2 weeks Ago By Daanyal Saeed
The Age’s star investigative reporter, Nick McKenzie, has wrestled a chair-wielding pedestrian who threatened to attack a motorist in their car in a spontaneous act of good samaritanism. Sixteen-time Walkley winner McKenzie was walking along Sydney Road in Brunswick in Melbourne’s inner north on Monday when he came across a man in a blue tracksuit, who was engaged in a loud altercation with a parked motorist across the road. The pair did not appear to be known to each other.
After the motorist, driving a white Lexus SUV, attempted to leave the scene, the man in the blue tracksuit appeared to follow the car south down Sydney Road while the pair exchanged profanities. With the car now semi-parked outside a medical centre, the tracksuited man crossed the road immediately in front of McKenzie and grabbed a chair from a nearby Thai restaurant, which was preparing to open for Monday night’s dinner service. McKenzie sprung into action and sprinted empty-handed towards the man wielding the chair to try and deescalate the situation.
With the man now brandishing the chair above his head and moving quickly towards the car, McKenzie restrained him to protestations of, “Don’t fucking touch me, cunt.” As he did so, the Lexus driver got out of the vehicle to express his own anger at the interaction. McKenzie, still restraining the chair-wielding man, simultaneously kept the pair apart and prevented a physical altercation from breaking out for approximately two minutes until police arrived.
“Make a citizen’s arrest!” cried an onlooker, reminiscent of an incident involving Carlton coach Michael Voss in August 2024. This correspondent notes McKenzie is a Geelong supporter and may not appreciate the comparison. Police detained and handcuffed the man in blue and took witness statements from all parties.
The police vehicle parked across tram lines on Sydney Road led to a significant traffic backup, and the commotion brought onlookers from nearby businesses. Police told Crikey in a statement they were “investigating reports of a potential road rage incident in Brunswick”. “It is believed that two road users became involved in an altercation on Sydney Road about 2.
50pm. An officer passing by at the time stopped and spoke to all parties involved,” the statement said. “The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remains ongoing.
” McKenzie is one of The Age ’s most high-profile and decorated reporters. He won the 2024 Gold Walkley as part of a Nine team reporting on corruption in the CFMEU, as well as the 2023 Walkley for Media Freedom for his reporting , alongside Chris Masters, on disgraced former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith..
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