IF you told Dave Corben a few years ago that his son would quickly turn from a normal kid with a job into an ice user involved in pursuits, firearms offences and a ram raid, he would have been absolutely gobsmacked.
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Kane, now aged 22, grew up in a normal, middle-class Border family with a large number of siblings.
He had goals, and worked his way through half of a welding apprenticeship before the company folded, and then moved into factory work.
Fast forward a few years and Kane is now back behind bars after another crime spree fuelled by heavy methamphetamine use.
It’s something his dad never would have predicted.
“It’s been such a big change – he was a caring person, always had his mates’ and family’s best interests at heart,” Mr Corben said.
“All of a sudden, none of that mattered. His mum went through a lot of heartache and worry, and so did I.
“It worried and upset everyone in the family for quite a long time.
“We were often wondering where he was, wondering whether he was OK.
“We lost contact and only heard bits and pieces through other people.”
His son has turned 25 lives “upside down", he said.
He had allegedly earlier stolen a Wodonga man’s utility from the Wodonga pool.
“A couple of years ago, if you told me he’d be doing that, I’d say ‘never’,” Mr Corben said.
“We used to talk about other people doing stupid things and he’d say they’re just idiots.
“Next minute, he’s doing it himself.
“I lost contact with him for quite a few months.”
He found out what his son had been doing by reading stories in the paper.
Mr Corben doesn’t make any excuses for his son’s offending.
In fact, he believes his son should be locked up, but he would also like to see drug users receive more support to kick the habit.
“He’s in jail until Christmas at least,” Dave said.
“People say these people need to be punished for their crimes and I agree with that.
“I think if people break the law, they need to be punished, but I also think there needs to be some assistance for people with their problems.
“What happens when people get out of jail is they go back to what they were doing.
“He’s a young kid – he could be useful for society, or he could be a criminal.
“I don’t know what will happen.”
Mr Corben can’t bring himself to visit his son in jail.
“It would break my heart,” he said.
“I couldn’t do it.
“I’m writing to him to encourage him to spend that time thinking of what he can do to help himself.”
Mr Corben is also speaking out about the perils of the drug as a warning against young people trying it.
If it could happen to his family, it could happen to any family, he said.
“I wondered where we went wrong,” he said.
"We've got other kids and they're doing really well, they're cracking on.
“Kane grew up in the same house.
“I mean, we all make choices, that's for sure.
“Young blokes can make stupid choices sometimes.
“But from what I can work out, ice can grab hold of you really quickly and make you into someone you're not.
“Once you're down that path, it's very hard to stop.”
He's not sure what the solution is to fighting the ice problem but is urging people to avoid using the drug – even once.
Mr Corben believes tackling it as a community issue, rather than personal issue, is a step forward, along with school education.
“The only way you're ever going to get this thing sorted is education and the law coming together to tackle it,” he said.
“Kane has done the wrong thing – I know that, everyone knows that.
"But he wasn't born bad.
“He was a pretty good bloke for a long time.
“I've seen the changes and I'm pretty sure there's more to it than meets the eye with his health.”
And he still holds out some hope that his son can change.
“If he doesn’t get help, he could be someone 20 years down the track who maybe wished he got help because he might have wasted his life.
“There are plenty of people going through this issue.
“I just hope other families don’t have to go through this.”