Overview
- The on-duty paramedic, stabbed in the neck and face outside a Reservoir cafe late Thursday morning, was attacked from behind by a man who fled in a small red car, police said.
- The 32-year-old suspect appeared in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday, was remanded in custody, and is due back on August 7.
- A bystander stepped in, allowing the paramedic to radio for help and apply first aid to himself before colleagues took him to Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he remains serious but stable.
- Following Thursday's assault, the government asked the Victorian Law Reform Commission to examine the law’s definition of “on duty” after unions warned that gaps weaken protections.
- Victoria sets a minimum six-month jail term for injuring emergency workers only when they meet the legal test for being on duty, and the review could broaden that test after earlier 2020 changes curbed drug or alcohol excuses.