Guards forced to sleep on grass

SECURITY forces brought in from across Australia say the event is a shambles, with some guards forced to sleep on the grass after buses were cancelled and others claiming they have not had Games-specific training promised by organisers.

One Sydney-based guard, staying with about 80 others at a Tweed motel, said they arrived on Good Friday and were told they would receive the GOLDOC-sanctioned training on Saturday and Sunday.

Instead they were put straight to work and had not heard about training since.

“We had a 10-minute venue briefing when we got to Carrara, but that was it,” the guard said.

Organisers have claimed the Gold Coast would be the safest place in Australia as 10,000 police, military and security contractors were called in.

However the training of the 4200 guards, mostly sourced from interstate, has come under fire after a State Government audit of security licensing organisations stalled.

A force of 1000 new guards were to be trained and licensed for the Games and were required to complete a standard certificate course in person, subsidised by the State, as well as Games-specific extra training.

However it was up to the four contractors to ensure the 3200 already licensed personnel were qualified and had been given the Games training.

The Sydney guard, who did not want to be named, said buses promised by security contractors – MSS Security, SecureCorp Qld, Sydney Night Patrol and Wilson Security – had repeatedly failed to show up to take them to venues.

As a result, many personnel were skipping shifts.

“I’ve been paying for taxis and Ubers, but that all comes out of our own pockets,” the guard said. “And a lot of us have only been rostered on for five or six shifts over the whole Games, so we won’t be going home with much money.”

A Melbourne-based guard, who has since paid for his own flight home, claimed about 120 guards staying at the Queensland Conference and Camping Centre at Tamborine were told they would be collected in two buses on Wednesday night, but the buses were cancelled, leaving them unable to do the shift.

The guard says 30 guards who later finished an 8pm to 8am shift slept on grass outside the convention centre after their bus home was cancelled.

Games Minister Kate Jones said she was confident in the Games security measures.

GOLDOC was contacted for comment.