Youth candidates for council: Save the skate park

***MEDIA RELEASE***
12^th August 2008

Open-air press conference at South Newcastle Beach skate park

10.30am Wednesday 13^th August

Three candidates running in the September 13 Newcastle council elections, aged 19-24, are outraged at proposals to close down the South Newcastle Beach skate park and graffiti wall. The candidates say attacks on the skate park by Lord Mayor John Tate and state member for Newcastle Jodie McKay show their disregard for young people.

Youth candidate for Lord Mayor, Zane Alcorn, 24, and a member of Socialist Alliance, said: "Rather than demonising young people and cracking down on graffiti the council should be tackling the real issues for us in Newcastle, like youth unemployment, affordable housing and climate change."

"We're not going sit back and watch the skate park pushed out to make way for another eyesore of a development that young people can't afford to live in"

"Tate and McKay are totally out of touch. They stand at Newcastle Beach and only see the supposedly hideous skate park. We see the world's biggest coal port and that's what we think is ugly – climate vandalism."

Alcorn is a local hip-hop artist and climate change activist and a graduate of Newcastle University where he studied architecture.

"As someone who has studied both architecture and hip hop culture - which includes graffiti - I am actually more offended by a lot of the crass air conditioned boxes that get built in this city than a bit of graffiti."

Alcorn is also running for the Socialist Alliance in Ward 3 alongside Laura Ealing, 21, and Tom Cameron, 19.

All three will be available for interview and photos on Wednesday. Graffiti artists will be doing a piece at the site to defend the skate park.

Contact Zane Alcorn on 0401 466 831.