04-17-2006, 09:49 PM
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Ausie Government Scraps 13 HUMMER's
The State Government's $3 million Hummer experiment is over with the 13 US-made vehicles sold for a measly $160,000.
The heavily-armoured prison perimeter patrol vehicles, which had been sitting in a paddock on Brisbane's northside for almost two years, will be cut up for scrap metal and parts.
The rusting wrecks, with grass growing over their wheels, were moved out of the QFleet yard at Zillmere this week.
Public Works Minister Robert Schwarten confirmed they would never be seen again on Queensland roads.
"This is an end to a sorry saga started by the Borbidge Government," he said.
"We took the decision not to sell these military vehicles to anyone who could potentially misuse them for either illegal or terrorist activities.
"They have been sold to wreckers for a price of approximately $160,000 and will be wrecked and their parts sold.
"The most dangerous aspect of these vehicles is their armour and this will be cut up so it cannot be re-used."
Mr Schwarten refused to say who had bought the 13 Hummers for little more than $10,000 each.
The Hummers, once valued at $250,000 each, were put up for sale after the Government recalled them in May 2003. One of the fleet was able to operate only in reverse.
Many other faults affected the brake systems, tyres, starter motors, electrics and transmission.
They were introduced at Queensland prisons by the Borbidge Coalition Government in response to a violent jail-break led by armed robber Brenden Abbott from Brisbane's Sir David Longland Jail in 1997. But they became a nightmare for the Beattie Government, with repair bills topping $500,000. The final straw came with new faults detected in the steering.
Mr Schwarten put them up for sale hoping for $40,000 a vehicle. But with sky-high petrol prices and bad publicity, there were no takers. Hummers have been the vehicle of choice for celebrities including tennis stars Mark Philippoussis and Andre Agassi, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The military version, the Humvee, has been used by the US Army in desert conflicts.
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