No pistol for Chopper
News Limited Newspapers | February 14, 2012 12.01am
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.
In hospital battling a serious illness, Read has ruled out an appeal at VCAT and has instead removed his son from little athletics, claiming the competition was rigged.
Little Athletics Victoria general manager Dean Paulin said the organisation would have allowed Read to volunteer had the government approved his safety check.
"We basically said to the centre that he needed to go through the appropriate check process, if he passes we have no issue," he said.
"Unfortunately he hasn't [passed]."
A Department of Justice spokeswoman said she could not comment on individual cases, but that all applications were assessed in line with the stringent procedures.
Australian Childhood Foundation chief Joe Tucci said the banning of Read showed the system was working.
No pistol for Chopper Today's News - The Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania