Networkers who come here regularly will know what I am talking about: Jason (and his helpers) repeatedly attempting to hand out political propaganda on the Belgrave Line and being continually rebuffed and called to order by Metro rail staff. You will find relevant posts here, here, and here.
There has been much interest in these posts - even post-election. I don't know if Jason, his staff, his helpers, or his party ever visited, but if they had seen the last link they will have seen the regulation which Jason and his helpers had breached.
Now it appears that Jason is a serial offender and one is left to conclude that he is dumb or considers himself above and beyond the law.
Just one week ago, Jason was at it again at Ferntree Gully Station. So let's list the railway stations where the breaches have occurred: Boronia; Ferntree Gully; Upper Ferntree Gully; Tecoma; Upwey and Belgrave. A lot of experience in flouting the law it appears.
However, Jason's latest foray into flagrant flouting had a bit of a twist. Ten minutes before Jason was espied plying his propaganda a Sky News television crew had been approached by staff. When asked, the crew had no permit from Metro. They left.
Now, I don't know about you, Networkers, but Ferntree Gully seems to be a strange place to do an early morning vox pop. I can understand Sky wanting to do a vox pop. Jason was/is hanging on for dear life in his seat of La Trobe. But I would have thought that if you had come all the way to the outer east for your vox pop, you might have tried a bigger station for the occasion - perhaps Boronia or Belgrave. That's if you wanted to do that end of La Trobe at all. Perhaps Berwick might have been better.
Could it have been, the cynic within asks, that Jason might have been trying to set a scene? After all, Jason should have known by now that it was highly likely that someone was going to spot him and ask him to vamoose. What if the scenario was not a televised vox pop but a televised controversial scene showing poor Jason Wood being harrassed by Metro staff asking him to move on. One will never know the answer to that one. All one can know for certain is that all this was passing strange.
Perhaps it was that Jason Wood was absolutely desperate and, just as his Leader went on the go for 36 hours straight, Jason was giving the whole thing everything he had even if it meant running the Metro staff gauntlet once again.
While there has been no concession in the seat of La Trobe to date, it is quite clear at this stage that Laura Smythe of the Australian Labor Party has done Jason like the proverbial dinner with the assistance of my friend Jim Reiher of The Greens.
Can't help wondering if Jason's dealing with Metro staff and the attendant publicity - 3AW, the Knox Leader - affected the Liberal vote in La Trobe. As we know, in s-o-o many places the result is tighter than tight. In those situations, it doesn't pay to say boo to a goose let alone break the law brazenly.
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