A Melbourne man who blamed a drunken lockdown attack against his family on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been jailed.
Tyre salesman Steven Mason, 30, of Pakenham blew his stack on October 25 last year after his wife accused him of too much boozing and neglecting their child during lockdown.
It was the day before Victoria was to finally come out of a whopping 112 day lockdown, which at the time was the longest of its kind on the planet.
Tyre salesman Steven Mason (left) threatened to kill his wife and then bashed down his neighbour’s front door with a pick axe. He blamed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews
Steven Mason had only married his long time partner in April last year. By October, after 111 days in lockdown, he went on the rampage with a pick axe
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews had locked Melburnians up for 112 days by the time he released them in October last year. Some say the damage done at home from lockdown could be worse than the lockdown itself
By then, the virus had decimated the state and had accounted for more than 90 per cent of the country’s 905 deaths.
Mason’s wife had accused him of leaving their toddler unaccompanied while he got on the beers.
The frazzled father angrily denied the assertion, but his wife had noticed a steep decline in his behaviour during the long months locked-up together.
‘You’re partner told you to get help for your drinking. You blamed your drinking on Daniel Andrews and told your two-year old son that his mother was a c**t,’ County Court of Victoria Judge Justin Hannebery said on Monday.
The sentence comes amid concern from health and welfare workers that women have suffered in silence throughout Victoria’s six lockdowns.
On Monday, court sources told Daily Mail Australia court-imposed courses to assist with changing abusive men’s behaviour have all but been abandoned during the pandemic.
Completion of the courses are routinely made a requirement of community correction orders dished out to violent offenders across multiple courts.
‘While some programs are working online, they’re inherently difficult to access and participation is less than effective because Zoom is hopeless,’ the source said.
Tyre salesman Steven Mason went at his son’s mother with a pick axe during a violent rampage last year
Steven Mason told doctors he had previous issues with booze before lockdown, but they blew out of control after being locked-up for months
National Homeless Collective founder Donna Stolzenberg told Daily Mail Australia Victoria’s lockdowns were having a tragic effect on domestic violence cases.
‘Domestic violence rates escalate in all times of crisis and also at times of celebration such as Christmas. We know this. It’s no secret. And we know lockdown has an awful toll on mental health and violence escalation,’ she said.
Ms Stolzenberg said it was imperative that men be able to receive appropriate education when it comes to breaking toxic behavioral patterns.
‘It is an essential service,’ she said.
Steven Mason was sentenced to more than two years in jail for his lockdown rampage
The court heard Mason’s wife warned her belligerent husband she would call police on him if he continued to abuse her.
But things just went from bad to worse.
Mason told his wife he would ‘stab her in the heart and kill her’ if she followed through with her threat.
‘You told her that she would not be able to take care of your son,’ Judge Hannebery said.
The court heard Mason stormed out of the family home and into the garage where he appeared to fly into a fit of rage.
Mrs Mason sent a text message to her neighbour before rushing over there with the couple’s young son.
Locked next door, Mason called on the phone and told his wife he would ‘kill them all with a machete’.
He appeared at the door moments later and demanded to be let inside.
The terrified neighbours pleaded with him to go home and ‘sleep it off’.
Mason returned with a pick axe and proceeded to hack his way in through two doors before chasing his wife and neighbours into the backyard.
Cornered, Mrs Mason’s brave neighbour defended them with a log splitter as the drunken dad continued to stalk them.
‘Go for it, I’ll f**k you up,’ Mason shouted.
Given the chance, the neighbour spirited Mason’s toddler away to a hiding spot before police finally arrived.
Mason later told detectives he couldn’t believe what he had done.
‘I left straight away. That’s all I remember, that’s – the first thing I remember is seeing the look on their faces and I’m like, “Oh, my God. What have I done?” and I left,’ he told detectives.
National Homeless Collective founder Donna Stolzenberg says domestic violence incidents are going unreported during lockdown
Melburnians hit the streets on Saturday to protest against their latest lockdown
Judge Hannebery said he accepted Victorians had struggled throughout repeated lockdowns
Mason spent 51 days in even harsher lockdown conditions in jail before pleading guilty to making threats to kill, aggravated burglary and drug possession.
His wife, who is expecting the couple’s second child in February, refused to provide a victim impact statement.
In passing sentence, Judge Hannebery said he accepted Victorians had struggled throughout repeated lockdowns.
‘I accept that like many, you were struggling with the pressure of pandemic restrictions, but this in no way excuses your behaviour,’ he said.
Judge Hannebery condemned Mason for what he described as a very serious incident of domestic violence in front of a young child.
Doctors had found while Mason had a history of abusing alcohol, it had blown out of control during lockdown, which saw him picked up for drink-driving in June.
Judge Hannebery convicted and sentenced Mason to two-years and one month in jail, with a non-parole period of one year and three months.