‘Shocking’ backlash of media attention

the father of two said he had been working on a minimum wage through adulthood and that tax breaks for him would “change (his) life”.

Although Storrar was initially hailed by some as a “national hero”, it turned sour as details of his criminal record became front-page news.

During a sit-down interview with Macleay College this week, Storrar said the media attention “completely destroyed” his life.

“It was shocking at the time. It was like a car accident: you get better, but you never forget the actual accident,” he said. “At the time it was absolutely vile and horrible. I had to run away and hide, and a friend let me stay on his property up near the Murray River.”

Although the attention has long since died down, Storrar said he was still feeling the effects of his short-lived fame.

He said he had struggled to nail down a job as employers had no trouble finding out about his previous stints in jail for crimes including assault and making a threat to kill.

“I go to apply for low-income jobs and the first thing people do is Google my name,” Storrar said. “The first thing that comes up is ‘thug’ (and) ‘villain’.”

But he said the experience had also liberated him as he no longer had to worry about his past being thrown into the spotlight.

“Opportunities have come from that horrible experience,” Storrar said. “The best thing all that did was free me.

“You only get to do that to somebody once. All I’ve got to do is live a good life from now on and keep on pushing my message.”

He now describes himself as a poverty campaigner and is continuing to call out politicians on their policies for lowincome earners.

Storrar has pleaded for the Government to build more public housing and said Australia needed another poverty review.

“We need a plan to fix poverty,” he said.

“No major party in politics seems to have anything to do with poverty.

“No one is making any policies for these people at the bottom of the ladder.”