Anna Finikiotou says that Dandenong Creek near the Hammond Road bridge “is not good for morale”. Picture: Stewart Chambers 27527
By Melissa Meehan
DANDENONG South resident Anna Finikiotou says her suburb is “beginning to look like a third world country”.
Walking along the Hammond Road Bridge, the view down to the creek is nothing but depressing, she says.
The creek is filled with between six and 10 abandoned shopping trolleys, all covered in algae, not to mention the amount of rubbish dumped nearby.
“It reflects on us all as a community,” she said. “It is not good for morale.”
Ms Finikiotou said that anyone who passed the creek could see the “disastrous mess”.
“Dandenong South is well-known for its multicultural background, a lot of people are asylum seekers from third world countries – they deserve better than this.”
She contacted the City of Greater Dandenong about cleaning up the creek – but was told that Melbourne Water was responsible for Dandenong Creek.
A media spokesperson for council said that while the council was responsible for land surrounding the creek, Melbourne Water was the caretaker of all river health in the region.
In a statement released by Melbourne Water, spokesman Nicolas McGay said Melbourne Water was a caretaker of river health in the Port Phillip and Western Port region. “We manage about 8,400 kilometres of waterways, including Dandenong Creek.”
He said Melbourne Water had received calls concerning the state of Dandenong Creek and maintenance officers would inspect the site later this week.
“It’s disappointing to see any rubbish dumped in Dandenong Creek,” Mr McGay said.
“A lot of work is done to maintain and improve the health and condition of the waterway and rubbish is a major impediment to these efforts.”
Star was also contacted by Noble Park resident Malie Prafad this week.
She said that other residents need to be made aware of how dirty the suburbs in Greater Dandenong had become.
“Over 20 of my friends and family got together on Clean Up Australia Day to try and clean up Noble Park and Springvale,” she said. “One day was not enough.”
Ms Prafad said that more education was needed to ensure the streets of Greater Dandenong were kept clean.
“I think it’s important that we target the youth in the community,” she said.
“But it is also up to the community leaders to spread the word. Greater Dandenong is a good place to live, but we need to look after it.”
