Lock western suburbs trash out of Melbourne's CBD
Twice a year when the Albert Park Grand Prix and the St. Kilda festival rolls around my area gets totally trashed by people who don’t live here.
Acland Street turns into an after dark nightmare and you inevitably wind up being the victim of a random bashing, your girlfriend gets harassed or some idiot is trying to pick a fight with you in a bar because you looked at his shoelaces wrong.
Thankfully for the other 50 weekends in the year things here are pretty good as far as suburban trash polluting the area go.
Unfortunately for Melbourne’s CBD though, these infestations of lower socio-economic uneducated dropkicks are a weekly occurrence.
Finally someone has stood up and said enough is enough.
I don’t know what it is specifically about the western suburbs that gets my back up but for the longest time I can remember, I’ve hated the place.
Maybe it was my first day of university in St. Albans crossing a road on a pedestrian crossing and having a driver sit on his horn when I made him stop and then get out of his car and threaten a punch on.
Or the time I was sitting on a train minding my own business when some little kid on the outside came up and tapped on the window. When I looked he’d wriggle his eyebrows and just stood there. If I looked away he’d tap again and do the same eyebrow wiggle.
When the train eventually started to pull away he ran with it for a bit and then spat all over the window.
Perhaps it was that one night I was driving through Sunshine to get to a party and realised at 8pm on a Saturday night the main street of Sunshine was depressingly dead. The only thing open with lights on was Blockbuster video.
Yes it could be any one of those things but it’s probably a combination of all three and many more experiences that have led to a sinking feeling in my stomach everytime I cross over the western side of the CBD.
On any given Saturday night in Melbourne’s CBD it’s pretty easy to find violence on the streets.
There’s the crazy Vietnamese mobs from Footscray running around macheting people for stealing their women, the angry Sudanese ghetto groups from Kensington gangbashing anyone who dosn’t ‘respekt’ them (or looks Indian), as well as the white trash who will turn on anyone who gets inbetween their violent loud domestic disputes because Bazza won’t share his cig with Shazza.
Not surprisingly half of the assaults occurring in Melbourne’s CBD, the Docklands and Southbank are perpetrated by those living in Melbourne’s west and northwest suburbs.
Although a difficult topic to tackle what given the racial factors as well as potentially pissing off half your electorate, it’s good to see that at least on a local level Melbourne’s Mayor Robert Doyle is speaking out about it.
Mr Doyle said more needed to be done to stop “bogan” troublemakers in their home suburbs before they entered the city.
“These are people that travel into the city and what they do is, they come in looking for trouble,” Mr Doyle told ABC Radio today.
Although I commend Doyle for speaking up on the matter I’m not entirely in agreeance with his proposed solution. Doyle proposes a leaf out of New York’s book and pushes an increased police force targeting hotspot suburbs as well as a mobile ‘flying squad’ able to respond to call outs.
While I’m all for increased police presence (I’m a strong subscriber to ‘if you don’t look like scummy trash the police will leave you alone’), I don’t think more police are necessary the answer.
Instead I’d prefer the policing we have being actually backed up by our courts.
In July, John Caratozzolo was caught red handed on a curry bashing spree (beating up Indians for their mobile phones) which resulted in the murder of Chinese man Zhongjun Cao.
“You wanted to cause them physical injury,” the judge said. “You took the trouble to learn how to swear at Indians. Not only that, but the language you used was designed to cause the maximum offence. That is unequivocally racist … your crimes did exhibit a racist element. The court must at every appropriate opportunity condemn racially based crime.”
Justice Harper said crime based upon racism was a negation of Australia’s fundamental values.
In 2008 Aaron Toal was dared by a mate for $10 to randomly punch Yuxiong Han. The punch sent Han into the path of a car and he later died in hospital.
Toal was convicted and sentenced to a 2 year, 500 hour community service order.
But perhaps the most shocking court sentencing for a violent crime was the Sunshine station bashing of a man by Ahmed Mohamed, Monda Mentel and Maluac Kiir earlier this year. You can watch the CCTV footage of the attack below:
Infact so laughable are Victoria’s sentencing on violent crimes that teenagers in Geelong quite casually film themselves bashing complete strangers and then post the videos on Youtube and social networking sites.
BRAZEN thugs have bragged about their violent attacks on Geelong streets in two graphic videos posted on YouTube.
One of the alleged attackers has embedded a video where he is seen to tackle a man and repeatedly knee him in the head on his MySpace page.
Doyle can throw all the police in the world at Melbourne’s western suburbs trash problem but with courts handing out sentences like these, does anybody really think things are going to change?
Of course instead of trying to rehabilitate and un-stupidify our western neighbours or fix up our horrendously failing court system, we could just bomb the Westgate and sink Footscray road.
Much cheaper and as a bonus the rest of us never have to deal with the rabble that lives there again.
Hows about it Doyle?
August 13th, 2009 at 1:19 pm sam(Quote)
demagraphics are interesting.
80% of stonnington councils residents-toorak,sth yarra etc,have completed there v.c.e,gone to uni etc.
While in the north-western suburbs- Hume council,its 20% of residents that have completed v.c.e,gone to uni etc.
How do u teach people to value education,when alot of homes in west-north surburbs have less than 10 books of literature in them aside from complusory bought school txts and trashy fiction.By the way, cook books arent considered literature!And in west/north homes kids on average spend 5 hrs a day watching t.v/opposed to 2 hrs a day in the eastern suburbs.Unfortunately u cant buy brain cells.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:10 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
You don’t even need statistics, just go for a walk around the western suburbs and hear how people talk.
They sound like idiots!
Mass immigration of uneducated people into concentrated areas in the west also isn’t helping.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:16 am Vik(Quote)
I must say that this is the first time I’ve visited your website (I stumbled across it while searching for Costco articles) and I quite liked it. However, this article appalled me. I’ve lived in the Western Suburbs all my life and to be told that I’m trash, scum and should be barred from the city is just downright insulting. Or maybe you wrote this article assuming no one from the Western suburbs would be able to read.
I personally completed my VCE with an 85 and got accepted into a Bachelor of Science (Medical, Forensic and Analytical Chemistry.) I tried that for a year and decided it wasn’t for me. I then went on to complete countless short courses and I’m currently 3 months off of finishing my Degree. And after that? Well, I’m doing a Post Grad in Psychology and a Diploma of Education all in one go.
My partner, who also grew up in the Western suburbs is a computer programmer in a very successful programming company in North Melbourne.
As for the statement made (not by you, by a reader a in another comment) about having less than 10 literature books in the house growing up, I’d love for you to come and have a look through my bookcase. I’m sure you’d be pleasantly surprised.
To be completely honest, I wholeheartedly agree that something needs to be done about the state of the Western Suburbs. We have generational unemployment, violence and drug issues and it’s embarrassing for people like me who have tried so very hard in life to achieve what I know I’m capable of. And then there’s the safety issue of myself being a 23 year old while female who would definitely be labeled as a “Goth” or a “freak” instantly. However, writing articles like that that stereotype and pigeonhole people just because of their postcode will certainly do much more worse than good. All that comes out of an article like this is an “us against them” stance. It fuels the aggression that rules these people’s lives and that’s the last thing any of us want.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:56 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Ohshit you guys are onto me!
.
I’m glad to hear there’s at least two educated people living out in the west. Doesn’t it depress you though being surrounded by dropkicks?
Trying to be succesfull in life is hard enough as it is without the moccasin and ‘teefee is moi best friend’ brigade beating you down at every turn. Then there’s the neighbours “oh my god, HOW DO THESE PEOPLE FUNCTION?!’
To be fair my aim wasn’t exactly to be constructive with the problems in the wesern suburbs. You guys are gunna have to figure your trash problems out on your own. Over in the east we’ve already got our hands full trying to stop Frankston from becoming the next St. Albans.
Stupid eastlink and the western ring road, we make it too easy for trash to get around this city!
August 17th, 2009 at 10:27 pm Paul(Quote)
In around year 6, a friend told the story of how he and his dad were driving down Koroit Creek Rd and they came accross some newly arrived Vietnamese refugees. The newcomers waved at the approaching car seemingly happy just to be in our wonderful country.
My friend’s dad, smiled and waved back and then tried to run into them.
So it was little wonder that Vietnamese people hung out together and lived nearby each other and formed gangs etc.
Anybody wonder what kind of behavior this round of westie bashing will generate?
To the author…I just hope you have good locks and bars on your windows….and it is probably not a good idea to venture outside by yourself.
August 17th, 2009 at 10:35 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
So your friends dad is to blame for the state of the western suburbs.
Instead of worrying about my well being perhaps you should go and track him down. Sounds like he’s got a lot to answer for.
If that’s what was going on during Vietnamese migration sounds like the western suburbs was stuffed long before they got there.
August 17th, 2009 at 10:51 pm Paul(Quote)
August 17th, 2009 at 10:55 pm Vik(Quote)
Funnily enough, yes it does. It depresses me quite a bit. It’s also quite depressing when people try to defend something like Paul has above and all it sounds like is an empty threat and ends up doing more harm to their argument than good (that said, I’m not sure what his argument is, regardless of what his friend’s dad did or did not too, surely someone can logically say that people with similar interests/cultures/personalities will usually stick together…)
I think realistically, there’s problem areas everywhere. As you said, you guys have Frankston (which actually is a place that scares me more than Sunshine!) and I have friends that say they’d rather walk through the Sunshine underpass than take a step outside their Reservoir house.
I think we should all compromise. You guys lock Frankston out of the city and we’ll lock Hoppers Crossing, Werribee and St Albans out. Sound like a deal? =D
August 17th, 2009 at 11:01 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
DEAL!
That’s what I like to see Vik, some constructiveness come out of all this. Much more refreshing then the canned ‘ugs you better stay indoors ozsoapbox or I’m gunna bash youse…’ crap from Paul.
Oh and what perceptions are you talking about Paul? I gave you three actual examples of stupid crap that happened during my adventures into the west. If we can’t base perceptions on personal experience then what the hell are we supposed to be basing them on?
Stories that may or may not be full of shit our friends told us when we were six?
August 17th, 2009 at 11:28 pm Paul(Quote)
Goodness..you guys really, really do not get it do you? KK, firstly, I live on the Gold Coast now and love it. I am not a violent person myself and am not threatening anybody. If you express your views in the way you have, some people from the west will be appalled…some will cause riots. Go ahead, keep on doing what you are doing….adding to the problem, inflaming the situation, causing further divisiveness.
Lets face it, elitism is not a whole lot different than racism…they are both ways of expressing that you feel you are better than the next bloke.
The very people that you rubbish in your Blog, express themselves violently….the more they are rubbished in print, the more violent they will become in a directed way…that is, towards people that live where you live…hence why I hope you have good locks etc.
FWIW, I lived in Melbourne for 30 years, born and raised in Williamstown before moving to Albert Park. I loved them both for different reasons.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:01 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
So we shouldn’t write anything negative about the knuckle draggers because they might stab us in the face. OHNOES!
What a glowing testimonial and solid reasoning. And yeah, elitism is different to racism, I didn’t target any particular race, I think the area is a hole.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:30 am Paul(Quote)
Nah, sorry, I don’t write glowing testimonials about people that attack others on the basis of where they live, inflaming an acute situation all the while hiding behind the cloak of anonymity of the internets haha.
Let’s face it, your post exposes you for what you are – just another hater.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:40 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Bit of western suburbs intellect shining through there, if you read through again you’ll see I never asked you for a testimonial about anything.
And what’s this about exposing me, what part of ‘I hate the western suburbs’ are you not getting here?
September 7th, 2009 at 6:30 pm a(Quote)
Who are you to make such racist and thoughtless accusations and conclusions. How dare you categorise everyone from the West as violent trouble makers.
I laugh in your face as it is ironic that you so boldly scrutinise the people from the West because of their lack of education, while it is you who attended St Albans TAFE i presume. There are many high academic achievers in the West with bright future prospects. So before you go bomb the West Gate Bridge or drown Footscray road (what ever way your ingenious mind may think of) go do something worthy of your life and you may get somewhere in the future.
September 7th, 2009 at 8:52 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Whilst I am dissapointed that you think so lowly of people who attend tafe, I’m sorry to say your assumption is incorrect.
I’m sure there are, and what a burden it must be knowing you will have to financially provide for the rest of your dropkick family.
You’ll note that police figures that were released to the Age showed that half the assaults occuring in the CBD, Southbank and Docklands were conducted by residents of the west and northwestern suburbs. I didn’t have to categorise anyone.
September 7th, 2009 at 11:19 pm a(Quote)
Maybe it was my first day of university in St. Albans …
High achiever you are, aren’t you.
Some families are not as priveledged as others who have everything mouth fed to them. So sorry that by working extremely hard and making a life here from stratch, with nothing left from war and conflict, that we can’t all end up in toorak living the high lifestyle.
What kind of person are you putting down people and calling their families ‘dropkick.’
Police figures don’t mean shizz to me, because even though those offenders may live in the West area, it doesn’t mean everyone one is like thaat. And yes you didn’t have to categorise, but you sure did.
Thanks for the time. I shall not waste my time with this anymore, as i know there is no win win situation. Best of luck with your simplistic and judgemental opinions in the future.
September 7th, 2009 at 11:31 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
I have nothing but respect for those that rise from the ashes and make a better life for themselves by getting the hell out of the Western suburbs.
I really feel for these people and if there was a charity that rescued people from delapidated suburbs in the west I’d be donating heavily to them.
I’m glad you agree that the situation in the west is a no win-win situation, hopefully one day we can just cut the entire area off.
September 8th, 2009 at 12:47 am Vince(Quote)
This was going good, until the end, when it went off the rails.
Yes. Jail sentences are a joke these days. No. Blowing up the western suburbs is something Hitler would want to do.
For the record, I’m not from the west, but am from the outer suburbs. I like it; I can see Melbourne from the the outside looking in
some days it’s rather smoggy in the city and hard to see (yep that can also be taken literally too).
However, if I did live in the western suburbs and I had the brains and talent to be someone, I’d get the education I need and get the hell outta there.
Yes, it can be quite a scummy place to live in, and even just passing through is enough to send a shiver down your spine.
But why should people be blown up just for living there? We don’t get to choose our family, we don’t get to choose where we live (until we’re old enough to get out of there if that’s what we want), and we certainly don’t get to choose whether we’re born with a silver spoon in our mouth.
Scum is scum, regardless of what part of town you live in.
Example of someone living in the west: A violent attack on some one, and they steal their wallet. A shocking crime, I’m sure we all agree.
Example of someone not living in the west: There’s a lot of talk on here at the moment about Polaris Media Group. When you think of the people at the top of it all (the pyramid?), do you think of them as people living in the west, or inner city? Inner city, no doubt. Whilst they may not be physically attacking someone and stealing their money, they’re doing it through a scam. And not only are they doing it to just one person, they’re doing it to thousands. Another shocking crime, and some may even say that’s worse than attacking and robbing one person.
Should we therefore blow up the inner suburbs because of these non-physical attacks on innocent people?
My point here is, don’t be so quick to judge and label people simply by the location they live in. Saying we should blow up the western suburbs only adds fuel to the fire.
As much as I love your work here, OzSoapbox, the sentence suggesting that if there were a charity that rescued people from dilapidated suburbs then you would donate, is something I doubt you’d hear someone from the outer suburbs suggest. And to me, that shows a level of ignorance, in my opinion (going by my interpretation of that sentence).
People don’t need to be “rescued”, people need to be educated. Unfortunately, that’s not possible with everyone. And even many who are educated still turn out to be scum by committing various crimes, including, but not limited to, ripping of many thousands of people.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:03 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
To be fair I never actually suggested we blow up the Western suburbs, just the Westgate bridge and Footscray road (or the Docklands Highway as it’s now known as).
I agree education would help immensely, I recently read that police went around rounding up students who were wagging school.
Perhaps we could introduce something like this into Melbourne’s west. Sure it might take a few generations to actually have any effect but it’s a start.
Most adults living in the west are sadly already a lost cause.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:24 am Vince(Quote)
I’ve seen it first-hand, and not just in the west.
You walk in, and the house smells like one massive bong, and a 2-year-old running around, and you think, “what chance has this kid got with parents like these?”. And you can only hope that the kid still has enough braincells by the time they’re 18 to get far far away from there and become someone.
It’s sad but it’s true.
September 8th, 2009 at 10:55 pm Claudine(Quote)
I hesitated adding to this discussion. I have lived many years in the Western suburbs. I, and my partner are university educated and we happen to have two QCs as neighbours. What puzzles me is how you (blogger) claim to be educated yet you display such astounding ignorance. Perhaps you haven’t lived much of a life. Have you ever heard of ‘emotional intelligence’. As you are so clever you probably have. However it seems that you don’t seem to posess any. I’m appalled, and shall never read your hate- filled ignorant tripe again. Kind Regards, Happy Westie
September 8th, 2009 at 11:03 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Hi Claudine, don’t mistake the abundance of legal professionals living in the western suburbs as a sign of ‘emotional intelligence’.
If your entire client base resides in a few suburbs to the west doesn’t it make sense to live closer to where the work is? With the western suburbs pumping out more criminals then Victoria can jail it only makes sense that there’d be more then a few lawyers floating around.
Thanks for stopping by.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:17 am Steve(Quote)
“That’s a generalisation” are three words that I really hate to hear. There are places I won’t go, things I won’t do, as I would anticipate a non-negligable risk if I did so. I’m sure there are truly lovely people in that dodgy neighbourhood I’m avoiding, but that’s not going to suddenly make me want to go there.
I mean, are people so dense that they can’t automatically intuit when someone is making a generalisation, rather than requiring everyone to add a disclaimer that they don’t wish to offend the exceptioins to the rule?
Are we all also so uptight that we can’t consider the possibility that people writing articles like the above say what they say out of exasperation, making use of this wonderful tool known as “literary license” to emphasise their point/opinion?
I appreciate seeing people call a spade a spade, and this would never happen if we catered to the thin skinned exceptions to the rule. If you can’t tell that you’re the exception to the rule, then perhaps you’re not.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:24 pm M(Quote)
Having grown up in the western suburbs, born to one parent who grew up in St Albans (and yes, an “immigrant” mother – she’s from the UK, how ethnic!), we were desperate to get out, to move to the leafy wonderous PERFECT eastern suburbs, but after 6 months in Hawthorn we instantly moved back. Why?
It was filled with wankers. Absolute wankers. Recently in the East I saw empty toothpaste containers hanging from string for $4,000. I’m not joking. There have been COUNTLESS times that I have been judged for where I’ve come from (and refused service in a swanky eastern store), countless times my parents have been asked why we don’t move to Kew when we could easily afford it, and the simple reason is the people.
Mansions and wide leafy roads are useless when your neighbours and the people around you are absolute wankers who sympathise with the refugees yet lock their Mercedes as they drive past groups of ‘ethnic youths’ (“tsk, those Islanders are just BORN evil!”) My mother was sick of being assumed to be my ‘nanny’ at the prestigious school that I was awarded a scholarship for, and my father was sick of dealing with the pretentiousness of people who pay $4,000 for EMPTY TOOTHPASTE TUBES.
In short, I’d much rather the honesty and the ability of us Westerners to laugh at ourselves than the fair-trade coffee sipping, “designer clothes matched with a kitsch headband from a bizarre little western shop” wearing, Turnbull-voting Easterners.
I hope you’re enjoying your St Albans TAFE education, I’m enjoying mine at Victoria’s most prestigious university.
Seriously, $4,000 for empty toothpaste tubes. Try finding THAT in the West!
PS – Ever think the reason you were set upon in the western suburbs was because of where YOU live? I’d imagine if you had you’d have been outraged. Don’t worry – we can spot a Tooraker a mile away, the way they keep their hands over their phones in the pockets and are constantly looking over their shoulder.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:30 pm M(Quote)
BY THE WAY – the case involving Aaron Toal was in Forest Hill (Melbourne’s EAST), surely with the abundance of violent crime you could possible have found another example from the West?
September 16th, 2009 at 10:38 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Ah western suburbs people who think getting rent assistance on top of their centrelink payment makes them rich and affluent. You’re adorable.
Yes we’ve already established I didn’t go to tafe in St. Albans, do try to keep up.
Finding any toothpaste in the west might be a challenge. From my experiences on the Sydenham trainline you guys by and large haven’t heard of personal hygene.
I don’t particularly care why I was set upon but are you suggesting it’s because I don’t look like I’ve just got off a boat from somewhere? Either way there’s no justification for it.
I probably could have but I used his particular case due to the utter lack of effectiveness the courts showed in it. Fortunately our courts don’t discriminate which side of the CBD you live on and are equally ineffective at sentencing crims from both sides.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:26 pm Rachel(Quote)
Ozsoapbox,
I’m so disappointed! I’ve been reading your articles and insights with enjoyment and enthusiasm… until now.
Wyndham city (including Werribee and Hoppers Crossing) has over 140,000 residents. You have decided, based on where these people graphically reside, what type of people they are.
Recently, a man was uncovered for alledgedly abusing his daughter in Moe; does that make every male in Moe a paedophile?
I’m not disagreeing for a second that people do silly, crazy and terrible things. There are people that live in Werribee that do silly things, as do people in South Yarra, Narre Warren and every other corner of Melbourne.
I have lived in the western suburbs for a long time (never been attacked, robbed or even felt remotely threatened), but this is not the reason for the post. To read an article where you call me trash “lower socio-economic uneducated dropkicks” (as I must be for living in this part of Melbourne) is beyond ridiculous. As you yourself say, “I don’t know what it is specifically about the western suburbs that gets my back up but for the longest time I can remember, I’ve hated the place”…. hmm, great reasoning.
Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but try not to tar everyone with the same brush. I am a Melbourne university educated professional, with great neighbours (also university educated) and I have no desire to leave my local neighbourhood. I can get to the city with 25mins off peak and I don’t pay exhorbitant housing prices.
p.s. I’m sure you’ll respond with a smart-alec inflammatory reply – understandable – you want people to keep reading your “insights”.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:55 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Hey Rachel. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying some of the stuff here but you’re not going to agree with everything!
If you’ve made a life for yourself in the western suburbs and aren’t a dropkick then great, the west needs more people like you.
In my experience however by and large the majority of people I’ve come into contact there are hopeless.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm Lucas(Quote)
Vik and her partner have a lovely list of academic accomplishments, but her defensive response is characteristic of many people who just don’t get it! The lack of education at the heart of this problem is unrelated to formal academics at any level. You don’t learn to respect others by scoring marks in class. You don’t learn to live within reasonable social constraints by receiving certificates. You don’t learn that gratuitous violence is a gross violation of a person’s civic rights, by attaining an average of 85%!
The way that a person does learn to live without treating innocent people like vermin is surely complex, if we are considering the problem from first principles. The vision of the disgusting assault at Sunshine reveals the blasé reaction of the offenders to the awful effects that they have caused for their victim, to the extent of doubling over in laughter during the assault. Bearing in mind that the individuals concerned are not small children and have surely already acquired some set of personal values, it is significant that they simply do not care about the pain they are causing, and find debilitating injuries inflicted by cowardly group-attack to be highly entertaining.
It may be that some people cannot be re-trained to think differently about the rights of others. I do not understand why this possibility is not reflected by the application of criminal sanctions far more severe than we see in this case. In my opinion, this assault should have resulted in prison terms measured in years instead of months.
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:53 pm Victorian matt(Quote)
Like many have posted already, sentences for brutal bashing’s are not strict enough. The poor man in the link probably spent more time in rehabilitation then the perpetrators spend in jail or a re-correction center. Although I am still young and not as wise as most, I believe that condemning one area is the way to go about securing your streets. I grew up in the eastern suburbs near Pakenham and like you OZ, I to have more then enough stories to tell of drop kicks brutally harming others for no apparent reason or harassing me as I walk to the local taxi ring on my way home from a night out or even stalking people until they are by themselves or vastly out numbered then attacking them, they don’t take any money, watches or personal belongings. These thugs are just there to do serious harm.
I now live in Geelong as I am currently attending University, but cannot understand your argument of “let educate all of them”. If you didn’t notice education is not cheap. I come from a family that supports me as best they can and I still have to have a part time job, and I still need some financial assistance from the government and I am finding it hard to scrape my funds together to pay for my last residence fees at university. I cannot apply for a scholarship because guess what, I come from the Eastern suburbs, your views on where the problem are a little bit misdirected your only taking into account your personal experiences and adding to the flame instead how about we come up with and solution (a solution that doesn’t involve blowing something up). I think it was work of theorist named Lukes (don’t quote me I am not 100% sure), but he did some work on power the 1970s and part of his work was to make prisons behave. He suggested have there cells lined up in front of 2 way mirrors. That way the prisoners would never really know when they where being watched so they wouldn’t dear misbehave. The same idea can be implemented in the CBD in the forms of CCTV, if people believe that they are being watched do you think that they will still behave in the same manner?
Thanks for reading I hope I spoke correctly and if I offended it wasn’t my intention….peace
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Thats your problem right there, university accommodation is always ridiculously priced.
With HECS and government welfare anyone should be able to afford study. You’d save a bucket if you moved into a share house in Geelong (having said that I don’t know how far out of Geelong your uni might be but I imagine there’s some form of public transport).
Education is ridiculously cheap in this country, that’s why it’s so underappreciated.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:29 pm Alex(Quote)
Ok everyone, i live in the western/northwestern suburbs and i have lived here all my life, and i HAVE to say that its not as bad as people make it out to be. Just come and live here, and send your kids to school here and get a job here, then you’ll know about what the western suburbs is like. Ive seen more crime in the southeastern suburbs then in Sunshine!
October 28th, 2009 at 5:36 pm N(Quote)
I am 19 and have lived in the heart of the western suburbs my whole life.
I am not the smartest kid in the classrom and have done things im not proud of, ill admit that much. However, the decision i have made and the people i have met is what has made me who i am today and i would not change that for anything.
it amazes me how intelligent, educated and just plain street smart some people are. my teachers for example, they are the reason i will receive my Diplomas and head off to Uni next year with goals.
The point im trying to make is, one day i would like to possess the same level of intelligence as my teachers and use it to help others as they helped me. It annoys me when i see people that posses the knowledge to bring upon a positive change, yet do nothing but write articulate BS on the internet and add fuel to an already blazing fire.
If the western suburbs have taught me anything, it is this.”You don’t have to be better than everybody else, you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.” and you are a prime example of someone who gets their kicks by complaining about how much better than everyone else you are.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:43 pm MrWesternSuburbs(Quote)
Well, the people on here discriminating against the west, if you people are SO much more intelligent and much more civil, then why is it that your on a website bad mouthing a place it’s clear you know nothing about except what rumors you have heard from other people. I guess it is rather sad, on your behalf. The west is actually building up and moving forward in the future, while the “problematic” people are being pushed further out.
I suggest you all take a walk around the west before you make your pathetic assumptions, while many of you from the east and south had families who were hand fed from day one. We over here came as immigrants, asylum seekers and such. If you were so EDUCATED, you would know this and probably would have an intelligent view on this. I’m not some 45 year old, I’m a 20 year old who happens to live in one of the most disadvantaged suburbs (Braybrook) and my statistics would be much more accurate than your pathetic ideology of the WESTERN SUBURBS.
December 12th, 2009 at 10:17 am Caroline(Quote)
“I don’t know what it is specifically about the western suburbs that gets my back up but for the longest time I can remember, I’ve hated the place.”
Then don’t go there. It would seem that the most logical thing one can say about this whole post and subsequent comments is that is it you, the blogger with the issue, not the western suburbs or their inhabitants.
And for the record, if you are going to speak in generalisations as you have it may be of benefit to you to take a drive to the eastern suburbs and write description of the people you see there. Particularly please visit Narre Warren, Pakenham and Cranbourne.
I live in a beautiful house, 22kms from the city that was affordable – I was living in Armadale (moved there for uni – actually from Kings Park) and for the money spent on our three bedroom house on good sized block we could have bought a one bedroom apartment in Armadale. We will be mortgage free in roughly 7 years. By that time we may or may not choose to have children who (if we do have children) will be educated in world class schools. Yearly overseas holidays are the norm for us and our friends and we regularly enjoy eating out in the many restaurants nearby.
But please, I am not trying to convince you that your opinions about the western suburbs are misguided. In fact I encourage you to preach your ideas to all and sundry. I’d hate to see the western suburbs overrun with inconsiderate, arrogant, irrational, uneducated (St Albans VU? Please!), liberal voting turds such as yourself.
January 21st, 2010 at 2:21 am Andi(Quote)
Omg I’m so scarred now! I’m moving from Perth and now gonna reside in Sunshine!!! Bit scarred!
oops make it moving to Sunshine West, is it any better?!
January 21st, 2010 at 6:52 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Mate the only place worse then Sunshine is west Sunshine.
I’d sell all your valuables and if you see a group of any ethnicity heading towards you drop your phone and wallet and RUN!
What did you do to deserve this punishment?
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:08 am N(Quote)
no matter how many times i read this article and the comments that follow, for some strange reason i get so worked up. i usually don’t care what other people think and even thought its all because of where i live, i tend to prefer being underestimated, it motivates me. honestly, if even i lived right next door to you, id still think you are the most naive and egotistical, moron that iv’e come across in a long time.
you cant fill a glass that’s already full, even if it is with junk. so no point arguing with you, i guess it just feels good to vent.
January 31st, 2010 at 2:25 pm Matt(Quote)
I live in the western subs of melb in a suburb called keilor i am a multi-millionair and i would not move from here as i have been to the other side of the city and people drive around in C180′s and think they are gods gift to earth> come on guys really now just because you live 20klm from toorak does not mean that you are rich grow up and stop trying to be something you are not.
Also as for the person that lives in St Kilda sorry to burst your bubble but it is a hole like you say st.albans is bad it is like st.albans but with cafe’s and some water (trash all over the place)
So take a good look around before making comments!
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:28 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Well how noble of you. Must be nice being top dog on the block amongst your uneducated criminal subjects.
I think comparing St. Albans to St. Kilda is a bit of a stretch. At least St Kilda’s trash can be cleaned up… in the western suburbs the trash lying around is the people themselves.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:41 am Vicki(Quote)
1. Hate should trouble us all!
2. Pakenham is a hole, substantiated by the ridiculously cheap house prices
3. I live 9km from the CBD, it takes me 35 minutes (via transport) to get to my well paid job thanks to my Melbourne University Double Degree. How far is Pakenham anyway? Oh that’s right, it’s on the outskirts of Melbourne, 40 odd kms from the CBD. What’s that, 75 minutes on a train? How often would a person that lives that far out even visit the CBD to be disturbed by trashy Western suburbs people?!?
4. Stop riding on the upper class Eastern suburbs, Pakenham cannot even compare to Toorak. Same goes for the majority of Eastern suburbs. People with $2 million homes in Camberwell must just love being compared to the “other” Eastern suburbs
5. I think you need more than 10 books in your household if the best you can achieve is St.Albans Tafe.
6. Learn to resolve issues without the need to blow up bridges and roads. If that is your solution, you’re preaching in the wrong country. Last I checked, terrorism is frowned upon in Australia.
7. Creating a ghetto reminiscent of the Jewish ghettos in Poland, is that another of solution of yours? Building a wall around the Western suburbs so that we do not pollute you? Surely that is what you are suggesting by blowing up roads and bridges that provide the West access to the CBD.
8. Did you ever stop to think that society needs lower class individuals in order to do the jobs the rest of us don’t want to do?
9. The person that needs more of an education is yourself. Perhaps if you ventured out of the Pakenham CBD and experienced the world you may be able to form a more educated opinion not fuelled by hate. No society is without troubled areas.
10. And finally if you are so concerned with trashy uneducated people why don’t you do something to help? I am a big sister to a child from Sunshine who has a junkie Aussie mother (no an immigrant as you suggest) and after 3 years of hard work I am seeing positive changes. Her speech has improved, her grades have markedly improved and she sees education as the key to a better future.
Instead of being disgusted by people in this situation, you should feel for them and want to help. It is a cycle. Until someone offers their help, the cycle will just keep on going.
Stop berating and do something useful rather than sharing your ignorant and idiotic propaganda. Melbourne is a city built on diversity. Stick to the Pakenham CBD!
February 24th, 2010 at 5:32 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
I’m not really sure why you’re so eager to bash Pakenham… I too think it’s just as much of a hole as most of the western suburbs. I would however feel more safer walking through there then most of the west on a Friday/Saturday night though.
Agreed. I won’t personally reply to points 3-6 as you seem to have it in for Pakenham, which as a suburb I don’t really care about.
Terrorism is certainly frowned upon but blowing up the Westgate is simply humanitarism. Sparing the rest of us living in Melbourne from having to intermingle with the dropkicks in the west is an act of kindness.
Out of sight out of mind.
At this point I’ll invoke Godwin’s law. Whilst the Polish ghettos were for a ethnic group of people, I don’t really care what ethnicity the people are in the western suburbs.
After the wall is built you lot can drag race your commodores, stab eachother on the way to work and run around in your trackie dacks and Kappa jumpsuits as much as you want.
Sure I did. Somebody has to do those jobs but that doesn’t mean I want to socialise with them either. Do your job and then go home… stop ruining life for the rest of us.
I’m glad things seem to be working out for her. Has the mother gone off to jail yet for elicit drug use? I acknowledge that someone has to pick up the pieces but I’d rather focus my efforts on preventing trash like this from breeding in the first place.
She probably spent the entire baby bonus and associated payments on drugs.
March 30th, 2010 at 4:12 pm Andrew Curr(Quote)
I know that this is just a fishing line thrown out by the writer to see who will bite, but I was brought up in the west and lived in Hoppers Crossing for many years. There are just as many “bogans” and “Lower class” people on the other side of the bridge, as I worked there for years.
Try living in parts of Brisbane or Sydney for a while and you would be happy to move back to the western subs of Melbourne. Just because you may have been ripped off by a German prestige car company or paid an arm and a leg for a big mansion in Kew, doesn’t make you any better than folks from the west.
March 30th, 2010 at 4:23 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
There might be but we’ve dispensed them all to the outer edges of suburbia. We don’t have to deal with them and they’re free to rob, assault and interbreed with eachother leaving the rest of inner east Melbourne alone.
The problem with the west is you hit bogan trash after literally 5 minutes of driving. Proximity wise the western suburbs trash is far closer to the CBD, more widespread and this in turn makes the CBD more accessible to them.
That and they’re everywhere. We have some nice suburbs in the east that are bogan free meanwhile every suburb in the west is tainted with a good percentage of trash.
April 12th, 2010 at 11:30 pm Kain(Quote)
I have said this for a while – I do not consider the Western suburbs to be a part of Melbourne. Fence them off and nuke them, period.
April 25th, 2010 at 9:09 pm Maria(Quote)
My my my, you self centered, stuck up, pretentious little sod…I would like to ask you one question. Who the hell do you think you are???
I was born and bred in the Western Suburbs as was my husbands (FYI we have million dollar houses in the west also), but when we decided to move out of our family homes and set up our own abode we did decide to move out of the Western Suburbs to be closer to our jobs..
We moved to a quiet leafy street in South Yarra or so we thought…In the 20 years I lived with my parents my mother had to park her car out in the street so my fathers car could be in the garage not once was it ever touch.. Within 3 months of moving to your so called safe beautiful streets of a very affluent suburb my $25,000 car was totally trashed all 6 windows smashed all panels kicked in, by a group of stuck up little sods(just like yourself who think of nobody but themselves) from Melbourne Boys Grammer…
How proud were there parents…
Both my husband and myself are educated and we both own and operate successful businesses…I guess the biggest difference between yourself and us is that we weren’t spoon fee, our parents did not raise us to believe that just because we have something nicer than the next person that we have the right to judge them and treat them with disrespect.
My parents raised me to believe that everyone is equal and deserves to be treated equally irregardless of economic stature… You just need to get you head out of your ass and start to seeing the problem for what it really is…If the state and federal government put as much financial backing behind the western suburbs as the did in the eastern, if they provided equal funding for the schools in the west as they do for the east maybe there would not be such a huge division in education level.
Maybe then there wouldn’t be children falling behind at school growing into teens with self esteem issues wanting to take their frustration out on the state that has done wrong by them…. Stop making this a demographic issue as demographics has absolutely nothing to do with it….
PLEASE DON’T EVER FORGET YOU HAVE FRANGA THE STATES THONG WEARING, I AM GOING TO HAVE A BABY JUST TO GET A CENTRELINK BENEFIT, AND SPRINGVALE THE STATES DRUG CAPITAL. and not to mention that at least 90% of the states underworld figures live in the East…Lovely suburbs…
Fuck I wonder why I haven’t moved there yet?????
April 27th, 2010 at 3:22 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
So, because your car got trashed by some private school boys that means everybody who lives in the inner east is a ‘spoon fe (sic)’ inheritance brat with entitlement issues?
Wow way to counter my stereotype of western suburbs trash with… another stereotype. That’s convincing!
How did you know it was students from the school that trashed the car? Was there video footage or did you witness the vandalism yourself? If so why wasn’t the school notified and/or the police?
Chapel street gets quite a lot of bogan trash from the western suburbs (and far east) doing Chap laps on a Friday and Saturday night. If you didn’t see anyone or have any recorded footage it could just have easily have been some drunk randoms.
As for education in the west, I think at a primary and secondary level it’s probably a lost cause for now. The government’s probably better off offering scholarships to the top students to get them educated elsewhere. Ratio wise there’s just too many knuckledraggers in the western suburbs school system ready to drag everyone else down.
Frankston is borderline Melbourne, let alone anywhere near the inner east. The problem with Melbourne’s western suburbs is that you get trash the second you cross the westgate or pass the Docklands. Out east you’ve actually got to travel into remote suburbia before you run into trouble.
At least all the crap that happens in Frankston and Springvale stays there. It’s not like they’re invading Melbourne CBD looking for fights (I’m sure some are but it’s nothing in comparison to the west).
This recent news article just about sums up Melbourne’s western suburbs:
Boo hoo, Centrelink doesn’t pay enough for me to buy nice things… so I’ll go trash somebody else’s house in the name of Sunshine. Gang respekt yo.Yay for the western suburbs!
May 16th, 2010 at 4:34 pm Matt(Quote)
Many Criminals living in the West don’t need an education they require an execution. Such as those Sudanese scumbags who bashed that poor Aussie at Sunshine station.
Over-educated, Private School, Homo-Sexual, Left-Wing Extremeist Judges are the problem in Victoria. We can afford to bring back the Death Penalty, as we have far too many unemployable scumbags living in this country.
May 23rd, 2010 at 5:53 pm Sally(Quote)
I moved from Highton to Footscray and have never regretted it! The people are friendly, interesting and intelligent. It is a community, not a bunch of individualist snobs who complain about EVERYTHING!
