Page 4 The Moorabool News – 25 January, 2022
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Alleged home invaders face court
By Lachlan Ellis
Two men who allegedly invaded a Hopetoun Park home last October will face a committal hearing in March, with a wide range of witnesses to be cross-examined. Kaylem George and Tama Flavell were on-call at the livestreamed Melbourne Magistrates Court committal mention on Wednesday 19 January, applying for leave to cross-examine witnesses at a later date. It is alleged that Mr George and Mr Flavell threatened a man with a knife before entering a home on Parkside Drive, Hopetoun Park at around 8.15 am on Tuesday, 12 October last year. Police responded to the incident, and it is alleged that one of the accused struck the 40-year-old occupant of the house with an object, then fled. One of the accused then allegedly fled the scene in the victim’s gold Toyota 4WD, while the other fled in the white Toyota 4WD they arrived in. The driver of the gold Toyota was arrested at around 9 am, after the vehicle got stuck in a ditch on Gisborne-Melton Road in Toolern Vale. The driver of the white Toyota was arrested at about 10 am after colliding with a civilian vehicle at the intersection of Plumpton and Diggers Rest-Coimadai Roads in Diggers Rest, following a police pursuit. Fortunately, the driver of the civilian vehicle, a 31-year-old Sunbury man, was uninjured. Both accused appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates Court on 13 October and were remanded to the Melbourne Magistrates Court for the committal mention. Phillip Raimondo represented the Office of Public Prosecutions, and said he had no issues with the 10 witnesses required, with three common to both men’s cases. Magistrate Susan Wakeling arranged a two-day committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 24 and 25 March this year, with Mr Flavell remanded for the hearing via video link, and Mr George’s supervised bail extended to 24 March. The Magistrate read a report on Mr George’s behaviour during his time on bail, before praising him on his compliance. “You’re doing well on that bail program. It’s impressive the efforts you’ve made, as well as working. Keep doing that, it’s to your credit that you’ve shown your ability to work with services,” Magistrate Wakeling said. The Moorabool News’ request for a summary and photographs of the two men were refused by the Magistrate, as “allegations under the summary are disputed”.
Michael Azzopardi speaks to A Current Affair reporter Seb Costello at his Toolern Vale property. Credit - A Current Affair.
“Bullying” under investigation
Alleged “heavy-handed” behaviour by an energy company is under police investigation, with the confrontation between the company and a landowner even making the small screen. On Monday January 3, Toolern Vale farmer Michael Azzopardi appeared on ‘A Current Affair’, in a story which featured video footage of Mr Azzopardi repeatedly yelling at eight AusNet contractors to “get out” and leave his property. The vision shows Mr Azzopardi falling to the ground during the confrontation, and he claims he was pushed by the contractors, who were there to do surveys for the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project (WVTNP). “I was very upset, because I’ve got valuable mares that were in the paddock…they [AusNet’s contractors] just persisted to push me into the paddock, and they kept on saying to me, ‘We can see why we needed to do this, don’t get yourself into trouble’, when they were causing all the trouble,” Mr Azzopardi said. “My main concern was my brood mares were heavy in foal. They could go through the fence, they could slip their foals…their [AusNet’s contractors] concern was their agenda to do their tests, they didn’t care about my concerns at all.” Mr Azzopardi said he was not opposed to AusNet doing their tests, but had wanted an extra day to move his horses “into a smaller paddock, so they’re confined so they can’t run”. In response to the footage, AusNet said in a statement that it “believes its team acted appropriately under the circumstances”. “AusNet follows a very strict official process before and during every land survey and
wrote to and contacted Mr Azzopardi on several occasions before his land survey on 29 September. His original land access was scheduled for 17 September but Mr Azzopardi's lawyer requested extra time, which AusNet agreed to. Upon arrival Mr Azzopardi declined access and requested the team conduct the survey the following day,” the statement reads. Community protest group ‘Stop AusNet’s Towers’ responded to the incident in a media release on January 4, calling the contractors’ behaviour “deplorable”. "It's a very sad day when a government endorsed and supported company can behave in this way and not be held accountable. As the footage shared on A Current Affair shows, the abhorrent behaviour of AusNet Services is unacceptable,” Stop AusNet’s Towers Campaign Chair, Emma Muir, said. “Over the past 12 months many within the community have faced similar bullying and harassment behaviour by AusNet as they force access onto private land. "We understand this matter is under police investigation, and after viewing the extended footage of AusNet's aggressive actions, their deliberate efforts to instil fear and use violence is unacceptable and AusNet must be held to account." A letter has been written to Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, but Ms Muir says that despite Ms D’Ambrosio’s office being made aware of the incident “over 10 weeks ago, we have seen no evidence of a formal investigation”. “Does the Minister approve or condone this behaviour? We are aware of AusNet continuing to demonstrate similar behaviour throughout the community,” Ms Muir said.
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