Outback cake decorator stops reporting vandalism because 'nothing gets done'

For years, Ishani Harney has helped her remote outback community celebrate some of life's biggest moments.

In the red-dirt mining city of Mount Isa, the 51-year-old Sri Lankan-born business owner turned a cake decorating hobby into a full-time business in 2022.

Since then, her creations have featured at birthdays, weddings and community events across the city, including Mount Isa's 100th anniversary celebrations.

But after three vandalism incidents in three years, Ms Harney said the cost of crime extended far beyond the initial damage.

Since moving into her commercial premises three years ago, her business has been broken into, suffered graffiti damage and, most recently, had a glass door smashed.

"My whole front window was broken a few months after I moved in and the police woke us up at four o'clock in the morning and told us that the shop had been broken into,"

she said.

The latest incident cost $585 to repair, while the first caused more than $2,800 worth of damage just weeks before Christmas.

Ms Harney said the financial cost was only part of the impact.

"It was really heartbreaking because I started this business from scratch in this town," she said.

"To walk in and see your hard work and to do something like this to a small local family-owned business that keeps these towns going, it's very disheartening and it's sad. It's depressing and it's also very stressful."

Broken window just the beginning

After the first incident, Ms Harney reported the matter to police and was later advised an offender had been charged.

Hoping to recover some of the money she had spent repairing the damage, she visited the police station.

"I had to pay $800 out of pocket to get the window fixed," she said.

"So, I said, 'Can you get this person to pay me back my $800 because they're the ones who did it, not me?'

"And all I heard was, 'No, that doesn't happen like that. We can't recover your money'."

Ms Harney said she was left carrying the cost through insurance excesses, rising premiums and ongoing repairs.

The experience, she said, changed the way she viewed the reporting process.

'Nothing gets done'

"When it happened the last time, I didn't worry about it because that's going to take a few hours of my time because you've got to either call Policelink or go online and do it and nothing gets done," she said.

She said she had also tried to access grants designed to help businesses improve security, but found the process difficult to navigate while running a small business.

"It was such a hassle. It was so many questions, and it was confusing and it was not a user-friendly website," she said.

"You try to call people, it just goes to voicemails and recordings, and we don't have the time to spend hours and hours on something like that."

Mount Isa officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Michael Hobden said police understood community frustrations but encouraged businesses and residents to continue reporting incidents.

"Overall, we haven't had an increase of reported matters to police of that type of offending," he said.

"I do think it is probably under-reported in the community."

Senior Sergeant Hobden said police relied on reports from the public to identify trends, target resources and investigate offenders.

"If we're unable to investigate offences that we're not aware of. It's important that people do come through and report those incidents to us, so we get that bigger picture of what's going on in town," he said.

He said Mount Isa maintained a higher clearance rate than the state average for many offences.

Security comes at a price

The Queensland government's Secure Communities Partnership Program offers grants of between $5,000 and $20,000 for security upgrades, including CCTV, alarms, security lighting and access-control systems.

Businesses are required to contribute at least 50 per cent of the total project costs.

Ms Harney said additional security would make a significant difference, but remained out of reach for many operators.

"The last time we checked to get a roller door for the front of this, it was nearly $9,000," she said.

"For a small business that's operated by myself and my husband, we can't afford something like that."

Despite the setbacks, Ms Harney said she had no plans to walk away.

"I provide something this town does not have; it's my way of giving back to my home."

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