A kid rolled his eyes at you….. dittems. Get over it. Bore.
June 4th, 2010 at 6:33 pm Sam(Quote)
Yeah definitely need to bring back death penalty
clean out the west
make the future a brighter place to be
July 16th, 2010 at 8:41 pm steve(Quote)
Mate you seriously need to get over yourself big time.I can’t imagine what your dinner parties are like;sitting around in “Smugville”talking to all of your educated associates about all of the “Bogans” that exist outside of your own delusional headspace!
You would have to be one of the most narrow minded,insecure jerks on the planet. Obviuosly you compensate for your own inadequacies by denigrating the populace of many of Australia’s most culturally diverse and interesting cities.
I actually live in Sydney in one of the Western suburbs,I have travelled around the world and I am educated.I live in the Western suburbs because I can afford a nice house .
I have associated with people from all walks of life and I am thankful that not all people that live in the more affluent suburbs are as narrow minded as you.
Maybe someday you will come to see the error of your ways and realise that “Thou shalt not judge ,lest shall ye be judged”!
Also please be so humble to admit that you are wrong when you are met with many of the intelligent replies that come from the Western suburbs.
Best regards Steve.
July 17th, 2010 at 1:33 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
As opposed to sitting around the open oil drum in our flanny shirts and moccasins discussing why it’s a good idea that Shazza to marry her first cousin Bazza and who’s house we should rob to get them a wedding gift?
Cities? Who said anything about denigrating an entire city? My beef is with the trash living out in the west of Melbourne.
Well that’s nice, but the article was about Melbourne. From what I understand Sydney’s west is pretty much a belt of habibs from the middle east closer to the city and then redneck bogan town the further you get out. Hardly culuturally diverse and definitely not somewhere I want to live.
Fact: Every shooting in Australia can be linked back to Sydney’s western suburbs in six degrees or less.
No thanks, you can keep your religious views to yourself.
I’ll keep that in mind for when I see one. Till then…
August 15th, 2010 at 3:45 pm Bogan and proud(Quote)
Yes, seal off the western suburbs from the eastern suburbs. But it’s your turn to receive all the migrants and refugees that many of you NIMBYs over there advocate, since they’re good for YOUR economy. Don’t let your community resident groups stand in the way of that.
And what would happen if your private school brats didn’t have poorer people to ‘bounce off’ to shore their egos? They might have to resort to torturing animals instead.
August 15th, 2010 at 4:08 pm Bogan and proud(Quote)
And remember that there are scum who live in the leafier suburbs who have made quite a pleasant living out of being scum. They’re the ones you should keep an eye on given that they tend to fly under ‘bogan’ radars. A dog wearing a flashy suit and a gold watch is still a dog in any shape or form.
So then how does one really define class?
August 15th, 2010 at 7:50 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
I don’t see why after sealing off the west we can’t just continue to dump all the uneducated imports over there and keep the educated ones.
The west is a Labor safehaven might I remind you… as far as I’m concerned Labor can’t prop up the door wide enough when it comes to letting uneducated riff raff into Australia.
Firstly what are poor people’s children doing in private schools?!
Secondly there’ll always be poor people around to kick about… locking off the west just means we won’t have to deal with the more socially maladjusted of them.
If they’re behaving then I don’t really have a problem with them. I imagine if they start acting like their suburbian cousins however they’d get booted out quick smart.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:16 am Sim C.(Quote)
I live in Ardeer (Western Suburbs). I hold 4 degrees, one being a Ph.D. and one of the degrees from a prestigious U.S. university. I have letters of gratitude from ambassadors and statesman.
I find your comments disgusting and offensive. You are the vulgar and the people who should be banned.
The West houses a lot of people, immigrants who have not got enough money to live in the ‘elite suburbs’ and generational poverty. This is not a crime. However to look down on others who may not have had as much education or financial opportunity as yourself is a moral crime.
I associate with people in all areas of Melbourne, and I must laugh every time I am at a dinner party and one of the guests ask Ardeer, that sounds so exclusive, where is that. When I reply that it is based next to West Sunshine I laugh at the sneer from their lips. I choose to live here. My neighbors are honest, hard-working people. A bit rough around the edges but by in large they would save me if my life was in danger.
We may be middle to lower class but we are human. I feel sorry for you that you were born only half-human and half animal. Only an animal urinates on a tree and claims it to be their territory and better thab others.
Your comments, your website and the claims made are a ‘dog’s act’.
October 26th, 2010 at 2:58 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Of course this in itself isn’t a crime but the fact that that most of the CBD violent crimes are being perpetuated by this western suburbs demographic is.
Attempting to play the silver spoon card is kind of pointless. I was raised by a divorced single mother who probably could have settled and moved to the west. Instead, despite having four boys she worked hard and sacrificed quite a lot so that we’d have a decent start in life.
For this she’ll forever have my gratitude… it’s too easy for parents to neglet kids these days and just give up on them. Bringing up your kids in the deadbeat environment that plagues much of Melbourne’s west is the real moral crime here.
Why do you think this is a common reaction. You come on here sounding like I’m the only one in Melbourne who thinks Melbourne’s west is mostly populated by trash, yet you claim that people sneering at where you come from is a common occurrence.
Yeah… and living in the west it’s a shame that the reason you’re life would be in danger is because you’re neighbour’s endangering it. Hopefully you’re other neighbour is honest enough to come to the rescue but statistically probably. More likely they’d just walk in and lift your television… not like you’re going to need it when you’re dead.
November 1st, 2010 at 1:25 am Goonts.(Quote)
You blame all this shit on the Westside when you have like Hursty on the East. I mean it has been well documented by The Hearld Sun and The Age that MOST train crime in Melbourne CBD and surrounding areas are from the Eastside. With our top contender (Werribee Station) was like 4th.
Anyway, I myself am no intellectual genius, my cousin got a 98% on her V.C.E and is in her 3rd year at Deakin (i believe) for chemical engineering. Which i may add is 80k first year. So not all of us are illiterate. But.. she was from Williamstown.
November 1st, 2010 at 1:31 am Goonts.(Quote)
Also, Remember were your favorite LABOR Prime Minister formerly resided, Ozsoapbox. Thats right your favorite town, Wezzabee.
November 1st, 2010 at 3:51 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
@Goonts
What does train violence have to do with anything? We’re talking about violence in Melbourne’s CBD (not on trains in the CBD) being caused by westies.
And bugger Werribee or Hurstbridge, try taking a stroll into Sunshine station on a late Saturday night.
I wasn’t even aware I had a favourite Labor prime minister… who are we talking about?
November 1st, 2010 at 3:24 am Sim C.(Quote)
In writing the follow response I refer to certain areas of Melbourne. I am only using the areas of Brimbank and Stonnington as examples and all statistical information cited has been for the sole purpose of explaining to the un-informed the true facts as they are presented by the Victorian Police and also Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Reply as follows;
In relation to your reply it is obvious you tried your best to read between the lines to incite a debate. It is much welcomed.
1. My difficult with your website is the manner in which you present information but are unable to provide citations from creditable sources such as the Victorian Police files. eg. supporting your claim “Of course this in itself isn’t a crime but the fact that that most of the CBD violent crimes are being perpetuated by this western suburbs demographic is”.
Is ‘western suburbs demographic’ a demographic profile of a person behavior or the geographic location in which they reside?
2. Again your comments;
“Bringing up your kids in the deadbeat environment that plagues much of Melbourne’s west is the real moral crime here”.
Here is another quotation you remember;
“Those on the receiving end of racism also face…Limited access to jobs, housing, education and the services we need to be healthy”. Citation from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/human%20rights/)
Actually, to state that if someone does not re-locate to a more elitist suburb, that it is a moral crime. You are using a geographical location, just like countries do when they go to war and commit genocide to discriminate against those who do not live in your neighborhood.
The real issue at hand is crime, not monetary wealth or status. A good education begins in the home. It is well known without need for reference that crime and lower socio-economic circumstances may be correlated but we will get to the statistics later.
This does not include white collar crime like the wealthy bankers of the Global Financial Crisis; we will leave that type of crime for another debate.
There are certain limitations to life that even with a positive mental attitude cannot be immediately changed. ‘Housing affordability’. Indeed I believe most people strive for a better standard of living but your statements are very general and not cited.
The term used “deadbeat” I think you are referring to someone who does not give much effort to their lives or respect for those around them (e.g. community)? The will of an individual is not defined by their surroundings but their inner desire to succeed.
Are domestic violence and drug abuse crimes solely products of geographical location? There are no other ‘deadbeats’ or criminals in other areas of Melbourne? I find this proposal difficult to comprehend and challenge you to again produce statistical data to confirm your statements.
By the way, your mum sounds like she did her best, which is a nice story, but there is ‘no silver spoon in my mouth’ either. Again, you have made baseless assumptions. Allot of hard work.
3. Your response “Why do you think this is a common reaction. You come on here sounding like I’m the only one in Melbourne who thinks Melbourne’s west is mostly populated by trash, yet you claim that people sneering at where you come from is a common occurrence”.
I didn’t write it was a common occurrence, how many dinner parties do I attend in one year? Again, another baseless assumption. In fact, the multitude of unreferenced websites just like these, just add to the frenzy and also propaganda of a media story.
However, I find it difficult to find websites de-basing Carlton or East Brighton as ‘places of violent crimes or deadbeats… I guess the Carlton Crew and Carlton are the ‘Western suburb demographic’ and when Mr. Condello died in his driveway in East Brighton being gunned down in 2006 had been also included in your ‘Western suburb demographic’.
Again I ask the questions; Is ‘western suburbs demographic’ a demographic profile of a person’s behavior or the geographic location in which they reside? Please clarify.
Here are some statistics I found about crime in Melbourne;
http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=782
Kindly provided by the Victoria Police (Thank-you, keep up the good work guys!).
To make this exercise easier, I will just refer to a few crimes.
2009/10 Year
(Quoted as rate per 100,000 people)
Assaults 588.3 (Moonee Valley) (Central/North Melb.)
Assaults 529.9 (Moreland) (Northern Melbourne of Melbourne))
Assaults 1,142.6 (Northern Grampians)(Regional Victoria)
Assaults 1,035.2 (Ballarat) (Regional Victoria)
Assaults 608.8 (City of Wyndam) – Western Suburbs**
Assaults 650.0 (Melton) – Western Suburbs***
Assaults 673.0 (Stonnigton) – Inner CBD/ East Melbourne (Elite)***
Last but not the least it is Brimbank coming in under all the so called ‘deadbeat free neighbourhoods of Melbourne’ for total assaults at;
Assaults 575.1 (Brimbank) – Sunshine/ Ardeer/ Deer Park
Least Amount of Assaults
Winner – Moreland (Well Done!)
2nd Place – Western Suburbs
6th Place after both Wyndam and Melton … Stonnington, with ~17% more assults than Brimbank (Sunshine). Yes lock down the Western suburbs because we want to keep the violence out from leaking into our more assault free suburbs. But hey that is the theory proposed on this website, isn’t it?
Again the total crimes against people, Brimbank wins with a lower score again at 816 versus Stonnington’s 858.6 (a difference of 5.22%) – you were so close; Soapbox without a name.
4. Lastly; your comment –
“Yeah… and living in the west it’s a shame that the reason you’re life would be in danger is because you’re neighbour’s endangering it. Hopefully you’re other neighbour is honest enough to come to the rescue but statistically probably. More likely they’d just walk in and lift your television… not like you’re going to need it when you’re dead”.
To futher clarify to avoid baseless assumptions, the reference was made that if say … my house was on fire and I was asleep, they would rescue me first without fear of their own life. This is from knowing them well and no matter where a human lives in this world to love your neighbour and to be considerate of others does not need the approval of social tyrants.
You wrote “statistically probably”. What did you learn at St Albans VUT?
“they’d just walk in and lift your television… not like you’re going to need it when you’re dead”. So you want me dead in your mind? My statement quotes as saying “if my life was in danger”.
From your response I am dead and my TV was stolen by my neighbours who are sub-humans of course because wait for it … they live in the western suburbs and this is the ‘western suburbs demographics’ not to be confused with the violent varient demographic of the ‘Carlton and East Brighton Demographic’ who focus their violent assaults on mob bosses (as previously cited).
Firstly, burglery from residential premises is higher as depicted by the Police statistics; 630.6 Stonnigton versus 791.1. Again, you are making a general statement about people who you just label as being violent not thieves.
Some intereting statistics I would like to share with you before I leave relate to the real ‘demographics’ of Melbourne as cited by the Australian Beaura of Statistics.
Australian Beurea of Statistics (Y2006).
% of People Bron Overseas (Brimbank) 46.7%
% of People Bron Overseas (Stonnington) 29.9%
Average taxable income (taxable and non-taxable individuals) $35,103 (Y2007) – Brimbank
Average taxable income (taxable and non-taxable individuals) $82,044 (Y2007) – Stonnington
No comment needed, you know what you are, and that’s what makes this country so great, you can get up on a soap box and have your say.
