‘There is something sick in our city’: Major Brendan Nottle on homelessness and the killing of 20 women this year

Major Brendan Nottle, from the Salvation Army, says the murder of 25-year-old woman Courtney Herron in Parkville is “a failure of our society”.

Major Nottle said the killing of Ms Herron, who was homeless and had a history of mental illness and substance abuse, shows our systemic failure to help the vulnerable.

“We’ve failed on a whole range of levels,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“We have to have cultural change where men call out bad behaviour and say enough is enough,” he said.

“There’s something sick on our city that allows men to think they can perpetrate this violence against women.”

Major Nottle said the mental health system “absolutely” failed Ms Herron.

He called for more housing, and more addiction support services for vulnerable people.

“We need more feet on the ground to actually get more housing … and it has to come with support,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear Major Brendan Nottle on air with Neil Mitchell.