Oxford St bashing victim in a coma

Oxford St bashing victim in a coma

One man is in an induced coma at St Vincent’s Hospital and two men are facing court following another weekend of violence on the once-Golden Mile.

Senseless and opportunistic could describe the Oxford St attacks that don’t appear to be alcohol-related or directly homophobic, rather a culture where thuggery and drugs prevail.

The first altercation on Sunday morning took place between two strangers in front of a fast food outlet on the strip.

Police claimed a man parked in a Hyundai Getz began verbally insulting the victim before getting out of the vehicle, punching him to the ground and fleeing.

The next day Miranda police arrested and charged a 21-year-old Umina man at Kurnell with the assault.

Later that evening a 22-year-old woman from New York was mugged walking along Brisbane St between Oxford St and Harmony Park by a man allegedly armed with a pair of scissors.

A group of onlookers came to her defence but the attacker fled, police claim.

A man carrying a pair of scissors and a small amount of cannabis was arrested by Kings Cross police after a description of the attacker was circulated via police radio. The man has been charged with robbery and possession of a prohibited drug.

NSW Police declined to comment further on the assaults or arrests.

ACON president Mark Orr said he was concerned about any and all levels of violence in the Oxford St precinct because it was home to a large segment of the GLBT community and any violence impacts on residents and visitors.

Violence begets violence and we don’t want to see these problems escalating any further and turning Oxford St and the surrounding areas into a place which attracts ever more violent behaviour. We’re working closely with local police and the City of Sydney on a range of projects and programs to address the issue of violence generally and homophobic violence in particular.

For example, we’re very concerned at the number of fast food outlets opening on the strip that operate late at night, allowing people to sober up and then continue drinking or just keeping people hanging around on the footpath. This behaviour presents a threat to the safety of residents and visitors to the area and we support police efforts to curb this level of activity.

New police minister Tony Kelly first rode into the NSW upper house on an anti-gun law and order offensive, but even without deadly weapons assaults on Oxford St show no sign of slowing.

Kelly said he was honoured to be taking on the role of police minister and would ensure officers had the resources and support they needed to continue the good work they are already doing.

It will also be my job to ensure the trust and confidence people rightly have in the NSW police force is maintained in the future, he told reporters.

A poll of starobserver.com.au readers last week said they preferred independent Sydney MP Clover Moore to take over the government law and order portfolio.

You May Also Like

20 responses to “Oxford St bashing victim in a coma”

  1. after lots of reading about the problems on oxford st,it seems everyone has an opinion on everything from food to shoe size affecting the area..the problem is alcohol period.its not just the straights contributing to the problem but gays as well..i have witnessed this many times.the alcohol problem is everywhere not just in oxford street.how to solve this problem? stop serving it after 11pm of a night..simple

  2. i think the violence should just stop because why would people just bash other whats the point in that when we can love and party on oxford street all of us should help stop the violence not just the police. if you see someone get bashed or being hit or abused i say you should step in but not just as one or 4 people as a big group to say no to violence on oxford stree.

  3. When you let Mormons preach their drivel on Oxford Street your giving the OK for violence to happen. When you build Straight venues all you get is Westie Boys and Girls coming over every weekend to “See the Freak Show” Boys pushing and shoving and Girls looking around saying, “Oh My God! Do you think hes Gay” derrrrr.

  4. Indeed, why talk about the actual issue — random violence and the factors causing it, affecting not just gay communities but every community — when we can instead distract ourselves with inane hyperbole over seemingly fictional stickers. Sounds like someone’s infamous ACON enmity stirs once more…

  5. About fast food outlets on oxford street & the comments from ACON president Mark Orr.
    Has he worked out all the problems with acon and associated organizations so that he now has enough time on his hands to not only think about but actually propose a social engineering experiment on such a huge scale.
    To suggest that there are too many late night eateries and they are the cause of the problem is just foolish in its simplicity.
    Does his memory of oxford street not stretch back to the 80s when there was only three 24hr places to get food on or near oxford street.
    Kings burgers , cafe Schubert and the chew -œn spew on the 191 corner.
    In those days there was a dynamic ebb and flow to the street with hotels closing at midnight and the clubs closing at 3am.
    This no longer happens

    I had to laugh at the comment from ACON president Mark Orr.

    -œFor example, we’re very concerned at the number of fast food outlets opening on the strip that operate late at night, allowing people to sober up-¦-¦..or just keeping people hanging around on the footpath.
    This behaviour presents a threat to the safety of residents and visitors to the area and we support police efforts to curb this level of activity.
    The acon president supports police taking action to stop people from standing around on a footpath?
    What does the acon president think is the right mix of business for oxford street.?