Thank-you for the opportunity to write this, and I hope others join the debate with some ways to remedy the challenges before us all, instead of writing blurbs of senseless hatred.
November 1st, 2010 at 4:41 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
@Dr. Simon Chichello
As far as I know I don’t have access to Victorian Police files. Having said that the original article linked states
Reliable enough?
I don’t know about you but it’s pretty easy to spot who’s from the western suburbs on any given night out. It’s a correlation of personal behaviour linked to where they reside.
In this particular case it’s an over-representation on violent behaviour corelated with where they reside (the west and northwest).
Sorry what does racism have to do with any of this? Playing the race card here is irrelevant.
The term ‘your neighbourhood’ implies that a particular neighbourhood is full of a particular racial or cultural group. Given that nearly all suburbs in Melbourne in particular are massively varied racially and culturally, how is this even remotely relevant?
I knowwhat you’re trying to get at implying genocide and again, it’s an irrelevant angle of argument. This isn’t about a particular cultural group or race. Yes western suburbs is a culture but it’s hardly a recognised one in the scope of genocide.
Of course there are, I’ve just never seen so many questionable looking people out and about. Seriously go have a walk around Footscray and count how many minutes it takes before you walk past someone clearly on drugs, or go walk around St. Albans and have a look at all the socially disfunctional couples running around.
And don’t assume anything either, actually listen to the way they talk to eachother or what it is they’re discussing.
Like you’ve tried with the racism angle in this reply, the spoon comment was addressing the obvious subtext of your comments. Whether you’re subtly accusing someone of being racist or suffering from silver spoon syndrome it doesn’t matter, both are irrelevant to this discussion.
Please, how relevant are the Carlton Crew today? Carlton was undoubtedly a hotspot but that racquet has long since moved to the west and northwest.
In the context of this article, the Carlton Crew are hardly running about the CBD on a Friday or Saturday night getting into assaults. This article focuses squarely on CBD violence that and you seem intent on adding domestic violence, drugs organised crime into the mix.
Answered above.
As for your statistics, again this article is about violence being purpertrated in the CBD. Just like thieves don’t steal from their own neighbourhoods, western suburbs trash are obviously for the most part looking for fights elsewhere.
Quoting local crime statistics is irrelevant to the discussion.
Yes because only in the west do people know their neighbours well. This doesn’t happen anywhere else.
Know thy neighbour – Patent pending (western suburbs).
Not only that but I also used ‘you’re’ wrong twice too. I agree that wasn’t one of my best paragraphs but it’s clear probably isn’t supposed to be there (and neither is that full stop).
You can judge my prose on the 600+ articles written, edited and published by myself on OzSoapbox. That and the near 8,000 comments too. Additionally I spend a lot of time editing people’s comments so that they read better. After publishing this comment I’m going to have to attack yours and break it up into more readable paragraphs.
By all means point out my grammatical mistakes that I don’t mind but attempting to use it to further your point of view is a bit weak. I could have just as easily turned it around and state that’s what an education in the west gets you, but none of this is relevant to the topic at hand.
And there we go with the implications of racism, which kinda doesn’t really work when I don’t even live in the city of Stonnington. What do % of people born overseas and household incomes have to do with violence in the CBD by western suburbs trash?
Jesus Christ you’re good at providing completly irrelevant statistics. Academic syndrome much?
Less waffle and more relevant discussion please.
November 1st, 2010 at 3:36 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Forget about the Carlton Crew… Melbourne’s western suburbs are so rough even the current crime families are threatening to leave.
If the Chaouk crime family can’t hack Melbourne’s western suburbs god help the rest of you lot surviving there.
December 17th, 2010 at 3:42 pm Graham(Quote)
Oh for goodness sake, I am SICK of hearing you bloody eastern/northern suburb idiots CONSTANTLY blaming the western suburbs for crime. “Oh look, there’s a bogan harassing a woman with a beer bottle in his hand, clearly he is from the western suburbs as we are just sooo perfect like the snobby little pretentious pricks we are in the east”. You generalise and stereotype that the WHOLE west are bogans, or ferals, uneducated and can’t speak well. How do you know that all violence that occurs on trains and in the city automatically means it is committed by a citizen from the western suburbs? Take a look at your own suburbs before you talk about the west, unless you’re too ignorant and blind to do so.
I must say, just about every report I hear on the news nowadays about youths getting into street fights, drink driving hoons doing burnouts down streets, armed robberies, break ins, stabbings, shootings, party brawls, etc, all come from.. guess where… THE EAST! You seriously all think you’re so perfect, and tell new people to Melbourne to “avoid the western suburbs because it is dangerous. Come live in the east”…. then 2 nights later, that person is either dead or in hospital with serious injuries.
I live in the west, and you know what.. there are MANY people in my suburb that have excellent education such as myself, and who live very successful lives. My suburb is clean and peaceful, but of course, you don’t believe me because I am just a foul, bogan from the west who loves to attack innocent people.
Like I said, take a look at your own damn precious eastern suburbs before you judge the west, unless you’re too gutless to admit the flaws in your town!
December 17th, 2010 at 3:53 pm Graham(Quote)
Might I add… Who in their right mind would want to live in the eastern suburbs anyway?
All of their citizens are just pretentious snobs that would backstab you (literally!!) and/or leave you to die in the street.
Crime comes from the east as well, in case you didn’t notice. How about Frankston, Springvale, Ringwood, Richmond, Dandenong, Narre Warren, Noble Park, Toorak?
They are all as bad, if not WORSE than most of the western suburbs. Plenty of uneducated, toothless, dumb morons that ruin their town’s reputation there too.
Believe it, accept it!
March 5th, 2011 at 3:28 pm Gups(Quote)
And…….here “Mr Box” disappears.Well done Graham.
March 8th, 2011 at 5:27 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
I didn’t dissappear, just either missed the comment or didn’t see fit to reply.
I haven’t fixed up the grammar in Graham’s comment so probably the former.
In response, nobody’s stating that crime doesn’t exist in the east, but rather it’s disproportionately attributed to the west.
I’d wager a large chunk of crime occuring in those named suburbs are perpertrated by visitors from the west (or far outer eastern suburbs nobody cares about).
Otherwise why would they steal from themselves?
March 29th, 2011 at 1:42 am Interested(Quote)
I have lived in Sunshine West for pretty much my whole life and I can even say that our crime rate is high.
People keep getting offended by what “Ozsoapbox” writes, why is that, he/she are clearly just writing their own opinion and stating true facts about the western suburbs.
That video posted was disturbing to watch and sadly isn’t the most horrendous thing that has happened to people before.
I warn people constantly to never travel alone at night time around Sunshine West because the danger factor is too high. A person could simply get “bashed” by a gang or group of people for not giving them a smoke or something as lame as that.
Where I work I am constantly dealing with drunks, young people destroying public property, harassing my employees, (I’m a manager) and trying to steal something from a shop. Quite frankly it scares me to death sometimes.
You can’t step out at night without seeing a bunch of young people holding knives and I must say thankfully I’m a small female and young people in gangs tend not to bother me, so far I haven’t encountered any gangs with females in them.*crosses fingers* Pray that I don’t!
I know everyone must be thinking why don’t I just move out of the western suburbs, answer: I recently did but I still work at sunshine and need to continue working to pay for Uni.
I think we as a community should be looking towards a different approach more specifically a preventative approach. We need to keep the people at the western suburbs safe because after all some people can’t afford to move or some have been living in sunshine their whole lives and don’t want to move or rather they shouldn’t have to move.
Starting working with young people at an earlier age, the % of young people getting kicked out of schools and not going into some sort of alternative schooling is higher in the western suburbs. Young people who don’t attend schooling and have nowhere to be, start acting out and start joining gangs.
I have worked in programs before for young people who were kicked out of school and these yp (young people)were amazing once given a second chance at schooling. Most left their gangs and their whole attitudes changed towards society.
I don’t want people to think I hate the western suburbs, because I don’t but I do think its irrational for people to get so defensive when the crime rate in the western suburbs is the worst. Just come to terms with it and help prevent crime…like those two people walking past in the video, why just stand there? call the police. Obviously from the footage no-one called the police especially if the young man woke up a bit later.
From Someone who cares.
March 29th, 2011 at 11:51 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Interested.
Do be careful though, as this does make you a target.
I’d love to see the western suburbs cleaned up but I’m not sure where we’d put anyone. Education is a generational thing and I personally believe there’s way too many far gone Generation Y’s living there that have no choice.
Short of removing their kids I’m not sure how the next generation isn’t going to be messed up too.
March 30th, 2011 at 2:29 am ausGeoff(Quote)
Wow… struck a raw nerve here LOL.
Someone must have stolen his moccasins!
Anyway… according to VicPol statistics, these 10 suburbs had the highest number of assaults (as of 2009):
Melbourne City 219
Reservoir 153
St Albans 151
Craigieburn 99
Broadmeadows 95
Hoppers Crossing 94
Sunshine 91
Coburg 88
Glenroy 85
Coolaroo 81
Additionally, nearly 50% of the Melbourne City’s figure of 219 were committed by residents from western and northern suburbs postcodes.
RMIT criminologist Associate Professor Julian Bondy said the figures showed postcodes in the west and north-west contributed to city assaults at a rate 86 per cent higher than the Melbourne-wide mean.
Care to comment on these documented figures Graham?
May 9th, 2011 at 9:16 am Laughing my ass off(Quote)
Wow a little kid spat on a train window. The only shop lit up was a video store ( guess you were looking for a wine bar to sip on a chardy or a cafe for a chai latte at the time) when you drove through a suburb once. You have encountered road rage.
Scarey stuff. Living on the wild side hey?
Which one of the World’s most dangerous places are you venturing to next?
May 10th, 2011 at 2:34 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
I consider myself lucky that’s all that happened to me in Melbourne’s trashy west. Statisically it could (and probably should) have been a lot worse.
June 6th, 2011 at 4:42 pm Disgusted(Quote)
What proportion of the people living in Melbourne’s West have you actually met? I would assume that you’ve met or encountered at least 50% as you would have no other legitimate reason to denigrate them as “lower socio-economic uneducated dropkicks”.
Your bright proposal is to “bomb the Westgate and sink Footscray road”. That sounds like a really resourceful and well-thought out solution to what is ultimately a societal issue.
I refer to Peter Singer’s statement that “if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it”.
The incidents that you spoke about in your article are by no means indicative of the behaviour of everyone in the Western suburbs. Maybe those incidents could have been prevented if society had done more to help these INDIVIDUALS (note my emphasis on the word individuals, and not “suburb”).
In fact maybe you should take the time to volunteer at a resource centre in the West, tutoring newly arrived youth, and see if you feel any moral gratification.
I’m in no position to make any comments about you as a person (despite the fact that you don’t hesitate to present outrageous generalisations of people), but your post was completely arrogant and presented no real solution to a problem that you can’t seem to properly identify.
It reeks of egotism and there is no evidence of compassion and acceptance. If these are the values that you have been taught in your upper-class culture then I’m certainly glad I’m not a part of it.
June 7th, 2011 at 1:48 am ausGeoff(Quote)
Sorry: straw man arguments don’t work on this blog…
Do you truly need to personally meet at least 50% of the al-Qaeda membership to accept that they’re all terrorists?
See my earlier posting (3 Mar 11) for the actual crime statistics re the western suburbs. And bear in mind these stats cover the entire greater Melbourne area. Or don’t you believe the VicPol figures?
June 8th, 2011 at 3:03 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
@Disgusted
What kind of asinine question is that to ask. You know full well I’m not going to be able to answer that remotely accurately.
Well that and the fact you only need to drive around the west for a bit to get a pretty good idea of who lives there. I suppose you could always take a look at house prices too.
Ah, you’re one of those people.
Society doesn’t owe anyone dick. It’s not society’s fault people are morons and by blaming society you’re offering up nothing more than a convenient scapegoat.
It’s society’s fault I’m all messed up!
It’s society’s fault I have se with animals!
It’s society’s fault I like to bash people!
*barf*
No thanks. I’d rather not deal with them entirely – hence the reason for authoring this article.
I kinda run low on those two items when we’re talking the dropkicks of Melbourne’s west. Infact low is misleading, I’m bluntly sold out.
No worries, I’ll leave you to you’re violent thieving rabble then.
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:20 pm HWK(Quote)
Those VicPolice statistics are incorrect or you left things out because you’re bias. Dandenong is A LOT worst then Broadmeadows. Google it.
Dandenong infact has more crime then ANY suburb in the West. Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m not so you can’t.
Assault:
864 (Broadmeadows) – APR 10 – MAR 11
And ladies and gentlemen our beloved Dandenong from the EAST.
1187.2 (Dandenong) – APR 10 – MAR 11
(OH MY GOD WHAT? NO NOTHING IN THE WONDER EASTERN SUBURBS CAN EVER BE TAINTED BECAUSE WE ARE PREFECT AND BETTER THEN EVERYONE ELSE.)
739.2 (Sunshine and St. Albans) – APR 10 – MAR 11
Rather be here then in Dandenong.
Must suck being so blind, I feel sorry for you.
