Residents Reject Plea to Change Altona Meadows Street Named after Priest Victor Rubeo
By Fiona O'Doherty
A STREET named after a paedophile priest may keep its name after residents rejected a plea to change it, made on behalf of the man's victims. As children living in Laverton, Tony Hersbach and his twin brother, Will, were abused by Father Victor Rubeo over several years. Family friends have petitioned the council to change the Altona Meadows street named after him: Rubeo Ave. But half the street's residents told the Hobsons Bay Council they did not support a name change. Should the street's name be changed? Tell us below. Council officers had recommended the street name remain unchanged but Cr Luba Grigorovitch moved the matter be deferred. Mr Hersbach said he was really disappointed and upset. "Self interest is alive and well," he said. "I would just hope the council would find the courage to make a decision based on principle rather than self interest." Cr Grigorovitch said she was unable to support the officers' recommendation that the street name remain and asked that they look into changing the name to something similar to Rubeo Ave to lessen the impact on residents. "I have been lobbied by a number of people from the community who had read the council report and could not believe it was not going to change the name," she said. "I think everyone agrees in principal we should change it." But Rubeo Ave resident Pam Costello, who was unaware of the campaign, said the street name should not be changed. "It's a lot of trouble to change the street name when a lot of people living here would not even know it was named after him (Rubeo)," she said. Rubeo died in 2011 on the day he was to appear before a committal hearing on child sex abuse charges. In 1996 he pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault of the Hersbach brothers.
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