JANUARY 9, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
(Marco De Luca)
Fountain’s future up in air Melton councillors are considering returning a Caroline Springs fountain to full operation, despite a recommendation it remain inactive. The Springlake fountain was installed at the estate by land developer Delfin in 1999 as a marketing tool. When Delfin’s obligations at the estate concluded in 2013, Melbourne Water elected not to continue operating the fountain. The fountain has remained inactive since and is not considered to be in working order. A report authored by operations manager Les Stokes exploring three options for the fountain was presented to the council at last month’s meeting. The report explored the possibility of returning the fountain to full operation, replacing it with a smaller one and leaving it turned off. Mr Stokes said the fountain served no purpose to improve water quality and, given the significant cost associated with resuming operations, recommended it remain inactive. But Cr Kathy Majdlik put forward a motion that recommissioning the fountain to full operation be referred to the 2018-19 budget discussion. The motion was carried. It is estimated returning the fountain to its original state would cost about $44,000 and running and servicing it would cost $23,000 a year. CAROLINE SPRINGS LOCAL ANDY ANDERSON WITH DOG RICKY AT SPRINGLAKE RESERVE
Tate Papworth
West hit by ‘crime wave’ By Charlene Macaulay Melbourne’s western suburbs are suffering from a crime wave that is being ignored, according to the state opposition. Amid continuing community concern, particularly over the rise of African youth violence, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has renewed his vow to make Caroline Springs’ police station a 24-hour operation if elected in November. “Like every part of Melbourne, I think the west is suffering from a crime wave that is being ignored by the state government,” Mr
Guy told Star Weekly. “Crime is up more than 20 per cent since Daniel Andrews came to power, and he’s put out a lot of press releases, but has done not much to actually deal with the crime wave. “We want to make Caroline Springs a 24-hour police station considering the extent of the population growth in the north-west. “We also want to bring in bail reform, mandatory sentencing for offences against the person, and more to the point, change the attitude in the justice system so that the justice system works for those people who obey the law, not protect those who break it.
“It’s not just about the numbers of police any more; it is primarily about the criminal justice system. “I think it’s important for Victoria that those key violent acts against the people – whether it’s home invasions, car jackings, assaults – people who are repeatedly doing this, have a mandatory sentence. “What we’re seeing in Victoria today is these violent offenders who [commit crime] once, they get bailed, then they do it while they’re on bail, and they get let off … and it takes about four or five offences before they’re incarcerated. “Think of all those people who are hurt on
those four or five offences along the way who would not have been hurt had these people been subject to a mandatory sentence on the second offence.” The state government did not respond by the time Star Weekly went to press. Mr Guy’s comments come as a new wave of violence hit Melbourne’s western suburbs over the Christmas period. Police are this week continuing to hunt a large group of African men following a violent crime spree which included two assaults, home invasions, a police pursuit and robbery last Thursday night across Brimbank.