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26 FEBRUARY, 2025
Duo in tune Hanging out with your dad can be pretty cool, especially when you play music across the world together. Williamstown’s Caitlin Rizzoli first got on stage with her father Tim, of Point Cook, at her uncle’s wedding in Ballarat when she was nine or 10. Since then, they have been to far away places and accompanied household names. The duo claimed victory in the Voice Generations in 2022 and were invited to perform for Hugo Boss in Metzingen, Germany, for their its birthday in July 2024 as the only act to hail from outside of Europe. In November 2024, they joined Jon Stevens and Kate Ceberano across Australia on the Superstars Live National Tour. “The best part about dad and I being from different generations is the fact that we can both bring a different flavour to the music we write and perform,” Caitlin said. Tim’s musicality has helped Caitlin find her own voice as an artist and performer. “It definitely influenced my love for music of that generation, not only just to listen to but it definitely had an influence on the way that I write and perform my own music,” she said. Tim and Caitlin are about to kick off their own tour on Saturday, March 1, at the Memo Hall in St Kilda. Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/ events/landing/1343329 Jaidyn Kennedy Tim and Caitlin Rizzoli are about to start their own tour. (Ljubica Vrankovic) 459424_03
Footscray crime concerns A stabbing in the Footscray CBD on Friday night has intensified calls for action to curb violence, crime and anti-social behaviour in the area. A 24-year-old man is in a serious condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital after being stabbed and assaulted by a group of people on Albert Street at about 9.20pm on February 21. The offenders fled the scene and are still at large as police investigate the circumstances surrounding the stabbing, the latest in a long list of incidents in central Footscray. The latest quarterly crime statistics showed 4033 offences were recorded in Footscray in the year to September 2024, almost a thousand
more than 12 months earlier. In January, Maribyrnong council removed a playground from the Nicholson Street Mall due to feedback from local traders about the amount of drug taking and anti-social behaviour occurring there. Now some business owners want private security guards employed to patrol the mall and surrounding streets. “There are a lot of problems here,” said Johara Mohamed, who has owned a variety store on the corner of Nicholson and Paisley streets for the past three years. She said safety and security in the area had declined rapidly in the past year. “It’s getting worse day after day. “They’re using drugs in front of the shops
and we can see them injecting themselves and smoking. Sometimes they block the door and customers are too scared to come in.” Ms Mohamed said the offenders would disappear in the time it took for police to arrive. Maribyrnong mayor Pradeep Tiwari said community safety was a high priority and that council was working with Victoria Police to address the problem as well as employing measures such as CCTV. “Footscray is not immune to the challenges other areas face with cost-of-living and mental health issues for vulnerable people,” Cr Tiwari said. “Council understands the impact homelessness and addiction can have on
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the broader community, including small businesses and social carers. We continue to work closely with the state government and local organisations to improve outreach services in Footscray.” A spokesperson for Victoria Police pointed to Operation OKAMI as evidence it was tackling crime in Footscray, noting that a recent operation led to three arrests and 20 drug and weapon searches. Footscray MP Katie Hall said she’d secured funding for co-health’s outreach service and established the Future Footscray Initiative as part of her efforts to address the problem. ”I want to assure you that these are issues I have been actively working on for several years,” she said.
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By Cade Lucas