Aussies blast City of Melbourne Council for cruel act against a sick homeless man: ‘Heartbreaking’
A parking inspector has copped a wave of backlash after a homeless man was issued a $122 fine.
A heartbreaking photo shared to Reddit this week showed the fine from the City of Melbourne taped to the front windscreen of a car.
Shane, the owner of the vehicle, was fined for being parked on the footpath along Queens Bridge Street in the CBD.
He taped the $122 fine to the inside of his windshield beside a handwritten note describing his harrowing predicament.
‘This is all I have to keep me out of the weather,’ he wrote.
‘I am 62 and sick with emphysema and always at the doctors.
‘I have no money, can’t afford impound fees.’
Many commenters were sympathetic and blasted the council for issuing the fine.
City of Melbourne issued a $122 fine for this vehicle being parked on the footpath
A handwritten response to the notice has exposed a major issue in the Melbourne CBD
‘This is what I hate about Australia,’ one person said.
‘Everything is a fine and those flops that work as cops/rangers/inspectors just fine all day long, they don’t care how it affects people’s lives.’
‘Oh man, that’s heartbreaking. Poor guy, last thing anyone living in their vehicle needs is a bloody parking ticket,’ a second wrote.
The post was also inundated with offers of help and advice.
‘Is it possible we could all pool in for his fine anonymously? It’d seem based on this post and details that he’s legit homeless and needs the help,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘If you go back past the car put a note with the phone number for Victoria Legal Aid Legal Help. It’s free. They’ll help him.’
But some defended the parking rangers for doing their job.
‘You will notice the fine is for being stopped on a footpath, so he dangerously parked. Nothing to do with being homeless,’ one wrote.
Hundreds of Aussies are rough sleepers on the streets of Melbourne
Another added: ‘It’s not exactly their job to decide if life is fair or not.
‘If he needs leniency, he’ll have to apply for a magistrate to hear about it, or organise some other arrangement.
‘Can you imagine if anyone could just leave a note on their windshield getting them out of a parking fine? Imagine the flogs that would take advantage of that.’
A third wrote: ‘I’m sympathetic to the guy but just don’t park on the footpath. It’s not hard – even homeless he’s just creating unnecessary problems for himself.’
A City of Melbourne spokesman told Daily Mail that the parking inspector wasn’t aware of the circumstances as the vehicle owner wasn’t with his car at the time of the infringement.
He added that the vehicle owner is welcome to contest the fine.
Of the 122,494 Aussies who experienced homelessness on 2021 Census night 1,166 were on the streets of the Melbourne CBD.
