A LIBERAL Party candidate for Footscray is picking up the West’s public transport issues a little too late, according to St Albans Traders secretary Asip Demiri.
Mr Demiri, who is also president of the Labor Party’s Sunshine branch, said Cam Nation, who found a video posted on a website showing a teenager vandalising a train that was believed to be on the Sydenham line, had nothing new to add to the existing problem a month before the 25 November state election.
Mr Nation has attacked security on public transport after viewing the video on the YouTube website, that was called “Sydenham boy Josh tags train”.
The 18-seconds-long video that was added to the site two weeks ago by a 24-year-old man only known to be from Australia, shows someone tagging the train’s wall but fails to identify whether the train belongs to the Sydenham line.
In a news release issued on 19 October Mr Nation said the incident was “another illustration of the lack of security” on West’s trains.
He did not say whether he has discussed the issue with locals but said that the western suburbs “would not be forgotten” under a Baillieu Liberal government.
Mr Demiri described Mr Nation’s approach as “cheap publicity”.
“It’s just a complete joke,” he said. “If he’s concerned about the Sydenham railway line then he should ask his leader Ted Baillieu to commit some funds for the worst level crossing (St Albans) in the state, which has taken at least six lives in the last six years. We’ve got real issues in this community and we need people who understand them and who will represent them.”
Mr Nation told Star last week he became passionate about the transport issues ever since he was accosted by a man with a syringe at the Albion train station.
“I realised that it is an issue because I don’t feel safe travelling. How do the more vulnerable people feel?” Mr Nation said.
Delahey Action Group Secretary David Anderson said any publicity that might bring positive results to the critical transport issue, was worthwhile.
“What we need to be sure of is that the person is prepared to fight for the issues to achieve something,” Mr Anderson said.
Even though he says he is a journalism graduate, in a press release issued 13 days ago Mr Nation revealed to Star that he is due to graduate this year, just in time before the election.
“It should say (in the news release) completing a degree in journalism,” Mr Nation said. The news release was sent from his own email account.
