FW: snippets, Sat.18.3.17
  Roderick Smith

-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Saturday, 18 March 2017 11:09 AM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: snippets, Sat.18.3.17

Attached:

170317F Melbourne 'Herald Sun':
- letters, energy. [with tdu]
- population growth.

Roderick.

March 17 2017 Alleged attacker freed on bail a day before repeatedly raping
woman outside St Vincent's Hospital, court hears.
A tram passenger ignored a young tourist's pleas for help before she was
repeatedly raped in Fitzroy by a man who had been released on bail the
previous day, a court has heard.
The woman, 22, was allegedly raped repeatedly outside the St Vincent's
Hospital after the stranger followed her off the tram on Thursday morning.
Alleged tram rape attacker was out on bail.
22-year-old woman was allegedly raped repeatedly outside the St Vincent's
Hospital after the stranger followed her off the tram on Thursday morning.
Vision courtesy: Seven News Melbourne.
Jamie Macarthur, 49, had been on bail for less than 24 hours when he
allegedly began talking to the woman as she waited for a tram in Melbourne's
CBD in the early hours of Thursday morning, the court heard on Friday.
Police had arrested the Kensington man on Wednesday after he failed to face
court on March 6 for other alleged crimes, but then released him on bail.
A tram travels down Victoria Parade.
He was picked up for the second time by police in the CBD that same night
for being drunk after officers received reports of a man acting
aggressively, but he was released again.
Detective Senior Constable John Robertson said the woman, who was visiting
from interstate, felt uneasy and thought it was safer to talk to him than
ignore him. He allegedly told her she was pretty and asked her to come home
with him to drink alcohol.
The detective said he put his arm around her and she walked around the CBD
with him because she did not want to upset him.
The pair got onto a tram, where he began forcing himself on the woman,
kissing her face and mouth. She mouthed "Help me" to a male passenger
sitting across from her, but received no response, the detective said.
The woman felt obligated to stay with Mr Macarthur, afraid that his
behaviour would get worse if she left him, the court heard.
He allegedly followed her off the tram and said "You're not leaving me" as
she headed for the front doors of the St Vincent's Hospital, the court
heard. She rang the doorbell next to the entrance when she found the doors
were locked, and he became angry, saying "We're going to f--- tonight."
He allegedly dragged her away from the hospital entrance and around the
corner of the building, threw her to the ground and fell on top of her in
the process.
The man ignored her repeated attempts to escape, allegedly placing her in a
headlock, choking her, ripping her underwear and repeatedly raping her with
his fingers.
Police say she later managed to break free and enter the hospital in the
company of security guards. Mr Macarthur, allegedly followed her inside,
said "You're not leaving me" and tried to grab her again, before he was
allegedly captured on CCTV waiting outside 5.45am. He was arrested in the
CBD later that night.
The court heard Mr Macarthur admitted to police that he went to Fitzroy with
the woman and put his hand up her dress but did not admit to raping her. He
insisted he did not want to hurt the woman but was driven by his sexual
desires, police say.
He appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, saying he was "not
a violent person by nature" and was affected by alcohol at the time.
"I don't know why she didn't leave, I guess I misread the signals," he said.
Magistrate Timothy Bourke refused him bail on Friday, saying serious
allegations were involved "against a random member of the community, a
woman, in circumstances where, most unsatisfactorily, he's been bailed by
police not long before for failure to answer bail...rather than being
brought before a court."
Mr Bourke said that Mr Macarthur had failed to justify why he should be
released, and posed an unacceptable risk of endangering members of public
and committing further offences on bail.
He is charged with five counts of sexual penetration without consent, two
counts of intentionally touching the woman in a sexual manner without
consent, seven counts of assault and one count of unlawful imprisonment.
Mr Macarthur is next due to appear before the court on June 9.
Earlier in the day, police appealed for anyone who saw the pair to come
forward, saying they believed the victim tried to get help from a number of
commuters while still on the tram.
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/alleged-attack-freed-on-bail-a-day-before-repeat
edly-raping-woman-outside-st-vincents-hospital-court-hears-20170317-gv0lyu.h
tml>

March 17 2017 Barnaby Joyce floats national royalty plan to dismantle coal
seam gas bans . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/barnaby-joyce-floats-nati
onal-royalty-plan-to-dismantle-coal-seam-gas-bans-20170317-gv0hst.html>

Turnbull's Snowy scheme could be the government's game changer . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/malcolms-power-surge-2
0170317-gv0jbd.html> 23 comments, mainly cynical. How much will be new
power, and how much is simply using water as a big battery, with energy
losses in the process?

