Ballarat bus stop bashing: schoolgirl calls for safety

By Jennifer Greive
Updated November 2 2012 - 5:34pm, first published August 15 2011 - 3:00pm
BRUISED: The injury to Naomi's face.
BRUISED: The injury to Naomi's face.
HURT: Naomi Grunis, 16, who was king hit as she boarded her school bus last week. Picture: Adam Trafford.
HURT: Naomi Grunis, 16, who was king hit as she boarded her school bus last week. Picture: Adam Trafford.

A 16-YEAR-old girl who was king hit as she boarded her school bus home last week has appealed for more to be done to maintain order at the Little Bridge Street bus interchange.Naomi Grunis says she was punched in the head by another student as she stepped on to the bus to go home just before 4pm on Wednesday.The year 9 student claims she has suffered more than two years of verbal abuse from the student and her friends at the bus stop.She is now too scared to catch the bus to and from the interchange, for fear of a repeat attack.“I get to the bus stop about 3.30pm every day, so I have to wait for about 20 minutes for the bus,” Naomi said.“(On Wednesday) this girl was carrying on like she usually does, calling me a (expletive) and a (expletive), so I went to the other side of the bus stop and stayed there until I knew my bus was getting there.“Just as I was about to get on she started pestering me and then she hit me — I wasn’t really expecting it.”Naomi’s bus driver did not witness the attack and no one came forward to help her.Naomi’s mother is now driving Naomi to and from school, after police advised her not to catch the bus.Naomi said she would not catch the bus again, unless action was taken to retain order among students using the interchange.Senior Sergeant Peter McCormick of Ballarat police said he was not aware of an increase in incidents at the bus stop.“The feedback we’ve been getting from the Bridge Mall Traders Association is that incidents have declined all round,” he said.City of Ballarat manager of community development Peter Appleton said the council was looking at a number of different options to improve safety at the Little Bridge Street bus interchange.“This is certainly an issue that council takes seriously,” Cr Appleton said. “We’re exploring options around the addition of closed circuit television cameras in and around that space.”Bridge Mall Centre manager John Marios said two closed circuit television cameras overlooked the bus stop.He said CCTV cameras had helped to deter unlawful activities in the mall and had the potential to improve safety.

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