EFFORTS to honour Brimbank’s Socceroos stars have gone pear-shaped.
Political football is on in Brimbank as local councillors show they are more interested in praise and glory than honouring local heroes.
What was supposed to be a meeting to find ways of honouring Socceroos Mark Viduka and Kevin Muscat, who has been named captain for tomorow’s (Wednesday) Asian Cup qualifier, turned nasty last Friday when Brimbank City councillor Ken Capar expressed greater interest in deciding who gets to appear in the local press than exchanging ideas on how best to honour the homegrown heroes.
St Albans Traders Association secretary Asip Demiri, who came up with the idea of honouring Viduka, got the cold shoulder from Cr Capar when he turned up to take part in a photo shoot at St Albans Square with Councillor Anthony Abate and Kororoit MP Andre Haermeyer. Without any explanation Cr Capar told Mr Demiri that he was not welcome to take part in the photo shoot, the St Albans Traders Association Secretary said.
Mr Demiri said that Cr Capar was abusive towards him and that the other participants didn’t object to having him (Mr Demiri) in the photograph.
“How can a councillor say that he objects to a photograph being taken of a person that came up with the whole idea and a person that takes such a role in the community?” Mr Demiri asked.
Cr Capar was asked the same question more than five times by Star last Friday.
After being asked twice the question over the phone, Cr Capar was silent for a minute while there were some shuffling noises in the background. Cr Capar later admitted that he had recorded the telephone conversation.
Star put the same question to Cr Capar several times and each time received the same response: “Mark Viduka and Kevin Muscat are fantastic people in regards to St Albans. These people are young people that have achieved a lot from the Brimbank area and we need to honour them in the appropriate way.”
Mr Demiri said he was “disgusted” that councillors were using the opportunity to promote themselves.
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“This is something that should put the whole community together. Unfortunately what happened this morning (last Friday) was just something that we’re all too well aware of what we have got in council,” Mr Demiri said.
“All they try and do is cover themselves in the glory and get themselves the most publicity they can. They use the name of a great champion in this area that’s represented the nation at the highest possible level.
“If these councillors want to play political football they should have announced funding for a statue or what they intended to do,” he said.
Mr Haermeyer said he did not want to the see the issue develop into political football, as it was a “private dispute” between Mr Demiri and Cr Capar.
“I don’t want to buy into that. At the end of the day it’s anybody’s right to be photographed or not photographed with anybody else,” he said.
“What we need to do now is move on and get a dialogue going with the community to make sure that we provide an appropriate local recognition,” Mr Haermeyer said.