Think you have to let go of your little stigma buddy!
Thanks for reading,
Resident of Epping,
We’re better then you!
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:42 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
I dunno. I still personally consider Dandenong and Frankston to be honarary western suburbs.
I know if we cut them off we as a city wouldn’t be losing anything
.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:08 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
Holy mackerel Oz…
You’ve cut me to the core mate LOL.
I live in Frankston hehe. I was recently reading the VicPol crime statistics, and one of them was that the police helicopter spends more air time over Frankston than any other municipality in greater Melbourne. Not sure quite how to interpret this?
It’s difficult (and ultimately meaningless) to quote figures by individual suburbs, as the VicPol crime statistics refer to police “regions” across Victoria, with Melbourne being region 01.
For any interested Melburnites, you can check out the 2010 figures here (it’s a 44-page PDF document):
http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?a=internetBridgingPage&Media_ID=59806
The latest survey of Frankston residents (2009) showed that 82 per cent were fearful of walking around their neighbourhood after dark. The fact that Frankston houses an older-age demographic group might influence this to a certain extent, but it’s still a pretty disturbing statistic.
The figures I quoted earlier…
“RMIT criminologist Associate Professor Julian Bondy said the figures showed postcodes in the west and north-west contributed to city assaults at a rate 86 per cent higher than the Melbourne-wide mean.”
… are probably more meaningful in demonstrating the general locations of the criminal element. Compared to the western suburbs, Frankston has an extremely low per capita population of migrants, with very few Lebanese, Asian, African, or eastern European people living here.
This tends to keep gang activity and drug-related crimes against the person in Frankston lower than the western suburbs.
Dandenong is totally different demographically to Frankston, largely because of the huge influx of migrants attracted by the high-density manufacturing industries surrounding the city, and who are major employers of unskilled labour.
September 1st, 2011 at 7:09 pm Alex of the Northern/Western Suburbs(Quote)
What a fucking joke of an article.
Lived in the northern and western suburbs my whole life and went to high school in Footscray.
September 1st, 2011 at 7:59 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
…and?
September 1st, 2011 at 11:25 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
May I take this opportunity of offering you my condolences…
Nobody deserves that sort of upbringing.
I’m guessing by your exemplary use of the copulative adjective that you’re still living there?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:17 pm sammy(Quote)
I think this article is some what racist. I have lived in the western and northern suburbs all my life, these areas of Melbourne have been neglected; without a doubt; whether it is patrolling either train stations or the areas in general, or simple rights such as having our roads fixed and education.
The growing difference between the house prices in relation to the east and west are obvious and inevitable, unfortunately, creating an even bigger gap. Therefore, these areas will for the most part remain low socio-economic areas.
However, there are very decent people living in these suburbs as well, especially with the growing and expanding of new estates, cairnlea, the avenue, brimbank gardens, edge water etc, the west is definitely growing faster, because there is room to grow, I can only hope that this growth is positive.
Lastly, instead of, ‘stopping and catching criminals or scum’, we need to educate them and provide more options, and unfortunetly, this transcends police patrolling, this is legislative and parliament, I think these areas of Melbourne have been neglected enough.
In the rule of law, everyone is equal in the eyes of the law; therefore, deserves the same treatment no matter what area you live in, what you look like or what you believe in. Otherwise we will be only cleaning the surface, while the inside rots away.
Sammy
September 19th, 2011 at 8:43 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
All good points Sammy…
I’ve lived in Frankston for the past ten years or so and can exactly mirror your comments—about the south-eastern suburbs too.
One only has to look at the “leafy” inner Melbourne suburbs— Malvern, Brighton, Armadale, Balwyn, Canterbury, Ivanhoe etc — to see how funding and facilities are directed towards these affluent, so -called “doctors’ wives” population centres.
One of the reasons you don’t get many of the Frankston thugs in Melbourne’s CBD is that—unlike the proximitous western suburbs— it’s simply too far for them to travel. The local gangs are content to terrorise the Frankston residents.
BTW, if you ever happen to come to Frankston never utilise Frankston railway station after dark. It’s open slather for drug-dealers and muggers.
October 20th, 2011 at 9:32 am Douglas(Quote)
Game. Set. Match. Anyone who disagrees with this is an oxygen thief.
What I shake my head at is the people who spend so much time and effort defending and justifying the crime rate in the Western Suburbs when instead they can use that effort to contibute to the West to reduce it. Stop defending what is cut and dry and start changing.
December 31st, 2011 at 12:43 am Kirsty(Quote)
This who thing makes me laugh.
Pull your head out of your arse and give all the extra resources and funding that are provided by government to more affulent areas to areas like the west and see the difference.
Spread the location of immigrant to include areas like inner city and see the difference.
Truth be known I was born interstate, moved and was raised for half of my childhood in the inner city and the other half in the west.
I am well educated, have a successful business in the CBD and yet hated living in the inner city as I experienced a large quantity of events that have chilled me to the
bone.
Now I live inner west and have not had any issues in the last 10 years i have lived here.
If you have such an issue, how about getting off your arse and move into work where you can help fix the problems instead of pointing fingers and throwing out stupid ignorant comments.
People like you are half the reason I left the inner city.
December 31st, 2011 at 10:46 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Demand for drugs and designer boganwear skyrocket?
Come now, that would be social engineering. Nobody made them all move together into their little conclaves.
Robbed, bashed, raped…. what did those westie suburbs trash running around the city do to you?
My condolences whatever it was.
Of course not, unless you’re Indian the western suburbs trash is too busy pillaging the CBD.
Good riddance!
December 31st, 2011 at 4:43 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
This amounts to nothing more than good fortune…
As I quoted earlier, the latest VicPol crime statistics indicate the following suburbs with the highest annual assault rates in the entire Melbourne metropolitan region:
Reservoir 153
St Albans 151
Craigieburn 99
Broadmeadows 95
Hoppers Crossing 94
Sunshine 91
Coburg 88
Glenroy 85
Coolaroo 81
—And you can’t deny these stats. They’re a fact.
December 31st, 2011 at 5:09 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
And shortly after posting the above comment, I read in today’s Herald Sun:
— “A tense five and a half hour siege in Melbourne’s west has been ended peacefully by police today.
Heavily armed police surrounded a Deer Park property after a group of teens locked themselves inside and refused to come out.
Police were called to the scene about 3.30AM when neighbours complained that a party had got out of control with windows broken and damage caused to neighboring cars and houses. Police had been told a gun had been brandished at the party.
When occupants of the house—aged between 16 and 20—refused to leave the house to speak to police Special Operations Group officers, uniformed police and the dog squad blocked off the suburban street and ordered about 11 people out of the house.
But it was not until just before 9am that the end finally ended when the final person surrendered to police as officers threatened to storm the house at gunpoint.”
Must be reminiscent of living in Beirut or Kabul in the western suburbs LOL.
December 31st, 2011 at 8:59 pm Kirsty(Quote)
It is amazing you say good riddance and yet I still own 5 properties in your area and thus put money back into your community, just cause I choose not to live next to social and at time racial discriminate area does not mean I do not understand to some of your points.
Working with DHS in the past the social placement of immigrants was where I learnt how racist the inner city is.
And yes I am an Australian with Indian origins…..and none of my famiy have had the issues we experienced in the inner city from those that LIVED in our community!
January 1st, 2012 at 2:56 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Ah so you’re one of those people. Will live amongst the scrub to save a few dollars and put up with it, but wouldn’t dare trust your assets in the west.
If you’re counting other Indians as ‘your community’ then that doesn’t surprise me.
It’s no secret there is/was western suburbs mobs running around targeting Indians in Melbourne. A teenager was jailed for eight years just a week or so ago for rolling an Indian over a mobile phone in Yarraville. So let’s not pretend it doesn’t happen.
February 27th, 2012 at 10:32 pm chris(Quote)
not all of the western suburbs is what would be considered trash! where i live in taylors lakes and surrounding suburbs are perfectly fine. its more of the inner western suburbs the older areas like sunshine, st albans…
February 28th, 2012 at 3:27 pm Mich(Quote)
st albans and sunshine are in the western suburbs, the rest are not, so why lable the western suburbs as trash. a vast majority of the western suburbs are fine its just small pockets, every city on this planet has low and high areas.
February 28th, 2012 at 11:00 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
Hey there Mich…
You’ve not read the part of my comment wherein I said clearly:
“The latest VicPol crime statistics indicate the following suburbs with the highest annual assault rates in the entire Melbourne metropolitan region.”
I didn’t even specify that I was talking in particular about the western suburbs. It was you who—in your apparent outrage—made that assumption.
I can only assume that your unprovoked “defence” of Melbourne’s western suburbs is because you acknowledge—at a ‘gut’ level—that it is in fact true that the western suburbs do contribute to a higher degree of crimes against the person. As an example of this fact rather than a guesstimate by a western suburbs’ resident, check out the VicPol rates for crimes against the person (assault) rates for St Albans and Balwyn:
(The first figure id for 2009-10, and the second figure is for 2010-11. The third figure is the percentage increase over that 24-month period.
St Albans… Assault 701.1 756.1 7.9
Balwyn….. Assault 232.5 238.3 2.5
In round figures then, we’re looking at around THREE times the rate of assaults in St Albans (a typical western suburb) compared to Balwyn (a typical “leafy” eastern suburb).
So regardless of your opinion that the western suburbs “aren’t” trash, VicPol statistics tell a different story.
Sorry.
February 28th, 2012 at 11:15 pm TaiwanTeacher(Quote)
Geeeeeezzzz…. Melbourne Australia sounds like SUCH a pleasant place to visit. Are all the cities like that there? My, my… Who could possibly be causing such a ruckus? Foreigners or Aussies?
February 29th, 2012 at 12:35 am ausGeoff(Quote)
LOL…
Just make sure you conceal a machete down the leg of your dacks if you visit Downunder. Particularly in the western suburbs!
February 29th, 2012 at 2:15 pm Mich(Quote)
Well the way the results where published would make a visitor unknown to Melbourne assume that those are all from the west.
You said “So regardless of your opinion that the western suburbs “aren’t” trash, VicPol statistics tell a different story.” which those statistics only mention two suburbs of many within the western suburbs.
To think the western suburbs are considered trash for two suburbs is outrageous and immature. In other words communities of Caroline Springs, Taylors Lakes, Keilor, Hillside, Airport West, Essendon… so on are considered trash? I don’t think so.
You obviously have not been through the western suburbs. I’m disgusted, how dare you consider people as trash? Absolutely disgraced! You do not know those people and how they were brought up.
February 29th, 2012 at 3:57 pm matt(Quote)
I will not bother arguing with you, reading your replies to each and every person, not many seem to be on your side. I think you are mentally scarred, or maybe a tad of brain damage but no person in their right mind would disrespect their home city and its people like you have.
The west, the east, the south and the north are ALL part of Melbourne like it or not, you can’t segregate the city as it’s all one and will ALWAYS be one.
I have had bad experiences in the east; I don’t consider the east trash at all. I think you need to grow the hell up mate! I am from the east but you disgust me, people like you are what I and many consider trash, targeting entire communities from your bad experiences.
I think you’re very selfish and arrogant. Born and raised in the eastern suburbs, I don’t blame those people for reacting the way they did at you. Come on now, what smart arse reply have you got for me?
March 1st, 2012 at 12:41 am ausGeoff(Quote)
As a matter of fair disclosure, I should let people know that I moved away from Frankston (in Melbourne’s south-east) last year. As most Melburnites would know, Frankston is probably regarded with the same contempt as the western suburbs by any residents of the “leafy” suburbs.
I’m now living far more happily in a fairly remote rural town in Gippsland. The main reason I was living in Frankston was not by choice, but by the demands of the workplace.
I should also remind people that as a decade-long resident of Frankston, I also posted this comment earlier:
“One of the reasons you don’t get many of the Frankston thugs in Melbourne’s CBD is that—unlike the proximitous western suburbs— it’s simply too far for them to travel. The local gangs are content to terrorise the Frankston residents.
BTW, if you ever happen to come to Frankston never utilise Frankston railway station after dark. It’s open slather for drug-dealers and muggers.”
On that basis, I can hardly be accused of singling out the western suburbs for my criticism of the crime rates in those suburbs.
Anyway… last year I retired, and one of my top priorities (only priority?) was to get away from the “big smoke” — which, as it happens, is a more than apt description of Melbourne and its suburbs LOL.
And I agree with one of the other posters to a large degree; crime is spread pretty evenly over all of the Melbourne metro area—it’s just more concentrated in the western suburbs (possibly exacerbated by the larger-than-normal migrant population?). Statistics (regardless of Mark Twain’s opinion) don’t lie.
At the end of the day though—and to get back to the original topic(!)—there’s no avoiding this unbiased, expert opinion:
“RMIT criminologist Associate Professor Julian Bondy said the figures showed postcodes in the west and north-west contributed to city assaults at a rate 86 per cent higher than the Melbourne-wide mean.”
March 1st, 2012 at 12:42 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Sure they’re all part of Melbourne but what is this crap we can’t segregate them?
