A 42-year-old male of no fixed address was charged on December 6 with wilfully damaging a vehicle, two public nuisance offences and obstructing police following incidents in Currie Street. He is to appear in the Maroochydore Courthouse on 11 January 2023. 

Nambour Police Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Gary Brayley said the charges follow reports of the offender causing a disturbance in the CBD where he allegedly damaged a vehicle and again shortly after at the Nambour Courthouse where he acted in a disorderly manner. 

He was located by police in Currie Street where he was arrested.  His accomplice, a 42-year-old male of no fixed address, was also arrested for public nuisance due to his behaviour. 

Incident ‘highlights safety issues’

Eyewitnesses said the incident highlighted the issue of CBD safety and added to the growing concern of local business people. One bystander said the man seemed so drunk and disorderly that he disrupted traffic and at one stage even punched a car, in between drinking with another man. “Then he was abusing everybody walking up to the train station,” the witness said. “They just have free rein.” 

The person said no-one was game to approach the men and police were called. They arrived after about 30 minutes but the men had left.  “He punched a guy’s car at the intersection and started screaming at passing traffic and pedestrians. “At another point another man joined in. They were in plain sight, just sitting in the middle of town drinking and carrying on.”

Police cars drove past with their lights on to attend a separate incident, and by the time they came back the men had left. 

A businessperson, who did not wish to be named, said the incident was disturbing.  “It was just horrible. And there’s people walking around the street who might not have been from our town ... it seems to be happening on a near-daily basis and not a good look for the town.”

The businessperson said nobody, least of all business owners, wanted to bring negative connotations to the town. 

“If anybody wants this town to work, it’s business owners. We have invested tens of thousands of dollars, or more, into our businesses. If anyone wants to promote the image of a safe town, it’s the shopkeepers and service providers. But the facts are that there’s constant trouble and drug deals and drunk and disorderly behaviour and all sorts of things going on in plain sight.”

‘No one’s blaming the police’

“No one’s blaming the police. We all like the police here. We’ve got no issue with that. It’s about their lack of resources. We need a physical, walking police beat in Nambour.

“If you saw this behaviour in Noosa or Buderim, you could be fairly certain that someone would do something pretty quickly because of the tourism attraction and the status of the towns.” 

The businessperson said government had a duty of care to protect businesses and shoppers from the obvious behavioural issues associated with the drug and alcohol services that Nambour provided in the CBD. 

In October, Reimagine Nambour called on the member for Nicklin, Rob Skelton to request urgent support from the State Government to bring an end to lawless behaviour in Nambour. To support Reimagine Nambour’s online Town Safety Petition at www.facebook.com/iamnambour

To contact police

Nambour Police Station is at 170 Currie Street, Nambour. Phone 5459 0200. In an emergency phone triple-zero. To report non-urgent matters phone Police Link 13 14 44 or go to www.police.qld.gov.au/policelink-reporting