Woman begged bystanders for help before sexual assault, police say.
Herald Sun March 17, 2017.
A WOMAN allegedly raped by a man who had been freed by police on bail just a
day earlier mouthed the word "help" to another passenger on her tram, but
was ignored.
The Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard the terrified victim pleaded for help
from a man who was sitting across from her on a tram, as the heavily
intoxicated Jamie Evan MacArthur allegedly mauled her.
Mr MacArthur, 49, of Kensington, is accused of brutally raping the 22-year
old woman after she jumped off the city tram near St Vincent's Hospital on
Victoria Parade when her plea for help was ignored.
"You're not leaving me," he said.
The court heard Mr MacArthur had been free because police released him on
bail a night before the attack.
He had been arrested for failing to turn-up at court on March 6, and
arrested again that night for being drunk, but was released yet again.
Magistrate Tim Bourke heard police suspected Mr MacArthur was responsible
for an assault in the city the night he was arrested, but cut him loose
anyway.
"It's most unsatisfactory he's been bailed by police given their knowledge,"
Mr Bourke said.
In applying for bail, Mr MacArthur claimed he was not a violent person by
nature.
"I misread the signals," he said.
The court heard Mr MacArthur had invited his victim, who was visiting
Melbourne from interstate, for a drink in the early hours of Thursday while
she waited for a tram.
"You're pretty," he allegedly said.
Frightened, the woman humoured him and he placed his arm around her.
The pair boarded a tram, but things went from bad to worse when they got off
near the hospital, the court heard.
Police allege Mr MacArthur dragged the woman away from the sliding doors of
the hospital where she had frantically tried to get inside.
He kissed her on the mouth before raping her, the court heard.
When she tried to escape he placed her in a headlock then repeatedly raped
her.
CCTV at the hospital captured the sickening attack and the woman's desperate
attempts to escape.
The court was told her ordeal only came to an end when hospital security
intervened, but even then Mr MacArthur refused to go.
"Don't leave me," he shouted.
He was arrested that night in the city and remanded in custody.
Det Sen-Constable John Robertson said Mr MacArthur said he had been with the
victim.
"He said he couldn't believe she'd fallen from the sky into his arms," he
said.
Mr MacArthur has been charged with four counts of rape and related assault
charges.
He was refused bail and will return to court on June 9.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/woman-begged-bystanders-for-help-before
-sexual-assault-police-say/news-story/089fff1a8a84f88ad3fc19900a0929f3>