Next you’ll be telling me Victoria is part of Australia and also inseperable. I’ll trash parts of Melbourne all I want thanks, don’t even bother playing the ‘dats unawestrayan’ card on me.
March 1st, 2012 at 4:56 am whatthehell(Quote)
Where in Gippy?
March 1st, 2012 at 6:34 am ausGeoff(Quote)
Sorry, but…
… I value my anonymity. There aren’t too many Geoffs in a township with less than 60 people living there.
March 8th, 2012 at 6:01 pm Elsy(Quote)
I know that this post is old but i just happened to stumble upon it tonight. This is just ignorant. As a person who spends a significant amount of time in both the eastern and western suburbs i really feel that you need to take a proper look at society before pointing the finger.
Your opinion is clouded by a few bad situations and an obvious engrained belief that everyone who lives in the eastern suburbs shits out roses. Close minded people like you need to realise that you’re going to encounter poor situations in all areas, from all different types of people, at some point or another in your life.
You should stop negatively stereotyping the majority based on the bad decisions of the individual. I hope for your sake one day you can read back on this article and see exactly what is wrong with it.
March 8th, 2012 at 6:25 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Well where do you think your flowers come from… the ground?
So just give up and accept that shitty things happen and do nothing to prevent them from happening again?
…or just avoid the western suburbs in Melbourne altogether.
March 11th, 2012 at 2:14 pm elsy(Quote)
No you shouldn’t give up, but you also shouldn’t stereotype an entire section of Melbourne. How is writing an article about how ratty, violent and out of control the people of the western suburbs are and talking about bombing ‘the Westgate and sink(ing) Footscray road’ doing something to solve the issue? If anything you’re just trying to enforce a sterotype.
Personally, I have come across many, many, ratty people in the eastern suburbs, most of which are from that area. I have been threatened to be bashed in St. Kilda for no real reason and I have seen worse things happen to others.
I try to avoid St. Kilda in general, especially on weekends, because of the type of people it attracts and you don’t see me throwing out the idea that we should bomb the suburb.
What i find particularly annoying about your article is the fact that you can’t see that these type of people are everywhere. You only point out the western and north western suburbs.
What about Frankston? What about Dandenong? What about St Kilda? What about every other suburb like them? If you’re so concerned about preventing shitty things from happening, you should want to look at ALL the locations in which these things are happening (Western, Northern, Eastern, Southern) and work to eradicate the behaviour everywhere.
Also i would like to point out that Geelong is not a western suburb but Victoria’s second largest city. So while you can use it to point out the leniency of the Victorian Court system you cannot include it as an example of violence in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
March 11th, 2012 at 4:02 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Well we’re discussing it aren’t we. That’s a start.
…who from memory by and large would be imports from the outer suburbs.
As for the other suburbs, the original article was about crime statistics. Shitty people are everywhere yes, but shitty doesn’t automatically equate to criminals.
Well, unless of course we’re talking about the western suburbs. Then it’s pretty much a given.
Oh please. Geelong is no more a western city than Frankston is an eastern one. They’re both just glorified suburbs.
March 11th, 2012 at 4:29 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
The operative word here is suburbs (with an ‘s’) . . .
We’re talking about widely spread population centres when we say “western” suburbs rather than a single relatively isolated suburban area such as Dandenong or Frankston.
— And yes, nobody is denying that these sorts of people are everywhere (in Melbourne’s suburbs) . . .
The relevant point is that there’s a much wider, heavily concentrated demographic of such people in the western and north-western suburbs, and spread over a far greater geographical area than they are in Melbourne’s eastern or south-eastern suburbs.
It’s this concentration that cause the social issues of the western and north-western suburbs. Or to put it another way; the ferals and the bogans there far outweigh the educated, articulate and socially responsible members of society in those suburbs.
I’ve just moved away from Frankston after living there for more than a decade. And I can assure you that I’d much prefer living in Frankston (even with its drugged-up ferals and teen thugs) to living in (say) Airport West.
March 11th, 2012 at 6:15 pm elsy(Quote)
Discussing it isn’t really going to get us anywhere when you’re determined to stick to your close minded ignorant view.
In your racist opinion they’re ‘imports from the outer suburbs.’ What actual evidence do you have to prove that’s where they’re from? Or what ethnicity they are?
If you hate migrants and the western suburbs why did you even bother to venture out of your eastern suburbs bubble to attend Vic Uni in St. Albans? Why attend a party in sunshine or even socialise with people that live in that area? Because from the sound of it all of the above seem to be things that you would find beneath you? If the eastern suburbs are so amazing why wern’t you attending Monash or Melbourne University and going to exclusive parties in expensive Toorak mansions?
Forgive me for missing the fact that this poorly written article was originally about ‘crime statistics’ when most of it is just you bad mouthing and stereotyping the western suburbs. I’d like to ask though if all of the people living in the western suburbs are ‘trash’ who should be cut off from the rest of Melbourne then how do people (similar to me, who live in the western suburbs, have completed VCE or the equivalent, are attending or have attended a highly regarded University or completed some type of tertiary studies, are employed, supporting themselves and have never been in trouble with the law) fit within this stereotype?
As i have previously said in all areas you’re going to come across people who are violent, scummy, rude and out of control. Your arguments might be perceived as more valid if you had the ability to take an honest look at all areas instead of seeing what you want to see. I understand that there are ratty people in the west and there are certain places that i would prefer to avoid but there are similar people and places in the eastern, northern and southern suburbs and I think that you need to acknowledge that at some point.
March 11th, 2012 at 6:37 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
You want some evidence Elsy…
You may not have seen where I quoted some statistics in an earlier post here.
“RMIT criminologist Associate Professor Julian Bondy said the figures showed postcodes in the west and north-west contributed to city assaults at a rate 86 per cent higher than the Melbourne-wide mean.”
I rest my case.
March 11th, 2012 at 7:29 pm elsy(Quote)
wow! I’m just overwhelmed with the amount of evidence you’ve just pointed out.
March 11th, 2012 at 9:53 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
That implies you only see progress if I change my mind. Considering there’s nothing to change (I stand by my views), it would appear you with your single measure of productivity are closing off your mind.
Oh dear… here it comes. Sorry but when did I mention race? If you don’t live in a suburb and you’re there causing trouble, you’re an import into that suburb. Nothing more was meant by this.
Some of us have manners, and when invited at least take on the effort to make an appearance.
An opinion piece (based off my own personal expierience) in response to some news articles related to abnormal crime statistics in Melbourne’s CBD related to western suburbs trash. Dunno how you missed that.
Yes but this article isn’t about all areas, it’s about the western suburbs. You’re wasting your time with the ‘but there’s trash everywhere else so we can’t be that trashy!’ lineof approach. What happens elsewhere doesn’t excuse or justify the level of crime those living in the western suburbs are responsible for.
March 12th, 2012 at 2:34 am ausGeoff(Quote)
Hey there Elsy…
Care to offer any statistics of your own that contradict a university professor of criminology’s findings?
Or do you follow the Mark Twain line of thought?
Waiting………
March 13th, 2012 at 6:26 am ausGeoff(Quote)
From today’s (13/3) Herald Sun we have yet another three examples of the street violence occurring in Melbourne’s western suburbs. The ethnicities of the attackers and victims should also be noted:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/true-crime-scene/street-fighters-caught-on-camera/story-fnat79vb-1226297578538
Will be interesting to see what western suburbs apologists (and Elsy) have to say about this. Videos don’t lie.
March 13th, 2012 at 2:48 pm Sharon(Quote)
watched the news recently, assult in pakenham the guy followed a woman right to the city. CRAP better stay out of the eastern suburbs and lable them trash now…
oh just heard about a hit and run around there also, gee what a load of crazy people living in the eastern suburbs.
better move to iraq where people are blown up leaving their front garden im sure you would prefer that life style. arogance and taking such a great lifestyle for granted. DISCUSTING
March 13th, 2012 at 3:20 pm Whatthehell(Quote)
Aus, having trouble seeing what nationality those kids are. Sharon, learn how to spell.
March 13th, 2012 at 3:24 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
@Sharon
Bit different to heading into the CBD to cause trouble isn’t it.
In any case, yes Pakenham is a bit of a hole. But we’re discussing the western suburbs here. What goes on in Pakenham doesn’t change the fact that the western suburbs are disproportionately represented in Melbourne’s CBD crime statistics.
I also see you must be browsing the internet on your lunch break at school. Mind you don’t get stabbed on the way back to class now. Toodles.
March 13th, 2012 at 5:40 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
Hey there Sharon…
Are you seriously comparing a random hit and run (in any other suburb) with the three examples of the clearly organised western suburbs thuggery I showed in the Herald Sun video?
If so, you’re missing the point entirely. It’s illogical to “cherry pick” isolated incidents of crimes elsewhere in defence of the soaring crime rates in the western and north-western suburbs. Of course criminal activity occurs all over Melbourne—nobody’s denying that—it’s just that on a pro-rate population basis, crimes against the person (assaults) are much more prolific in those two suburban localities.
March 14th, 2012 at 12:20 am Elsy(Quote)
Hi all,
I don’t think you understand my point. I have NOT denied that you find ratty, violent people in the western suburbs. All i want is for you to acknowledge that you can find the same type of stuff in the eastern suburbs and in regards to evidence, use the following website:
http://www.heraldsunonline.com.au/dbs/crime_figures/search.html
Use the following post codes to search:
Frankston – 3199
Sunshine – 3020
Note that over a five year period from 2004 – 2009 Frankston had a total of 34298 crimes (including 7 homicides, 131 rapes and 726 sex attacks) compared to Sunshines 24849 (which includes 10 homicides, 68 rapes and 302 sex attacks).
Incase you didn’t notice there were 9449 MORE crimes in Frankston then Sunshine and even though sunshine had 3 more homicides, it also had almost half the amount of rapes and well under half the amount of sex attacks.
Then search:
St. Kilda – 3182
Footscray – 3011
Also take notice that St. Kilda had a total of 22289, between 2004 and 2009, while Footscray had 18070. Thats 4,219 more attacks in St. Kilda compared to Sunshine. They also had 40 more rapes and 16 more sex attacks in St. Kilda. Footscray did have 6 more homicides.
Before you through out some type of answer like ‘ooh i’m more likely to get murdered in the western suburbs’ according to http://www.abs.gov.au 8 out of 10 homicides occurred between people who are known to one another so you should be more concerned about people who you socialise with (that most likely live in the eastern suburbs) then randoms from the western and north western suburbs.
So before you are so quick to criticise the west take a good look at the whole of Melbourne. I understand that you want to think the best of the area that you live in but, that doesn’t mean that you’re taking an honest look at it.
I admit that there is a lot of crime going on in the west, by people who live in the west and i think that you need to open your eyes and see that there is also a lot of crime going on in the east, by people who live in the east. Turning a blind eye to the real situation doesn’t mean its not there.
March 14th, 2012 at 12:27 am Elsy(Quote)
I apologise for any issues with my grammar in that previous post, its after 1am and I’m tired.
March 14th, 2012 at 12:32 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Seriously, by all means include Frankston in the same category as the western suburbs.
Everybody knows the east has crappy suburbs too. I wouldn’t want to walk through Frankston at night any more than I would any western suburb.
That said, if I don’t live in Frankston, I don’t have to deal with the trash there either.
Living in the west is a whole different ballpark. You’ve got a bunch of crappy suburbs all close-knit together and the end result is a cess pool consisting of the lower rungs of society. Statistics wise you’ve also got to take into account these are reported crimes. Alot of the people living in the west (and Frankston too) have issues with police/reporting crime etc. so that needs to be considered too.
A disproportionate amount of western suburbs residents were/are responsible for crime in Melbourne’s CBD. By the time anyone from Frankston makes it into the CBD the sun’s already up. And you’ll never convince me walking around the inner eastern suburbs is not safer than any western suburb.
You’re probably never going to convince anyone who doesn’t already live in the west of that either.
March 14th, 2012 at 12:57 am Elsy(Quote)
Doesn’t your first statement contradict the second? Because you’re just ignoring what Frankston is like and you’re not doing anything to change the situation, you’re barely even addressing it.
At the end of the day we all live in Melbourne. Maybe you should go live in Alice Springs or Adelaide before you begin to complain about the so called ‘cess pool’ that is Melbourne.
March 14th, 2012 at 1:02 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
I suggested we ‘lock out’ western suburbs trash from the CBD. I have no problems with locking out Frankston trash either.
Let the problem sort itself out. And within the context of this discussion, I couldn’t care less what happens in Alice Springs or Adelaide.
I think everyone who’s defended the west has pretty much just tried to justify its existance by pointing at outer eastern suburbs.
You guys know that doesn’t change anything right…
March 14th, 2012 at 1:21 am Elsy(Quote)
Did you look at the statistics for St. Kilda because I think i have it on pretty good authority that it’s an INNER EASTERN SUBURB!
While i’ve enjoyed this debate, there’s no point in continuing it with you when you are clearly so thick headed and stuck in your own beliefs. Clearly you’re one of those people from the eastern suburbs that are born into that area and spend your whole life listening to how amazing, wonderful and superior those suburbs are.
