Four protestors at the centre of an incident with rogue MP Geoff Shaw outside Victoria’s Parliament House in October were charged with assault this week, including 74-year-old taxi driver Mr Konstantinos Mandikos.
Mr Mandikos – who has worked as a Melbourne cabbie since 1977 – was one of a number of cabbies who gathered outside parliament on October 15 to protest the state government’s controversial reforms for the taxi industry.
During the demonstration Mr Shaw was approached by protestors as he entered parliament. The ensuing altercation – in which an elderly man appeared to be pushed to the ground on the parliament steps – was captured on video by Mr Louie Karkatzoulis – the son of a cabbie attending the rally.
The video clip – which has received thousands of hits on YouTube and was screened by TV news networks – along with security camera footage, is likely to be admissible as evidence in the case.
The footage shows Mr Shaw being approached by protesters as he climbed the parliament steps and one of the protestors – believed to be 74-year-old cabbie John Zammit – falling to the ground.
Mr Zammit was left bleeding after the clash and is one of the four people charged.
Mr Zammit and Mr Mandikos have both been charged by police with unlawful assault, assault by kicking and assault in company.
Mr John Campobaso (51) has been charged with unlawful assault, assault in company and using insulting words.
Mother of two Ms Natalia Popov (46) has been charged with unlawful assault and assault in company. All four will appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on February 18.
Neos Kosmos understands Oakleigh Lawyer Stefen Kourkoulis will represent the defendants.
Regular rallies have been called by campaigners against the sweeping reforms laid down by the Victorian government for the taxi industry, the most controversial of which relate to new taxi licences being released by the government and the resulting devaluation of existing licences.
One of the most vocal groups representing aggrieved cabbies is the Victorian Taxi Families (VTF) – an organisation which represents many taxi owner operators and their families across the state.
VTF administrator Sandy Spanos told Neos Kosmos that she and other members of the campaign group were deeply concerned about the charges laid over the Shaw incident.
“When our politicians seem to break the law incessantly, because they can afford the best lawyers, they seem to have the ability to never be accountable for their actions,” said Ms Spanos.
“I am at a loss on a personal level as to how two elderly men and a mother of two young children can ever have been deemed a threat to anyone, given the person in question is a martial arts expert and towers above them.”
VTF has vowed to continue protesting against what it sees as the most unfair aspects of the taxi industry legislation, with the next rally outside the Victorian parliament planned for 10.00 am on Tuesday February 4 – parliament’s first sitting day.