Melbourne punks harass on city streets

Two punks have been labelled "serial pests" and face being banned from Melbourne's CBD after they were filmed harassing random shoppers near the State Library.

Video captured by the Herald Sun shows the pair in ripped, muddy jeans and spiked leather jackets hassling strangers along Swanston Street and nearby shops.

The punks are first seen sitting along the wall outside the library giving the finger to passers-by when they suddenly jump up and chase a seemingly random cyclist down the street.

They then moved on to pick a fight with a man and his girlfriend at a café.

Cafe manger Bahung Nguyen was among several people who intervened, describing the punks as looking "pretty nasty".

An employee at nearby Hype shoes said the "old-fashioned punks" often hung around the library time and wondered whether they knew if the Romper Stomper look was no longer "cool".

"Their demeanour in general is always pretty aggressive, they hassle people. They are pretty abusive," the shoe salesperson said.

Police spoke to the 20- and 30-year-old men but their alleged victims did not want to take further action.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has called for police to have the power to ban serial pests and unsavoury characters from the city, saying they were "not the sort of people we want in the city".

"Banning characters like this from the city has worked in the past. If a complaint has been made and verified, police have that power and that is something the police should think about," Mr Doyle said.

"It's not nice to see ordinary citizens facing that sort of harassment. I hope the police follow this up."

Source: Herald Sun
Author: Nicholas McCallum, Approving editor: Simon Black