Sorry seems to be the hardest word for Les
WITH a little bit of common sense, Mad Cowgate could have been avoided.
From what we have been led to believe from those who have seen the Watergate tapes … er Mad Cow tapes, a young man stopped by Les Walker’s table in the early hours where they had a brief conversation and the young man left.
Les, determined to get in the last word, pursued him across the premises and shoved him.
He was then clocked by the man’s brother and put down for the count.
A simple punch-up that would have blown over if, after attending the city nick on Monday morning with his solicitor and being given the news about the inevitable fine and ban on visiting the area, Les had just taken it on the chin (pun intended) and said sorry to everyone. That would have been it.
However, his lady boss tightened the same gag she has on the other two silent knights and they refused to come clean about the whole sorry mess, hoping it would all blow over. Unfortunately for them, it was a slow news week.
When most of it was revealed, Les was still unable to apologise. Oh, he said he was saying sorry, but claimed selective bad memory in a prepared speech; “I don’t want to find myself in that situation again”.
Here, he is externalising, somehow blaming someone else for putting him there and not accepting responsibility for his own actions.
Continuing, “I’ve moved on, there’s a lot of learnings from that incident (TB23/01/2021)”.
So, he’s learnt something from an event he can’t remember? Please explain.
The Premier has rushed to his aid, excusing him because, “he’s a first-term MP”, while choosing to forget that Les served as a Townsville city councillor from 2004, and was deputy mayor of Townsville from 2016 to 2020. Hardly an ingenue.
As such, he should by now know how to behave as a mature man, not a lout out on the town, full of piss and bad manners.
While it isn’t a sacking offence, he is restricted in his movements around Townsville and therefore, unable fully carry out his duties.
As such, the Premier should have suspended him for the duration of the ban from the entertainment precinct, along with all salary, allowances and other perks.
On a positive note, when they form the next committee to fight Townsville’s crime, (No 67, I think), Les, with his first-hand experience, would make a suitable chair.
JEFF WILLIAMS, Condon.