
Ms Stuckey later told the Bulletin a survey conducted by her electorate office found 88 per cent of people did not believe they were being informed about April’s Games.
About 32 per cent of those who responded indicated they would be leaving the Coast during the event.
The survey was undertaken because electorate staffers were under fire from residents about the disruption caused by the Games, she said. “I would have thought that 350 comments from an electorate is showing the MP is engaging with constituents and the Minister should listen up, do something about the concerns rather than shoot the messenger, which is me,” Ms Stuckey said.
The Bulletin has obtained a letter to GOLDOC where a resident said Ms Stuckey had “hijacked” a recent community session on the Games.
Ms Stuckey recalled attending a meeting where organisers asked for questions and she was applauded for her stance.
“You can hardly say I hijacked it. I was clapped for saying it. It was just a plea to people to know that we were doing our best and we weren’t being informed,” she said.
But the resident wrote: “Jann certainly made her thoughts known to those in attendance and hijacked the session to vent about the lack of action and follow up for GOLDOC and (the) Get Set (for the Games campaign).
“I spoke with her after the event and she was on fire.”
The resident described Ms Stuckey as “the angriest I’ve seen her and while it might have been a show in front of some of her constituents it was clear she was not backing down”.
In another letter from a business operator to Ms Stuckey, the MP was warned that businesses were angry about the negativity building before “the biggest, most planned event in a generation”.