Harden the F' Up Australia

[Vonne]

CRIMINAL and standover man Mark "Chopper" Read has been banned from firing the starter's pistol at his son's little athletics group.

Read - who boasts of killing 19 people and once attempted to kidnap a County Court judge at gunpoint - had applied for a Working With Children Check in September so he could become a volunteer at the Collingwood Little Athletics club.

It is understood the bid was blocked by the Department of Justice because of his extensive criminal record, which has led to him spending a total of 23 years behind bars for a range of violent crimes.

Child protection campaigners welcomed the decision yesterday, hoping it would not be appealed at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Despite his background, Read said he believed it was insulting he was considered a risk to children.

"I should have been given the chance, who would it have hurt?" he said.

Read's eight-year-old son Roy had been attending the little athletics in Collingwood for a year when Read claims he was asked to volunteer his services firing the starter's pistol.

The Mercury - Australia

[Vonne]

What in the world is Australia coming to?

So you spend a good part of your life as a one man army kidnapping Australian drug dealers and mob bosses, than torturing them with a blowtorch and pliers until they unequivocally agree to pay you protection money...

Finally you're sent to prison, where you lead a handful of tough as nails lunatics into terrorizing the much larger prison gangs... just for fun...

Finally leave prison, and now they won't even let you fire a starting pistol for your little kids track team... Sigh...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EY7lYRneHc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EY7lYRneHc</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4rSZP0nNCc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4rSZP0nNCc</a>

[Vonne]

He does make one hell of a good public safety message about violence against woman and drunk driving though!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2FD8jeQQaY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2FD8jeQQaY</a>

[GeronL]

dang