Manningham park-and-ride commuters battle overcrowding, lack of car parking.
Manningham Leader March 18, 2017.
The State Government has no plans to create a second park-and-ride service
in Manningham despite angry commuters complaining it is jam-packed well
before 8am.
And due to carpark overcrowding, the Manningham council is now encouraging
commuters who live near bus stops and the park-and-ride not to park at the
facility due to frantic demand for one of its 400 parking spaces.
Adding to the commuter woes are long queues to get on to packed buses,
exacerbated by Manningham being the only municipality in Melbourne with no
train or tram options.
Donvale's Georgina Sack says parking spaces at the park-and-ride on the
corner of Doncaster Rd and the Eastern Fwy are all gone by 8am.
And the 61-year-old said there were now queues 70 people long to get onto
crammed buses to the city during peak times, leaving people lucky to even
get standing room.
The morning queue at Doncaster's park-and-ride last week.
Commuters wait in the line for the bus.
"I've started taking the bus for the last year and it's been getting
progressively worse," she said.
"The buses are way too full, they push you on, they tell us to move to the
back, it's terrible."
Ms Sack said she had emailed the Manningham council and State Government
with her concerns in November.
Manningham chief executive Warwick Winn said the council was appealing to
both sides of State Parliament for a big upgrade for the Manningham bus
network given their lack of support for a Doncaster Rail link.
He said the council wanted significant improvements in the capacity and
frequency of the 907 and 908 DART services, but in the meantime was working
with bus operator Transdev to "encourage people who park at Doncaster
park-and-ride to consider catching the bus closer to home, if possible".
Mr Winn understands the reason why VicRoads wasn't actively looking for a
second park-and-ride site was because an alternative site had not yet been
determined.
The only money the State Government has allocated is for a review to look
into the problem.
Public transport minister Jacinta Allan said the State Government had given
$100,000 in last year's state budget "to look at the infrastructure upgrades
needed to support more DART services and move more passengers".
"Future investment in the park-and-ride and bus services in Doncaster will
be guided by this work," she said.
Opposition leader and Bulleen MP Matthew Guy said parking issues at the
park-and-ride were an "enormous problem" and he no longer parked at the
facility.
Mr Guy said the State Opposition would push for more parking at the
Doncaster park-and-ride or a second facility in the lead up to the 2018
State Election.
Narrow miss for V/Line train [a completely unrelated video of motorbikers
scattering trackside, with a whistle which isn't VLine].
<www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/manningham-parkandride-commuters-battle-ov
ercrowding-lack-of-car-parking/news-story/5403b8a3119075b67f8d71c8772a2bd9>
* From memory, the land put aside for the Doncaster line was sold off by the
cash strapped Labor govt. in the 80s.

Yarraville cycling death prompts urgent calls for more bike paths in area.
Maribyrnong Leader March 18, 2017.
THE tragic death of a mum who was cycling through Yarraville has led to
urgent calls for more bike paths in the municipality.
Arzu Karakoc was hit and killed while riding in Yarraville. Picture:
Supplied Moonee Ponds woman Arzu Karakoc, 35, was a few kilometres from home
when she was hit and killed by a truck on March 10.
Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives believe the truck struck Ms
Karakoc as it turned left into Somerville Rd from Whitehall St at 5.40pm.
Cyclists have called on the council to improve cycling paths and lanes
before another person is killed.
Maribyrnong Bicycle User Group organiser Steve Wilson said the entire bike
network needed to be improved.
"They need to put more money into improving the network and have a greater
think about the connectivity and the safety of riders," he said.
He said he wanted clearer signage, alternative routes for cyclists and safer
connections to the city.
Maribyrnong is one of the least cycling-friendly councils in the country,
despite tripling its spending on infrastructure.
The Bicycle Expenditure Index, which reviews council budget allocations on
bike riding facilities, showed Maribyrnong spent $2.56 per person on bike
infrastructure in 2016.
The figure is well below the $5-a-resident threshold recommended by Bicycle
Network Victoria.
Neighbouring Moonee Valley and Melbourne councils allocate $10.25 and $13.32
respectively.
Western Metropolitan region Greens MP Colleen Hartland said the death of the
young mum was an "absolute tragedy".
"But this is not a freak accident, we knew this would happen sooner or
later," she said.
She said the situation was "absurd" with cyclists forced to ride alongside
massive container trucks because of the lack of alternative routes.
Maribyrnong Council spent $547,000 on cycling works in the past financial
year and has increased that figure to $660,000 this financial year.
Infrastructure services director Sunil Bhalla said cycling infrastructure
was always a concern.
"Council is intending to fund cycling infrastructure in excess of $1 million
as well as continuing our education campaigns and skills courses," he said.
However, he said there were no plans to increase the budget because of the
"tragic accident" two weeks ago.
Recent works include the South Rd shared path, the parkiteer cage at
Yarraville train station, and extension of the Stony Creek path from Benbow
to Fogarty St, he said.
Slated works include extending the Braybrook River trail from Cranwell park
north to Brimbank.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north-west/yarraville-cycling-death-prompts-urg
ent-calls-for-more-bike-paths-in-area/news-story/5e486bf4271eee21da48dd08cd6
df2cc>

Show full size
170318sa-melbourne'heraldsun'-populationgrowth  |  400W x 806H  | 218.65 KB |  Photo details