I don’t know how old you are but as I’m part of the younger generation, I’m guessing from your views, that you’re not. As someone who splits there time between both east and western suburbs I feel privileged to have a good insight into both areas and am aware of both the beauty and the down falls that each of them hold.
I honestly feel sorry for you because it’s clear that you will stay close minded and because of that you’re missing out on so many experiences that the whole of Melbourne has to offer.
If you have such negative feelings about one side of the city I’d be interested to hear about your view on different areas of the world. But I’m sure that would just stir up more debate that I don’t really have time for.
As cliche as it sounds, I’d just like to encourage you to open up your mind so that you can see the world for what it is.
March 14th, 2012 at 1:26 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
They’re not beliefs, they’re actual experiences.
And yeah, St Kilda attracts it’s fair share of loonies from the west (and far east) too. It has a nightlife, which nowhere in the west has so it’s expected that reported crime there is a bit high.
I imagine if we locked western trash out of St Kilda too the rate would drop.
Been there done that and glad I wasn’t stabbed. Wouldn’t set foot in one of Melbourne’s western suburb again unless I absolutely had to.
March 14th, 2012 at 1:49 am Elsy(Quote)
I can’t believe how immature and ignorant you are. Yeah, everyone in the west has nothing better to do then go harass people that live in St. Kilda.
So are you telling me that if someone was to bash you or harass you outside of your house you would lock yourself inside forever? You have absolutely no ability to claim any responsibility for the actions of the people that do live in the eastern suburbs.
I don’t understand how you are able to function in society being as stubborn as you are. You clearly feel like your superior to others because of where you live. I hope you have higher ambitions in life besides holding a 318- post code?
Honestly, you should just stay in the east, even if you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to be in the west, because our area is better off without you. People like you, who stereotype and label others, are the type who segregate society in a negative way. Instead of trying to see the unified, culturally diverse Melbourne, you see the east side as the paramount area and the west side as a dirty, lower class area filled with ‘imports.’
Finally I’d just like to end on the fact that those ‘Imports’ are just as much a part of Australia as you are (unless your aboriginal) because at some point or another someone we were related to had to of moved here for us to have been born here.
Melbourne is the culture capital of Australia and the fact that our community is made up of all types of ethnicities plays a huge, irreplaceable part in that. I hope you learn to accept and appreciate Melbourne for what it is.
March 14th, 2012 at 2:48 am Elsy(Quote)
(obviously if you were aboriginal you’re even more a part of this country and continent because your history here extends so far back.)
I just thought I would point out the obvious there in case anyone misinterpreted that)
March 14th, 2012 at 6:01 am ausGeoff(Quote)
Geez Oz…
You’ve really touched a raw nerve with all the Westies here.
Keep up the good work!
March 14th, 2012 at 11:05 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Now you’re getting it, cheers.
Nope. Dunno where you pulled that from.
I thought I already clarified this…
Well who said they weren’t?
And what, you think Aboriginals grew out of the ground? I’m just as native as any Aboriginal thankyouverymuch.
I don’t care what ethnicitiy people are, I care about whether or not they are criminals. And statistics wise, far too many criminals causing crime in the CBD are coming from the western suburbs.
I’m not going to appreciate or accept that anytime soon. The sooner we cut off the western suburbs and its trash the better.
March 14th, 2012 at 11:44 am Elsy(Quote)
I asked if you wouldn’t leave your house because you said that your bad opinion of the western suburbs was based on a few bad experiences. So if that’s the case if you came across these bad experiences in your street or close to where you live would you simply just lock your self inside to avoid it? From what you’ve been saying it seems like you would.
Calling them ‘imports’ does suggest you care about what ethnicity they are because your clearly referring to migrants. I don’t care how you try to justify it that’s how it comes across.
I’d just like to let you know that I’m currently on a train from Sydenham to Flinders street and I haven’t been harassed/come across bogans or junkies at any point in the last 20 or so minutes
Honestly I think that you and ausGeoff are ignorant, close minded wankers.
March 14th, 2012 at 11:59 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Actually you asserted I had said this, when I hadn’t. You were attempting to question me on something I’d never said. I refused to play ball.
Yeah that it is. I’d probably fix whatever it was my house that was causing the bad experiences. Can’t really do that with an entire geographical location now can I?
Best bet? Avoid the area entirely.
How so? Imports (as I have already explained) was referring to the fact they don’t live in the area they were committing the crime in (which I believe was St. Kilda in this particular instance).
Just as I’d be an import if I went into the western suburbs looking for trouble. Please, your attempts at turning this into a race issue are wasted.
You’ve already pulled out the race and ‘aboriginies are the only true Australians’ cards, what’s next…?
Oh I see, petty insults. Well, do you feel better now schnookums?
That’s because they’re they’ve spent all their centrelink payments on VB and needles. Train tickets cost money y’know.
Chin up, there’s always tommorrow.
March 14th, 2012 at 4:04 pm whatthehell(Quote)
Elsy – I’m neither here nor there on this comment as I originate from the country. However, some of your comments towards Oz are a little off the mark, i.e. you refer to him as some kind of xenophobe and closed minded fool when you should really read the rest of his blog to more accurately inform yourself.
Oz has been living in Taiwan and having also lived there, it is culturally very different to that of Australia so I do indeed doubt he is close minded.
March 14th, 2012 at 4:24 pm Elsy(Quote)
But if they’re such criminals wouldn’t they just fare evade anyway?
HAHAHAHAHA loved the schnookums remark.
I honestly do not get your description of an import and i really don’t think if i do end up seeing your point of view towards it I will agree with you anyway.
If your in Taiwan why even bother commenting on this stuff? You should be out experiencing the city not on the internet commenting on an opinion piece you wrote in 2009.
I think we’re just going to have to agree to disagree.
March 14th, 2012 at 5:52 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
Thank you for this well-considered, lucid comment Elsy. It really adds to the discussion…
I’m afraid I have to let you know that I don’t really give a fuck what you think of me. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Anyway… it never ceases to amuse me that inevitably—when people are losing an argument—they resort to ad hominem attacks on their opponents. It’s a total cop-out to start hurling childish insults at people, rather than attempting to dismantle their argument using logic and intellect. From the tenor of your posts here, I had assumed that you were an educated, articulate individual. Are you trying to disprove my assumption?
I can understand that, being a resident of the western suburbs, you’d be on the defensive against perceived attacks on those suburbs (such as Sydenham) but, unfortunately, police crime statistics don’t lie.
I also accept (as a former resident of Frankston) that its railway station is not a place you’d choose to frequent after sunset, or travel on the Frankston trains at midnight! However, having said that, bear in mind that the hub of Frankston itself is surrounded by so-called “upper class” suburbs, such as Mt Eliza, Frankston South, Sandhurst and Patterson Lakes. Try moving into those suburbs for less than a million bucks!
And as far as this scenario goes…
I found over the past decade or so that I wasn’t happy with the way the crime rates were increasing in Frankston over that period. So I had two choices; get a million-dollar mortgage—yeah, sure!—or relocate. I retired last year, and no longer had the necessity of living in Frankston for work-related reasons, so (obviously) I took the second option, and now live in a tiny little town in Gippsland.
As a consequence, I really have no vested interest either way in my opinions of any of Melbourne’s suburbs, whether they be in the west or the east or the south.
—And you still haven’t responded to this statement of fact from professor Bondy and backed up by VicPol statistics:
“RMIT criminologist Associate Professor Julian Bondy said the figures showed postcodes in the west and north-west contributed to city assaults at a rate 86 per cent higher than the Melbourne-wide mean.”
March 15th, 2012 at 1:37 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Because where you are doesn’t matter.
Taiwan isn’t a city… and I do get out and about thanks.
March 16th, 2012 at 5:53 pm Ellie(Quote)
Anyone hear about the brawl in Ashwood that left one person dead? Well those eastern suburbs sure sound perfect!
March 16th, 2012 at 10:23 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
@Ellie
Ohnoes, a brawl! Better re-write the history books then!
What happened, did a bunch of Holden Commodore GPS systems fail and cause the drivers to venture out of the west?
March 18th, 2012 at 1:08 pm Ellie(Quote)
Oh haha your a clown, don’t be a smart arse we all know your wrong. You remind me exactly of someone I know ahah. No no not the history books but this page.
Oh for your information Holden commodores don’t have Gps systems :S nut case
March 18th, 2012 at 1:11 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Sorry what? No details?
Yeah.. because it’s not like you can’t fit a GPS system yourself.
…oh dear.
March 20th, 2012 at 3:41 pm Ellie(Quote)
oh haha it isnt that hard to figure out, clearly simple minded oh dear me. Well yes it isnt hard to fit a GPS system in any car, you clearly stated “Holden Commodore GPS systems” which do not exist.
And why mention that particular car if one can be insterted into any vehicle? Really sir, stop humiliating your self.
March 20th, 2012 at 3:46 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
…really?
Well if it makes you feel better, despite my obvious meaning.
Clearly you know far less about the western suburbs then you let on. Apologies, I thought was talking to someone who knew the area.
March 20th, 2012 at 9:56 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
Oh dear, why is it that blogs inevitably attract pedants who harp on endlessly about minutiae…
At least it gives other pedants (like me LOL) some pleasure in shooting them down.
For Ellie’s information: The 2011 VE Commodore Series II actually has fitted as standard the Holden-iQ navigation system (or satnav as we call it now). According to Holden, this features “a full-colour mapping system, live traffic alerts, speed advisory and ‘point of interest’ functions. Voice guidance is integrated into the vehicle’s audio system.”
I do however suspect that Ellie is what’s known as a “drive-by troll”, so—against my better judgement—I’m probably wasting my time and energy responding to her.
The clues? In a mere three comments, she’s called Oz “simple minded”, “a smart arse” and “a clown”.
Then again, if one resides in the western suburbs, maybe that’s the most educated critique one can offer?
March 20th, 2012 at 10:32 pm Ellie(Quote)
ok ok what ever, please do not cover up your self by using another name “ausGeoff”, its obvious your the same person. Also I never said I was from the western suburbs HUH
March 20th, 2012 at 10:34 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Same person? Oh dear.
That’s the trouble with this generation, no staying power. Now run along, somebody else will be along shortly to fix it.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:47 am ausGeoff(Quote)
Ha ha…
You didn’t need to Ellie; we’d already worked that out LOL.
And I hate to burst your bubble sweetie, but I use the screen name ausGeoff all over the web… because my name’s Geoff. Pretty simple really.
Ozsoapbox’s first name name isn’t Geoff. But then—if you’re as smart as you allege—you’d already know that wouldn’t you?
Whoops. Dumb is as dumb says.
March 21st, 2012 at 8:35 pm Ellie(Quote)
No i kinda figured since youve been commenting on this page for a long time, other than the ridiculously immature administrator who has an excuse for remaining in the thread for this amount of time you on the other hand must live a very sad boring life then.
You two dont realise it, you can lable me as much as you want. But for grown men whats being done on this page is very immature, I really struggle to beleive the attitude you guys have towards this.
This isnt all about you ozsoapbox, melbourne isnt your city. Stop being selfish and suck it up, every other melbournian deals with the small problems the city may face.
March 21st, 2012 at 9:07 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
Unfortunately Ellie, I’m guessing that you have a “struggle” understanding most things in this world…
Your powers of logic are obviously seriously impaired—or totally lacking—as you seem unable to offer any empirical evidence to support your arguments here. Well, other than simply childishly dissing everybody else on this blog that is!
And could I kindly suggest that you run your comments through a spell-checker before posting Ellie? It just might give your comments a little more credibility. (If that’s possible LOL.)
March 21st, 2012 at 10:17 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Then who is it about? Y’know… given it’s my blog and everything.
Damn right it is. Take your ‘let’s hold hands’ koombuyah shit and shove it.
If I don’t want to have anything to do with western suburbs trash then more power to me.
March 22nd, 2012 at 1:37 am ausGeoff(Quote)
Geez Oz…
How dare you post comments on your own blog? Totally out of order mate!
You should be happy to leave it to the intelligentsia such as Ellie to provide all the input. You know; those folks with mature, articulate and well-argued perspectives.
April 13th, 2012 at 7:37 pm bogan free(Quote)
i was born and raised in Melton, live there for over 20 years. was abused physically and verbally more times than a typical resident there can count to.
but lets not just leave it to the west, the northern suburbs are full of violent types, and the outer south east is full of slightly richer mega bogans.
theres a reason the inner easten suburbs cost over a million bucks to get into, its to keep the trash out! and its well worth it, best million i ever spent!
April 14th, 2012 at 1:21 am ausGeoff(Quote)
May I extend my condolences to you and your family…
May 1st, 2012 at 10:14 am jack(Quote)
bogan free, stop bullshitting we know you’re the admin coz you have a display picture
May 1st, 2012 at 10:28 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
uh… anyone can get a “display picture” from Gravatar.
Technology fail.
May 1st, 2012 at 8:10 pm ausGeoff(Quote)
I’ve always had trouble getting my Gravatar to work here Oz…
One more try LOL.