BOROBI DEPRESSED

SUFFERS HEAD INJURY

GOLD Coast Commonwealth Games mascot Borobi needed repairs to a “fairly significant depressed head” during a jaunt to the United Kingdom in March.

GOLDOC chairman Mark Peters revealed the damage to the koala suit during an Estimates hearing in State Parliament yesterday as he sought to defend the cost of sending two staff members on the trip to play the mascot and lead him around.

Opposition Commonwealth Games spokesman and Surfers Paradise MP JohnPaul Langbroek quizzed Mr Peters about the taxpayerfunded trip which took in the Games baton relay launch.

Mr Peters defended the decision, saying the cuddly lifesized blue koala became an instant star and gained international headlines by dancing with dignitaries outside Buckingham Palace.

“Under our workplace health and safety rules, Borobi has to be accompanied by a chaperone,” Mr Peters said.

“Borobi’s character is not developed by someone just being there. It’s actually people trained in dance, trained in hand movement.

“They are also trained in how-do-you repair the Borobi suit. We did have an incident between London and Scotland with a fairly significant depressed head which had to be repaired otherwise the whole program would have been put in jeopardy.

“So it’s all about the skills of the people, not taking some English person and shoving them in the process.”

Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones said the Borobi actor and assistant “flew economy class by the way”.

Mr Langbroek also made the trip to the UK, funded by Queensland taxpayers.

The Estimates hearing was also told that the security budget for the Games could blow out if the terrorism threat is upgraded from ‘probable’ to ‘high’. Mr Langbroek said he was concerned there had been no change to security funding despite the number of international terrorist attacks. “The world has changed significantly since 2015, and I am very concerned that funding has not changed to meet these new challenges,” Mr Langbroek said Mr Peters said savings from building the Parklands Village had been used to help fund the gap when the security rating went from ‘possible’ to ‘probable’.

He said security was continuing to be reviewed with GOLDOC in constant contact with the Federal Government on “what happens at the next stage” .