    Im far too cranky now to continue. Im off to buy boots for the ball.

  6. James – You obviously have no idea of the history and memories of Oxford Street which so many in this community have, and thats a good as reason as any to bring attention the current state of Oxford Street. You do realise this is the “Sydney Star Observer” and not “The Daily Telegraph” where I feel your comment would be more suited.

  7. Has anyone thought about shifting the ‘harder’ straight clubs and sex businesses out of Oxford St altogether, perhaps to a central industrial area close to public transport like Alexandria? They could take their late-trading takeaways with them.

    Kings Cross was cleaned up a decade ago, and Oxford St, along with some Western Suburbs business districts, was made to wear a lot of the relocated sleaze. I advocate having the rougher clubs, (and we locals all know which ones they are as we have to deal with their clientele night and day), moved away from residential neighbourhoods. Then we could return to more civil, low key, friendlier bars like we used to have. Anyone else have thoughts?

  8. Shayne..I like all of us want to see Oxford St revived , Clover is not beyond reproach on all issues relating to the strip ,(personally I have issues around why the council owned properties above the ground floor shops aren’t tennented and preferably by artists paying council subsidised rent. I agree council should not grant anymore DA s to fast food shops and convienience stores.The City of Sydney should continue its good work pursuing straight nightclubs operating in breach of their DA s. Such as DCM.
    Oxford Street has suffered for years with escalating violence and alcohol abuse both being symptoms of the dominant culture ( heterosexuals) swamping the gay and lesbian culture ( us ).
    . The problem would be solved overnight by putting police on the beat up and down Oxford St continuously…they do it in New York and it is highly effective ..why not here? I do not
    believe or accept Surry hills command can not do this , when ever i have cause to go there there are always cops lounging around the back office ..get them out on the beat.
    Shayne you know Clover does not run the NSW POLICE SERVICE
    even though most of us wish she could. It is the responsibility of the NSW government,specifically the police minister.Just be thankful we have Clover , be very thankful for Sydney that she ran for Lord Mayor back in 2004 and stopped NSW labor from getting their hands on Town Hall ..god knows what state Sydney would be in..imagine Frank Sartor and the planning laws , bad developments , developer donations and favours, factional wars and the city’s healthy cash reserves plundered. Its Clover herself who deserves the keys to the city.

  9. Chris, I understand the enormity of the Clover cult, and that the Uber Fag Hag is beyond reproach. However we’ve been hearing “We’re working closely with local police and the City of Sydney on a range of projects and programs to address the issue of violence generally and *homophobic* violence in particular” for years now, and the gimmick about ‘homophobia-free zone’ stickers was quite frankly, condescending and insulting. While the anti-violence vigil last year probably did result in a change of command at Surry Hills police station, nothing else has changed. And we’re all pretty much sick of it because we have the basic right to live as glbqti in our own hood in peace and safety. You can argue whether the attacks are/were motivated by homophobia, Chris, but one day, eventually, someone will be killed on the strip.

    I actually like Melissa’s quote above, “unite Gays and straights to keep Oxford Street …Every Street”.

  10. As I see it we have two options

    1 – Sit here and continue to belly ache about it forever

    2 – Do something about it.

    In the community people seem to sit on the sidelines and comment on what’s happening as opposed to getting in there and making a difference.

    I would like to see people really get involved – no matter if you are straight, gay, bi or whatever. It’s an issue we have to face collectively and sitting on the side lines in the apathetic society we have won’t change the issue.

    Take the ball and run with it!

  11. Shayne. read the story before you commence your spin…what are you talking about?..the violence that occurred was not motivated by homophobia or directed at gays or lesbians !

  12. I agree that there are too many fast food outlets operating late on Oxford Street. They seem to attract the worst of the worst. What can be done about this?

  13. I agree that there are too many fast food outlets operating late on Oxford Street. They seem to attract the worst of the worst. What can be done about this?

  14. Its about time the straight people that love Oxford Street stand up for the GLBT community, the reason we head over to oxford street in the first place is we love the atmosphere and the lack of inner city violence in other popular areas. We need to take a stand and unite Gays and straights to keep Oxford Street actually Every Street, A homophobia free zone, where we can all feel safe, loved and most of all free to make our own choices without judgement or fear of violence.

  15. How can this be happening? Haven’t the attackers seen acon and Clover’s ‘homophobia-free zone’ stickers?